GAME NOTES: The Furman Paladins have a tough test ahead of them as they head to Athens for a non-conference bout with the Georgia Bulldogs.
This will be the 26th meeting between Furman and Georgia with the Bulldogs holding a 21-4 advantage in the series. Georgia has won four consecutive meetings against the Paladins, including a 75-62 triumph in the last encounter between the schools on November 16, 2001. One other noteworthy aspect of this contest is that Georgia senior Connor Nolte played his first two seasons (2008-09) at Furman before transferring to Georgia.
Furman had a three-game winning streak snapped its last time out as it fell to Presbyterian 75-71. The loss brought the Paladins overall record to 6-5. Furman has picked up wins over Columbia, Loyola-Illinois, Jacksonville, and Western Kentucky. Despite the loss in the last outing, Furman shot the ball very well as it connected on 53.3 percent of its field goals and 46.2 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Paladins are scoring 68.0 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Furman's lineup got a big upgrade when it added senior forward Bryson Barnes for the Western Kentucky game on Saturday. Barnes made a splash in his debut with 26 points. Through two games, Barnes is averaging 18 ppg and eight rpg, both team bests. Brandon Sebirumbi is coming off of a career-high 18-point performance and will look to ride that success into Athens. Richard Brown is a serviceable point guard for the Paladins as he has tallied 24 assists with just 10 turnovers over his last six games.
Georgia is 6-5 after finding victories in its last two outings against USC and Mercer. Before the two-game winning streak, the Bulldogs were on a four-game losing skid. Georgia was ranked in the bottom 10 percent in field goal percentage heading into this week, but has seen a stark turnaround as of late. Against USC, Georgia shot 51 percent from the floor, which was the first time the squad shot over 50 percent in a contest this season. In the same contest, the Bulldogs poured in 69 percent of their attempts from three-point range, which is the fifth best shooting clip from deep in a single game in school history. Georgia is scoring just 60.9 ppg.
The Bulldogs are led by the duo of Gerald Robinson and Kentavious Caldwell- Pope. Both players are averaging 13.6 ppg, which is 13th best in the SEC. Caldwell-Pope was named as the SEC's Freshman of the Week on Monday after scoring 47 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in three games last week. Robinson has been great all season as he has reached double-figures scoring numbers in 9-of-11 contests. Robinson scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting while dishing out four assists in his last appearance.
The Bulldogs have yet to lose to a mid-major team this season, so it will take a huge effort from the Paladins to knock them off. Although Georgia's numbers are not too impressive, it has a talented roster that will give Furman's defense a great deal of trouble.
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