Up next, the OTHER Dogs

Again, for those just finding my blog, do not be offended when I refer to our favorite school as Dogs or Bulldogs. I have been a UGA fan since about age 5 or 6, have watched us win a national title in 1980, attended school in Athens, had season tickets for 10 straight years until my kids got older and started having Sat activities (not to mention I could no longer afford to pay the money+ticket price), but have NEVER liked the spelling DAWGS or BullDAWGS. I do NOT like stereotypes, and to me where I see that spelling I think bad things, I will leave it at that.

So, now that we have that cleared up, let's take a look at our next basketball opponent, the Miss State Bulldogs, as I like to call them, the IMPOSTER Dogs. I hate that we have two Bulldogs in the same conference but it is what it is-a phrase I find myself using a lot these days, but kind of annoys me because EVERYONE says it these days.

Miss State is a pretty steady NCAA tourney caliber team from the SECw, in fact, I believe they probably have the most consistent winning percentage in the west since Rick Stansbury has been the coach. When I think of that side of the division, they are the first team that comes to mind, second would probably be Arkansas. Bama back in the Wimp days but not any longer, LSU is up and down like a yo yo, Auburn, usually pretty bad. Miss has been as LSU, up and down. So, Miss State would be my pick as toughest west opponent and I don't think that changes this year. This is a talented bunch coming to Athens tomorrow. The record might not indicate it but this team is very good. Record wise they currently stand at only 10-7 but are 2-1 in the SEC. Great, they had a week to get ready for us as they last played 1/16, a win over Auburn. They also of course won in Oxford, but lost their conference opener at home against Bama, and by a LARGE margin 75-57. One reason for the slow start of Miss State is the NCAA suspensions of probably their best two players, Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney. Bost was just recently named player of the week, after he averaged 17pts, 4.5 rebounds and 8 assists a game in the Miss and AU wins. To read more about the suspensions, I found this article-Sidney was part of the brawl in Hawaii back in December but also was sitting out time because of improper benefits during his HS days. Bost was suspended for the first part of this season (first semester) because of academic issues.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/sec/2010-12-21-renardo-sidney-mississippi-state-suspended_N.htm

So, now that you know about the best two players on the Miss State roster, let's break down their record and their stats a little bit. First off, record of 10-7 but with a grain of salt because as the link above points out, those guys really have only played for a few games to this point. Looking at their non confernce schedule, they lost to Fla Atlantic at home, East Tenn State at home, at VaTech, at Washington St (actually in Hawaii-Diamond Head Classic), at Hawaii (also in tourney), home against St Mary's, and then of course Bama at home. Wins, well, the Ole Miss win probably qualifies as their best win of the season to this point. As for starters, here we go-
Ravern Johnson leads them in scoring at 18.5 pts a game, followed by Bost at 16, Sidney at 14.4 and Augustus at 12.4, also 8 boards a game. The other starter is Riley Benock, he averages 7.6 pts a game but is shooting 45% from behind the 3pt line. Off the bench, best players look to be Brian Bryant who averages 6.4 pts a game, Elgin Bailey averaging 5.8pts and 4.3 boards (big dude here at 6'9" 276), and Jalen Steele also averaging 5.8pts. Johnson will be a tough matchup at guard as he goes 6'7" and can be a streaky shooter. Bost of course is a very strong player and then Sidney. I mentioned him before, highly touted recruit coming in and just a BIG MAN, at 6'10" 270lbs. Obviously he has the size advantage on us but, he is a big guy and still not in perfect shape, he can and will likley get winded-out of all their starters, he averages the fewest minutes per game at 25. The starters FT percentage is around 72%.

This game worries me in the fact that Miss State is coming off back to back wins, they have had a week to practice and work on what we do, their best players are now back and getting into playing shape, simply put Miss State is a dangerous team. That being said, we need come out and set the tone early again as we have in the two SEC wins so far. If they put Sidney on Trey, he needs to be constant motion, if they man up, Sidney will get tired early and often and fouls are committed a lot of times because a guy is tired. He gets beat and then has to foul. From looking at the stats, Miss State does not appear to be a live or die 3 point shooting team, besides Benock, none of their players shoot the 3 very well. They are athletic and again rebounding will be key, Augustus is a very good rebounder and as we found out in the UT game, rebounding can be a big factor in whether you win or lose a game, especially important is preventing offensive rebounds. We need Price/Barnes and Trey to control the boards and then also attack on the offensive end to make Sidney work hard and tire him out. We will need Ware and Robinson to be consistent and avoid costly turnovers, fortunately they have been doing a great job thus far in the at regard, especially in SEC play-but let me say, Gerald, please make the pass on the fast break instead of attepting the tomahawk dunk, leave the spectacular dunks for Travis Leslie.

I hope Coach Fox continues to use Thornton and Williams, as well as Connor Nolte-that kid makes things happen when he is in the game, and really can pass the basketball. Thornton can defend some elite offensive talent, I thought he did a pretty good job on Scottie Hopson the other night. Williams, he is always a threat to block shots and even though he is slight of build, I think he can hold his own defensively and help grab some boards. Speaking of boards, Barnes/Price, you guys must do better. There is this thing called jumping that a lot of basketball players do really well. When rebounding, against a guy your size or bigger, it might be a good idea to actually jump up to grab a rebound instead of standing flat footed. Yes, that WAS over the back on Brian Williams, pretty obvious call. But, did you see Barnes-GREAT job boxing the man out but he didn't appear to jump for the ball-or maybe that is just me. Anyway, hopefully Coach Fox is in his ear and Price about getting more rebounds. Rebounding is of course based on positioning but also based on EFFORT. You have to have a knack at it but a lot of the best rebounders are not the big guys but more the guys that bust their butts, hustle at all times.

Game is set for 4pm tomorrow, televised by SEC network which means it should be once again on Peachtree TV in the Atlanta area. For those attending, be loud and support our players as you have the last two home games. This is a must win, the road will be tough on every team in the SEC this year, this means winning at home is almost a must if we are to make it back to the dance.

One more note, I THINK I have not corrected the settings on this blog to allow people to comment without having register etc. If anyone would like to share a comment or ask me a question about any topic UGA related or anything else, feel free to do so. I hope you enjoy reading my blog, my opinions, hopefully some useful information as well.