Auburn @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Georgia 60, Auburn 82

No. 12 Auburn has experienced plenty of success through 25 games, but the Tigers head to Georgia on Wednesday looking to reverse a trend of trailing by double digits in the second half of road games. The Tigers never got closer than 10 points in the final 11-plus minutes of Saturday’s 85-73 upset loss at Missouri, the fifth straight away game in which Auburn found itself down 10-plus points on the road in the second half, falling to 2-3 in those contests.

Two factors that likely contributed the end of the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak: Auburn missing standout freshman forward Isaac Okoro (one of the top defensive players for Auburn, which saw Missouri shoot 54.9 percent from the field) due to a right hamstring injury, and the fact that the team had played three consecutive overtime games. “They were really good offensively,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl told reporters postgame. “We weren’t good defensively.” The Bulldogs have struggled to close out games, blowing a nine-point halftime lead in Saturday’s 74-69 loss at Texas A&M – the fourth time in its past five losses Georgia led by nine points or more in the second half. “They shoot (51.8) percent in the second half and we can’t do anything about it because there are live ball turnovers,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told the media after his team gave up 26 points off 21 turnovers in losing for the eighth time in nine games.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT AUBURN (22-3, 9-3 SEC): The Tigers sorely missed Okoro, who can guard any position on the floor and averages 13.1 points and 32 minutes per game - starting each of the first 24. Senior center Austin Wiley scored 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting and added 10 rebounds Saturday, and leads the Tigers in rebounding at 9.4 per game. Senior guard Samir Doughty averages a team-best 16 points, and across his past five games is averaging 21.2 points after scoring 16 points Saturday.

ABOUT GEORGIA (12-13, 2-10): Freshman guard Anthony Edwards struggled Saturday due to a virus, as the likely NBA lottery pick scored just six points on 2-for-7 shooting from the field – well below his average of 19 points that is tops among the nation’s freshmen. Junior forward/center Rayshaun Hammonds snapped out of a slump with 15 points and seven rebounds Saturday. Freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler recorded seven assists against Texas A&M, moving into second place in school history for most by a freshman (109).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Georgia is averaging 70.3 points in SEC play after averaging 80.8 points in non-conference matchups.

2. The Tigers have made less than 27 percent of their 3-point attempts in four of their past five games, including a 1-for-17 performance against Missouri.

3. Auburn has won the past five meetings in the series, including an 82-60 home victory on Jan. 11 in which Doughty scored 17 points while Edwards led all scorers with 18 points.

PREDICTION: Auburn 79, Georgia 62