There is plenty of the line for both Georgia and Oklahoma when the couple squares in the first round of the SEC tournament on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.
For Bulldogs (20-11), No. 11 seed in the tournament against No. 14 Sooners (19-12), a NCAA tournament is safe.
Georgia is mainly struggling to improve its tournament position, as it is expected to make the program’s first performance since 2015 and only the fourth over the past 23 years.
Bulldogs coach Mike White said to feel comfortable with his place in the NCAA field has not changed his attitude to the SEC tournament.
“Nothing has changed for us,” White said. “Every exercise, every game, the middle of the major, nonconference, conference game, is about being our best and striving for growth … We have had a good speed because we have continued to improve in many areas, and playing our best basketball after winning four in a row. We want it to continue. We take nothing for granted.”
Georgia has been working to win her last four matches in the regular season, especially an 88-83 victory over then no. 3 Florida on February 25.
After a strong nonconference performance, Oklahoma has struggled through much of her first season in Sec Play.
Sooner’s tournaments were on life support after Back-to-Back losses for last holding-83-82 to Kentucky on February 26 and 87-84 at Ole Miss on March 1. But Oklahoma stayed in battle for a big quay by winning her last two matches.
The Sooners then hit no. 15 Missouri at home before winning Texas on Saturday to stay in battle for what would be their first NCAA tournament out of Porter Moser’s four seasons.
The reason for the latest success of both teams begins at the scorer sites.
When the team met January 11 in Georgia, a game that Bulldogs won 72-62, both Georgia’s Silas Demary Jr. and Oklahomas Jeremiah fear. Demary went 1-for-7 from the field in that game and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.
During Bulldog’s current winning line, Sophomore shoots 53.1 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent behind the bow, while on average they were 19.5 points.
“He really plays at a high, high level,” Moser said about Demary. “They recover so well. They’re so big and physical.”
Although fear fought from the floor in the previous meeting against Georgia, shot 1-for-11 with four turnover, he is still on average 18.8 points and 5.5 assists per match during the last four.
“Fear is in an incredible rhythm, and it’s also Silas,” said White. “They space you. They have versatile guys. They can move color in several positions … they are one of the fastest teams in our league down in space.”
In the first meeting between the teams, Bulldogs had a 20-point advantage on the free throw line and went 27-of-37 on a free throw while Sooners were only 7-of-9.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will take on sixth-seeded Kentucky on Thursday.
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