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Preview: Georgia vs. Davidson
After splitting its opening two games, Georgia will look to gain some early-season momentum when it faces off against Davidson Thursday afternoon in a quarterfinal matchup of the Charleston Classic at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. The Bulldogs will have had six days to process an 80-71 loss to Georgia Tech as coach Mark Fox continues to try to sort out his rotation. Ten different Bulldogs are averaging double-digit minutes thus far, led by Charles Mann, who also leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game.
Davidson is still in search of its first victory in a tough early-season slate that has included ranked ACC opponents in Duke and Virignia. The kings of the Southern Conference are led by De’Mon Brooks, who took a backseat to league Player of the Year Jake Cohen in 2012-13, but has shown already that he will be more of a scoring force this season, averaging 17.0 points. Brooks was the preseason pick for Player of the Year this season, but will need help from players like Tom Droney (averaging 15.7 points) and Brian Sullivan (14.0 points) if the Wildcats are going to turn things around.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, ESPNU
ABOUT GEORGIA (1-1): SEC Player of the Year Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is gone from a Georgia team that won just 15 games last season, and the Bulldogs will quickly have to find new ways to score without him. Nemanja Djurisic is the leading returning scorer and is averaging 10.5 points per game to go with other returners in Mann and Kenny Gaines (11.5 points). The X-factor for Georgia could be freshman guard Juwan Parker, who has already logged 19.5 minutes per game for Fox, but is shooting just 20 percent.
ABOUT DAVIDSON (0-3): The Wildcats enter their final year in the Southern Conference without Cohen or guards Nic Cochran and JP Kuhlman, but that doesn’t temper expectations for a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for coach Bob McKillop’s squad. Brooks will shoulder the majority of the load left by Cohen, while Droney, Sullivan and Tyler Kalinoski will be looked to in the backcourt. Forward Chris Czerapowicz shot 39 percent on 4.5 3-point attempts per game last year but has struggled early, making just 2-of-9 to begin this season.
TIP-INS
1. A loss would give Davidson only its second 0-4 start in McKillop’s 25 seasons at the helm.
2. Davidson is 3-0 all-time against Georgia.
3. The neutral site games in Charleston are the only non-home games for Georgia until a Dec. 28 trip to Colorado.
PREDICTION: Davidson 65, Georgia 61
