Georgia will be looking for a series split tonight when they host Vanderbilt before a national television audience on ESPNU. The Commodores defeated the Bulldogs 73-66 way back on January 12th in what was Georgia's second conference game. The Bulldogs appeared to suffer a let down of sorts as they were fresh off upsetting Kentucky the weekend before. It is hard to defeat Vanderbilt in Nashville as many teams have found out this season but Mark Fox's club appeared to be lacking energy that night and they will be looking to correct that tonight.
The stakes are high for a Georgia club that finds itself firmly planted on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Bulldogs currently sit at 6-4 in the SEC and probably need to finish with a winning record in the conference to feel pretty good about their chances. Georgia has three home games remaining counting tonight's contest with the Commodores. The biggest challenge will come on the road as the Bulldogs still have road games remaining with Tennessee, Florida, and western division leading Alabama. The remaining road schedule makes all of the home games as must wins.
The Bulldogs last played on Saturday where they built a huge first half lead but had to hold on to survive 60-56 over South Carolina in Columbia. Georgia has won three SEC conference games in a row. Vanderbilt has also won three games in a row and is coming off of a huge home win over Kentucky.
In the first match-up, Georgia failed to control Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli who recorded a double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. John Jenkins also scored 18 points for the Commodores. Georgia's Trey Thompkins also had a double double in that game with 13 points and 13 rebounds but was just 5-14 from the floor. Thompkins will likely be there for the Dogs, it is important that they get contributions from the supporting cast.
In the all-time series, Georgia holds a 33-26 advantage in games played in Athens. However, Vanderbilt holds a commanding 83-48 mark overall.
Tip off for tonight's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPNU. For more on the game, check out Dawg Sports and Anchor of Gold.