By Chris DePew
TideFans.com Staff
Jan. 6, 2018
Where to watch: Alabama (9-5, 1-1 SEC) at Georgia (10-3, 1-1) – Today 11 a.m. Central, Stegeman Coliseum, SEC Network
Who to watch: Braxton Key. Bama will need all the height it can muster against the Bulldogs, who start four forwards. But in just his fifth game back after preseason knee surgery, Key is likely to get the hardest defensive assignment of all against Yante Maten. The UGA senior is averaging 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures every game this season. Key shot a modest 3-for-8 from the floor at Vanderbilt, but he avoided fouls and turnovers and competed on the glass. Assuming Collin Sexton and Donta Hall keep up their offense and John Petty snaps out of his funk, Key works just fine filling a niche as a complementary scorer who does the dirty work inside to keep things glued together. And with less pressure on him, the scoring touch may yet re-emerge.
What to watch for: Perimeter defense. For the third straight time to open SEC play, the Crimson Tide draws a team that has struggled to make 3-pointers. Bama dared Texas A&M to shoot from deep last weekend and the Aggies stunk it up at Coleman Coliseum. Vanderbilt has also been shaky behind the arc but lit up Bama for eight 3-pointers in the first half and 10 overall. The Bulldogs attempt and make the second-fewest 3s in the league and are shooting a paltry 32.6 percent. But Georgia was 7-for-19 from deep in a midweek blowout of Ole Miss, so that probably precludes Bama from packing the paint and hoping for the best.
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