After struggling to put away the Mississippi Valley St. Delta Devils and Saint Louis Billikens without star forward Trey Thompkins, the Georgia Bulldogs take on their toughest test yet in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It's game three of the 2010 Old Spice Classic in Orlando -- winner gets the winner of the Temple Owls vs. California Golden Bears.
Currently 6.5 point underdogs, the Fox Hounds will need to step up their glass game tonight. They currently rank 254th in the nation in rebounds. Travis Leslie has stepped up to fill Thompkins' shoes in that regard, grabbing a perfectly Thompkinsly 8.3 per game, but nobody has in turn filled Leslie's. The Irish rank sixth in the country, led by forward Tyrone Nash's 8.0 per game.
Senior stars guard Ben Hansbrough, Mississippi St. Bulldogs transfer and younger brother of former North Carolina Tar Heels great Tyler Hansbrough, leads the Irish in scoring, with his 18.0 per game supplemented by forward Tim Abromaitis' 17.5.
Notre Dame has also been one of the nation's best passing teams early on, with six players averaging more than two assists per contest. By contrast, only Leslie and guards Gerald Robinson and Dustin Ware have done the same for the Dawgs.