Georgia vs #2 Auburn NCAAB Odds, Preview and Analysis

Georgia vs #2 Auburn | NCAAB Odds, Preview and Analysis

At 16-1, Auburn had a great case to be the new No. 1 team in the college basketball polls this week but instead they are No. 2 behind two-loss Gonzaga. The Tigers return to the court Wednesday and will be sizable favorites on the NCAAB odds in SEC action vs. Georgia.

How to Bet Georgia at Auburn NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

Last Meeting

This is the first of two meetings as they will play again Feb. 5 – and then perhaps again in the SEC Tournament. Last year, they split two meetings. The one at Auburn was 91-86 in favor of the Bulldogs. Toumani Camara’s layup with 2:11 left put Georgia up 80-71 before Devan Cambridge responded with a quick 3-pointer for Auburn. Sahvir Wheeler made a pair of foul shots for the Bulldogs and Sharife Cooper countered with a layup to bring the Tigers within 82-76 with 1:42 left. Left to foul, Georgia sank 7 of 8 free throws to secure the win. The Bulldogs narrowed the all-time series lead to 97-96.

Why Bet on Georgia?

Georgia (5-12) will not be following in the football team’s shoes by winning a national title anytime soon as the Dawgs are not very good and on a six-game skid following a 73-66 home loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Bulldogs appeared poised win as they went to halftime up 36-28 on the strength of 14-for-27 shooting while Vandy missed 19 of 30 shot attempts before the break. But Vanderbilt regrouped, started the second half with a 13-0 run and never trailed again. Vanderbilt’s last win over Georgia was an 81-66 victory on Jan. 7, 2018. Before Saturday, the Commodores hadn’t won at Georgia since Jan. 29, 2014.

Junior Jaxon Etter led Georgia with a career-high 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Senior Braelen Bridges tallied 14 points and six rebounds, while graduate Aaron Cook pitched in with 10 points and four assists. For the evening, the Bulldogs shot 44.8 percent from the field and outrebounded the Commodores by a 38-28 margin.

“We had too many points off turnovers in the second half,” said Georgia head coach Tom Crean following the game. “Our low post defense was not great, and they do a really good job of making the double hard because they run the split action on the ball side. We gave up a couple of those buckets…There’s very little you can do to defend a live ball turnover, and that hurt us.”

Kario Oquendo had produced 20-point performances in Georgia’s last three games – 21 vs. Texas A&M, 22 vs. No. 13/16 Kentucky and 28 at Mississippi State but was held to six vs. Vandy. The sophomore had been the first Bulldog with three straight 20-point games since Anthony Edwards two seasons ago.

Georgia dressed only 10 players for the fourth time this season. The Bulldogs’ 15-player roster was cut by two due to season-ending injuries to P.J. Horne in the preseason and Jailyn Ingram against Jacksonville on Dec. 7. UGA’s seven transfers scored 4,782 points at their previous schools, the biggest influx for any D-I team

Why Bet on Auburn?

The Tigers (16-1) won their 13th in a row Saturday, 80-71 at Ole Miss. Auburn used a 24-9 run over nine minutes — including four 3-pointers, two by Wendell Green Jr., and three layups from Walker Kessler — to take a commanding 71-60 lead with 4:09 remaining. After that, Ole Miss never got closer than four points. Auburn was down by as many as 14.

“We got more engaged defensively, and that clearly made the difference,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “It’s what won the Alabama game for us and it’s what won the game here tonight, our second-half defense.”

Kessler tied his career high with 20 points, adding 10 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals as the Tigers turned up their defensive intensity in the second half while outscoring the Rebels 42-27. Auburn tied its season low with six turnovers while making 10 steals to take a 17-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

For the third time this season, Auburn freshman 6-foot-10 forward Jabari Smith was selected as SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday. He shared the weekly honor with TyTy Washington Jr. of Kentucky.  Smith averaged a team-leading 20 points and 5.0 rebounds per game against Alabama and Ole Miss combined. He tallied his sixth career 20-point outing with a game-and career-high 25 points on 8-14 shooting from the field including a trio of 3-pointers and career-high four blocked shots at Alabama. It marked only the 11th-ever road win in Tuscaloosa in program history.

Smith followed up that performance with 15 points at Ole Miss to extend his team-leading double-digit scoring streak to 14-straight contests. The Tigers are off to their first 5-0 SEC start since 1999 and fourth-time ever in program history. They are currently tied with Davidson, owners of the nation’s longest active win streak (13).

Smith and four transfers – Zep Jasper, Green Jr., K.D. Johnson and Kessler – have seamlessly blended with Auburn’s veterans to produce a 16-1 start.

“All of our guys are on a team with more talent and more pieces than they’ve been on before,” Pearl said. “That’s why this team has the record it does right now, because It’s a deep team.

Expert Prediction

  • Auburn 80, Georgia 66

 

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