Georgia looks to bounce back against Vandy

The Georgia Bulldogs return to action this evening at 6:30 eastern in Stegeman Coliseum against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Hoop Hounds will look for things to go better than their last outing against the #3 Tennessee Volunteers.

To be fair, things couldn’t go much worse. The ‘Dawgs lost a painful 96-50 decision in Knoxville on Saturday, the worst UGA loss since 1959. It was never close.

One big issue for the Hoop Hounds? Foul trouble. Big man Nic Claxton was whistled four times in the first half. Fellow forward Derek Ogbeide picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of game time. It was emblematic of a team which found itself on its heels immediately against a fast, technically proficient Volunteer squad.

Things don’t get a whole lot easier tonight against the ‘Dores. Vanderbilt comes into the night with a record of 9-4 overall, 0-1 in the SEC. Like Georgia, they lost their SEC opener on Saturday, falling 81-71 at home to Ole Miss. But Bryce Drew, in his third year in Nashville, has a mix of solid veterans and freshman phenom Simi Shittu, who’s averaging 14.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

With #11 Auburn and #18 Kentucky coming up on the schedule, this one sets up as Georgia’s best chance not to let the conference schedule get away before it even gets well underway.

Tipoff is at 6:30 on SEC Network.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!