Sports Page Atlanta

I think everyone knows by now, Georgia is in the big dance. Even with a barely-over .500 record the Bulldogs are in the tournament. The Dawgs will face #3 seed Xavier on Thursday in Washington, DC at 12:20 pm et.

But who are the Xavier Musketeers?

Xavier is in the Atlantic-10 conference and is 27-6 on the season. This is their 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is 12-18 all-time in the tourney. The have been in 7 of the last 8 fields and in 2004 advanced to the elite 8.

Head Coach Sean Miller won the A-10 Coach of the Year Award and leads a well-balanced team into the NCAA’s.

Xavier is the only NCAA Division I team to have 6 players averaging double-digits in points led by senior Josh Duncan’s 11.7.

Their guard play is excellent. Senior Stanley Burrell was the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and is the school’s 13th leading scorer all-time. Stanley’s backcourt mate is fellow senior Drew Lavender. He stands only 5′7″ but can score (10.7 ppg) and dish out the assists (4.3 apg).

For Georgia to pull out the upset they have to do what they did so well in the SEC Tournament…

1) Play smart… The Dawgs came into the SEC Tournament 285th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. On the season the had over 100 more turnovers than assists. In the SEC’s the had more assists than turnovers.

2) Team rebounding and defense… Georgia was very strong in the SEC’s on the boards. In the SEC Tournament, 6 Bulldogs averaged over 4 rebounds per game. The team also averaged 6 steals and over 4 blocks per game.

3) Hitting the Big Three… It seemed like every time Georgia needed a 3-pointer in the SEC Tournament they got one. The Dawgs shot 40 percent from beyond the arc compared to their oppenents 26 percent. Terrance Woodbury shot 58 percent (11 for 19) from long distance. Also Sundiata Gaines hit 6 3’s and Billy Humphrey added 5.

If Georgia continues these 3 things they have a good chance of advancing. Their last 3 games (Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas) are all NCAA tournament teams and they won those so anything is possible.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 10:43 am and is filed under Georgia Bulldogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.