Fresh off of a thrilling 60-59 win in snowy Fayetteville, Georgia will look to defend its home court today as the Auburn Tigers visit Stegeman Coliseum. While I will refrain from calling any single game a must-win, the fact is that Georgia can not afford to lose this one to the struggling Tigers. With Bulldogs looking to position themselves for an NCAA Tournament bid, posting a winning conference record is a near must. Factor in that the Bulldogs (15-6, 4-4 SEC) have lost two close contests at home already to Florida and Tennessee and there is little wiggle room remaining for the club.
Auburn enters today's game 8-14 overall and 1-7 in SEC play. They have lost seven of their last eight games but did upset South Carolina on the road on Jan 29th to post their first SEC win of the season. Tony Barbee's club is led by 6-foot-5 swing man Earnest Ross who is leading the club in scoring at 12.5 points and rebounding at 6.9 boards per contest.
Today's contest is a rubber match of sorts as both schools enter the game having split the previous 174 meetings going 87-87 against each other. Auburn defeated Georgia last season 82-63 in Auburn and won the 2009 meeting in Athens.
Georgia junior forward Trey Thompkins needs one rebound in today's game to become the ninth Bulldog to amass 1200 career points and 600 career rebounds. He will however be only the second to have done it in three years time joining all time Bulldog rebounding leader Bob Lienhard.
Tip off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today. For more on the game, check out Dawg Sports and Track Em Tigers.