Alabama @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 6, 2019 ) Georgia 74, Alabama 89

Alabama heads to Georgia on Saturday in a matchup of two teams struggling in the SEC standings and having trouble in the second half of games. The Crimson Tide lost their third game in a row Tuesday, falling 69-68 at home to Tennessee by blowing a 15-point lead late in the first half, while the Bulldogs saw a 22-point lead with 16:43 left evaporate in a 81-75 defeat at Florida - Georgia’s second-consecutive late road collapse.

Georgia led by 20 points with less than 14 minutes to play last week at Missouri before losing, two crushing defeats that have the Bulldogs scrambling despite the brilliance of reigning SEC freshman of the week Anthony Edwards. “It was more the defensive (end), not handling their attack game the way that we needed to,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told reporters after the Bulldogs were outscored 51-23 after taking a 52-30 lead. Alabama shot 51.7 percent in the first half but saw its 39-24 advantage with 1:49 left before halftime sliced to eight at the break, and the SEC’s highest-scoring team (81.6 points) recorded just 28 points after intermission. “I don’t have an answer as for why we can’t sustain that effort,” Alabama coach Nate Oats told the media postgame.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT ALABAMA (12-10, 4-5 SEC): Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. scored a team-high 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting Tuesday, and the Crimson Tide’s leading scorer at 16.5 points is shooting 50 percent from the field while averaging 17.5 points in his past four games. Junior guard John Petty Jr. finished with 11 rebounds and a career high-tying seven assists against Tennessee. Foul trouble was a major issue for Alabama, as Tennessee shot 23-for-32 from the free-throw line compared to 5-for-8 for the Crimson Tide.

ABOUT GEORGIA (12-10, 2-7): Edwards put together another impressive outing against Florida, finishing with 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field, and the freshman guard is averaging 28 points and 10.3 rebounds on 39.4 percent shooting from 3-point range in his past three games. Freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler scored 16 points with four assists against Florida, moving him within eight of becoming the first Georgia player to reach 100 assists since 2008-09. The Bulldogs shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range against Florida, their third-best long-range shooting performance this season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Edwards averages 19.9 points, second in the SEC and first among freshmen nationally.

2. Alabama committed 20 turnovers Tuesday, matching its fourth-highest total of the season.

3. The Bulldogs have won five of the past seven meetings with the Crimson Tide.

PREDICTION: Alabama 79, Georgia 72