Bubble teams will meet in the first round of the SEC Tournament tonight when Oklahoma takes on Georgia. In what has been a historically good year for the conference, both of these schools have flown under the radar. The Sooners (19-12) are currently enjoying a two-game win streak, while the Bulldogs (20-11) have won four straight.
Georgia enters this contest as 3.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 147.5 points. Below is my college basketball pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday’s crucial SEC matchup.
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Oklahoma vs. Georgia (9:30 PM EST)
This matchup is a true battle of polar opposites. Georgia’s biggest strength is its defense. The Bulldogs have allowed just 68.9 points per game, the fourth-lowest mark in the SEC. On the other side, Oklahoma has surrendered the fourth-most points per game in the conference (74.5). However, the Sooners have the nation’s 24th-highest adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
When these two teams last met on January 11th, the Dawgs earned a 72-62 win. The difference-maker in that meeting was the play of Asa Newell, who scored 15 points. The freshman currently leads the team in scoring (15.1 PPG) and rebounding (6.5 RPG), while chipping in with 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks. However, Georgia won’t be playing in the cozy confines of Athens tonight. They are currently 2-7 on the road against SEC opponents, making a more neutral Nashville crowd somewhat daunting. Still, the same weakness applies to Oklahoma, who are just 7-7 away from home this season.
A notable strength for Georgia is down low, where they rank third in the SEC in offensive rebound percentage (34.0%). Newell (6’11) is joined by fellow big men RJ Godfrey (6’7), Somoto Cyril (6’11) and Dylan James (6’9). That size should come in handy tonight against the much smaller Sooners. Just two players in Oklahoma’s regular rotation (10+ minutes per game) are taller than 6’6.
Wednesday’s matchup is an intriguing clash of drastically different rosters. Oklahoma’s offense would love to play at their usual high-powered pace. That might prove difficult against the bigger, more physical Bulldogs. At the end of the day, Georgia is better built for an intense playoff environment.
College Basketball Pick: Georgia -3.5 (1 Unit)
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