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Vanderbilt-Georgia Preview

Feb 5, 2010 - 5:23 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Vanderbilt (17-4) at Georgia (9-11), 8:00 p.m. EDT

Vanderbilt has faced two of the top teams from each division of the SEC in as many games and has played against ranked opponents in its last two road contests.

Its next game should provide a reprieve.

The No. 18 Commodores visit Georgia on Saturday, looking to keep pace at the top of the East.

Vanderbilt (17-4, 6-1) bounced back from a loss to then-No. 1 Kentucky with a 75-72 win Wednesday over Mississippi State, which is tied for first place in the West. The Commodores are tied with the Wildcats atop the East.

Vanderbilt now faces Georgia (9-11, 1-6), which is at the bottom of the East and has lost three straight.

The Commodores are 5-2 on the road, suffering their loss to Kentucky away from home. Their previous road game was an 85-76 win over then-No. 14 Tennessee on Jan. 27.

Vanderbilt is hoping its game against Georgia won't come down to the final minutes like its one against Mississippi State did. The Commodores led by seven at the break, but Mississippi State pulled within one with 28 seconds left before John Jenkins hit two free throws and the Bulldogs missed a 3-point attempt and two free throws with a second remaining.

"We had some dumb plays down the stretch," senior guard Jermaine Beal said. "We have a lot of improvement we can work on."

Beal scored 17 points, shooting 6 of 10, and A.J. Ogilvy finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Ogilvy, second on the team with 13.9 points per game, is averaging 10.7 on the road compared to 15.9 at home - a big reason why Vanderbilt is scoring 10.2 fewer points per game on the road than it is at home.

In their last two games against Georgia, the Commodores have been held to fewer than 60 points. That could change this weekend, however. Georgia is giving up 75.4 points in conference play and its last three opponents have shot 51.5 percent while averaging 79.0 points.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 72-68 loss to Arkansas on Wednesday. They led by 15 at halftime but allowed the Razorbacks to shoot 64.0 percent in the second half.

"Our inability to get stops is crushing this team and it's really plagued us recently," coach Mark Fox said. "We're in a tough situation. Whether we were in our zone or our man tonight, we just couldn't get stops. We got pounded on the boards in the second half."

Georgia has led at the half of its last two defeats, which also included a 78-77 loss at South Carolina last Saturday.

Trey Thompkins continued his impressive play against the SEC on Wednesday, scoring 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. He's averaging 20.0 points and 7.4 boards versus conference opponents.

Georgia beat Vanderbilt 61-57 in Athens on Feb. 25 to snap a four-game losing streak in the series.

The Bulldogs are 2-2 against the Top 25, including a 78-63 win at home over then-No. 8 Tennessee on Jan. 23.