Tennessee @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) Georgia 50, Tennessee 96

Tennessee travels to Georgia on Wednesday looking for a far better offensive performance after finding a way to hold off South Carolina at home on Saturday. The Volunteers shot 25.9 percent from the field yet somehow prevailed 56-55 for their second consecutive victory as junior forward John Fulkerson drew a charge with 1.4 seconds left and Tennessee clinging to a one-point lead, capping a day in which he finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“You have to make a game-winning play,” Fulkerson told reporters after recording his second double-double of the season. “Somebody had to stop the ball.” Georgia comes in following a rugged three-game stretch against three ranked teams with a victory over Memphis and back-to-back losses to Kentucky and Auburn, the finale an ugly 82-60 loss at Auburn on Saturday in which the Bulldogs gave up 53.2 percent shooting from the field. Freshman guard Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 18 points, but shot 6-for-15 from the field and 4-for-11 from the free-throw line. “Our lack of confidence when things weren’t going well, even in some point-blank ways like a free throw or layup, hurt us on the other end of the floor,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told the media postgame.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT TENNESSEE (10-5, 2-1 SEC): The Volunteers held an opponent to fewer than 60 points for the seventh time this season Saturday and blocked a season-best 11 shots, helping offset the rough day offensively. Freshman guard Santiago Vescovi scored 13 points against South Carolina and is averaging 14.3 points on 10-for-18 shooting from 3-point range in three games since becoming eligible. Senior guard Jordan Bowden averages 11.8 points but scored just six points Saturday, shooting 1-for-17 from the field and 1-for-12 on 3-point attempts.

ABOUT GEORGIA (10-5, 0-2 SEC): Edwards ranks third in the SEC in scoring at 18.7 points - 18 points per game across his past three contests despite shooting 36.7 percent from the field. Junior forward/center Rayshaun Hammonds averages 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds, falling one rebound shy of a double-double against Auburn while finishing with 12 points. Crean made one change in the starting lineup Saturday, giving freshman guard Sahvir Wheeler – who has played a prominent role off the bench – his first start, and Wheeler responded with six points and three assists in 27 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Wheeler averages 5.1 assists, ranking in the top five in the nation among freshmen.

2. Tennessee is shooting 37 percent from 3-point range this month, after hitting just 22.8 percent of its 3-point attempts in December.

3. Georgia has won the past five meetings at home with Tennessee.

PREDICTION: Georgia 72, Tennessee 65