South Carolina @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2017 ) Georgia 75, South Carolina 77

Georgia received a huge boost with a resounding victory over Alabama last weekend, but heading into Saturday’s home contest with South Carolina the Bulldogs are looking for consistency after a disappointing performance Wednesday at Missouri. Georgia was pushed around constantly in the second half of a 68-56 defeat, surrendering 48 points in the final 20 minutes while All-SEC center Yante Maten was limited to only one field goal in the second half.

“We didn’t respond to the physical play from Mizzou, and they flat out outplayed us in the second half,” Georgia coach Mark Fox told the media after the loss that dropped the Bulldogs to .500 in SEC play. The Gamecocks also struggled in a physical matchup Tuesday against Alabama, finishing the night with just three second-chance points in a 76-62 road loss. Despite holding SEC scoring leader Collin Sexton to only five points, South Carolina shot just 35.8 percent and were outrebounded 35-28. “We weren’t good offensively, we weren’t good defensively,” Gamecocks coach Frank Martin told reporters afterward. “They attacked us.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (10-6, 1-3 SEC): The Gamecocks did not have much of a chance after Alabama hit 11 of its first 14 shots Tuesday, as South Carolina finished 27 percent from the field in the second half to post its sixth consecutive game of shooting less than 40 percent. Wesley Myers, who averages 6.9 points per game, finished with 15 points on Tuesday and is averaging 14 points per game in his past three contests. Leading scorer Chris Silva (14.3 points per game) finished with just nine points Tuesday on 2-of-8 shooting, three days after he scored 27 points in a victory over Vanderbilt.

ABOUT GEORGIA (11-4, 2-2 SEC): William Jackson and Tyree Crump each scored 10 points to lead the Bulldogs, who shot only 37.3 percent from the field and finished with just one steal and 12 turnovers. Maten is second in the SEC in scoring (19.3 points per game and leads the conference in rebounding (8.9 per contest) but finished just 2-of-8 from the field overall and with only two rebounds in 27 minutes. The Bulldogs lead the SEC and rank 14th in the country in opposing field-goal percentage (38.4 percent).

TIP-INS

1. South Carolina G Hassani Gravett scored seven points in 15 minutes in his first SEC game, after missing the previous three contests with an ankle injury.

2. Maten is first in the SEC and ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.93).

3. After Saturday, the Gamecocks play three of their next four games against ranked teams (No. 20 Kentucky, No. 23 Tennessee and No. 8 Texas Tech).

PREDICTION: Georgia 68, South Carolina 61