South Carolina @ Georgia preview

South Carolina at Georgia

Last Meeting ( Jan 27, 2021 ) Georgia 59, South Carolina 83

Sahvir Wheeler wrote himself into Georgia's record book during his team's shocking upset of LSU on Tuesday night.

Wheeler recorded the program's first triple-double as the homestanding Bulldogs posted a 91-78 win over the Tigers.

Georgia will host South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Athens. The game is the second between the Southeastern Conference rivals this season.

The Bulldogs (14-9, 7-9 SEC) hope Wheeler can duplicate his record-setting showing.

Wheeler's outstanding night yielded 14 points and career highs of 13 assists and 11 rebounds. The Houston native needs five assists to break the Georgia single-season mark of 169, set by Pertha Robinson in 1994-95.

"I had no idea because I don't look at the stats in the game," Georgia head coach Tom Crean said of the triple-double. "But it's phenomenal, incredible when you think they've played basketball here 116 years and it's the first time here."

The Gamecocks (5-12, 3-10) have been saddled with a six-game losing skid -- including a pair of defeats to Mississippi State. South Carolina dropped a 69-48 decision to the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

The team's last victory was a 72-66 decision over Florida on Feb. 3. In all, South Carolina has dropped 10 of its last 12 contests.

The frustration was evident with coach Frank Martin after his team shot poorly (29.0 percent) and was outworked in the paint against Mississippi State.

"When you get open shots, you can't make them all but you've got to make some," Martin said. "Right now, we never make any. If we're not going to make open shots, it's going to be hard as heck to win.

"Listen, basketball is not rocket science. When you shoot 29 percent from the field on the road in the SEC, you're not winning. And when you shoot 29 percent and get outrebounded by 25 (49 to 24), you're not winning."

The six-game losing streak is the longest during Martin's nine-year tenure and has been accentuated by playing short-handed, especially in the backcourt.

Seventh Woods is out with a head injury, and Trae Hannibal "needed the day off," according to Martin.

While the two teams are trending in opposite directions -- Georgia has won five of its last eight games -- the Gamecocks captured the first meeting in a home blowout on Jan. 27.

South Carolina breezed to an 83-59 win over the Bulldogs behind Keyshawn Bryant's double-double (19 points, 10 boards) and Jermaine Couisnard's 18 points.

--Field Level Media