Georgia Tech-uga Basketball Preview

Today, FTRS welcomes its newest staff member, Chas Plaisance. A fourth-year Biomedical Engineering major at Tech, Chas' specialty is basketball. He'll help us out quite a bit as we transition from football season into basketball season. Welcome Chas to the staff, and check out his first article about tonight's basketball game below! -LilBroey

Tech, coming off of a nail-biting loss against Illinois after a late injury by Senior Mfon Udofia, is looking to bounce back with another strong non-conference performance. This game will need to be a little different for the Yellow Jackets than the past two games. Recently Tech has a strong post presence only on paper, being outrebounded against much smaller St. Mary's and Illinois teams. Freshman Robert Carter Jr. and Junior Kammeon Holsey both rank in the top 20 for rebounds/game in the ACC, yet they cannot establish a significant presence in the paint on either end of the court. Georgia Tech has a +5.9 margin on rebounds per game, but the Jackets hope to continue their growth, especially down low. The Jackets currently have eight underclassmen on their roster this season with three freshmen contributing much to our success. A major focus for this season will be developing these underclassmen into the leaders for the next few years.

Tonight, the University of Georgia will come into the newly renovated McCamish Pavilion for the first time. University of Georgia enters Atlanta with a 2-5 record, coming off two close loses to both No.1 Indiana and at the time No. 11 UCLA in the Progressive Legends Classic. Sophomore guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has lead the Bulldogs so far this season, ranking 3rd in the SEC for points per game with 17.6. The Bulldogs have been out-rebounded their first seven games, averaging 30.1 rebounds per game and ranking last in the SEC as a team. Georgia has been underperforming, ranking last in the SEC for points per game with 57.1.

In UGA's losses, they have also trailed the game in rebounds. Post play is a focal point for both teams, and if either plans to get a ‘W' Tuesday night, they will need to establish a dominating presence in the post. Hopefully our Jackets can learn from their 9 day road trip and return to McCamish Pavilion energize and ready to win.

Come out the McCamish Pavilion tonight at 7pm for the Georgia Tech vs. Georgia Rivalry Game! (If you can't make it, tune in to ESPNU to watch the action unfold.)

Injuries:
Coach Gregory said Monday that Mfon Udofia is a "game time decision". Follow the Gamethread this evening for game time updates.