The No. 25 Georgia Bulldogs (9-1) and Western Carolina Catamounts (4-6) are set to face off Thursday night, going head-to-head in Athens. The nonconference showdown will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN’s SEC Network.
The Bulldogs are 33.5-point favorites at home, and the total has been set at 168.5 points. Here is a preview of the SEC vs. Southern matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Georgia vs. Western Carolina Preview, Prediction
Georgia Preview
Through the first week of the season, the Bulldogs beat Bellarmine 104-59, Maryland-Eastern Shore 94-29 and Morehead State 120-81. They rose to their challenge in their first high-major test, beating rival Georgia Tech 92-87 before notching an 87-57 victory over Florida A&M. Georgia then took a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, where they beat Xavier by one and lost to Clemson in overtime. Following a 123-81 win against Tennessee Tech, the Bulldogs beat Florida State by 34 on the road and Cincinnati by 19.
Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal, is averaging 17.1 points per game. The 6-foot-1 lefty, who is also averaging 2.2 steals per game, is shooting 41.9% from deep over his last five games after posting a 26.7% clip across the previous five contests. His backcourt mate, junior Blue Cain, is averaging 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Marcus Millender is getting plenty of work off the bench with his 9.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In the frontcourt, BYU transfer Kanon Catchings and center Somto Cyril are averaging 18.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game between them.
The Bulldogs lead the country with 98.3 points per game, on top of ranking No. 1 in blocks, No. 5 in rebounds and No. 12 in steals. And although their 30.0% three-point percentage ranks No. 313 nationally, their 31.3 attempts per game rank No. 13.
In the updated KenPom ratings, Georgia ranks No. 24 overall. The Bulldogs’ offense continues to pace above their defense, coming in at No. 21 compared to the other end’s No. 36 ranking. Georgia runs one of the fastest tempos in the country, too, ranking No. 6 with 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes.
Western Carolina Preview
The Catamounts started the season with a pair of high-profile opponents, losing by 31 at Cincinnati and falling to No. 6 Duke on the road by 41. Western Carolina got back over .500 by pummeling Voorhees and besting Stetson and UNC Asheville at home. The moment they hit the road again, though, the Catamounts lost to Lipscomb and High Point by 21 and 20 points, respectively. After doubling up VU Lynchburg, Western Carolina lost by 11 at South Carolina Upstate and by 22 at Virginia Tech.
Senior forward Marcus Kell is the Catamounts’ leading scorer with 13.4 points per game. Gardner-Webb and East Carolina transfer Julien Soumaoro, who measures in at 5-foot-11, is the team’s next leading scorer at 13.0 points a night. Former Pepperdine transplant Cord Stansberry, meanwhile, is averaging 11.7 points per game. That trio averages a combined 12.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, on top of hoisting up 16.8 triples a night between them. Sophomore guard CJ Hyland just returned from injury and is averaging 9.6 points per game off the bench, while 7-foot starting center Adbulai Fanta Kabba is putting up 7.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his first season since transferring in from Denver.
Western Carolina ranks No. 260 in field goal percentage, No. 316 in three-point percentage and No. 258 in free throw percentage, but they do get up the 31st-most shots in the country. Their opponents rank top-30 in three-point percentage and rank top-50 in forcing turnovers.
The Catamounts rank No. 277 in the latest KenPom ratings, boasting the No. 277 opponent-adjusted offense and No. 247 opponent-adjusted defense in terms of efficiency.
Georgia vs. Western Carolina Pick, Best Bet
Since they rank top-60 in tempo themselves, the Catamounts will probably wind up trying to keep pace with the Bulldogs to some extent. Tennessee Tech was in the same bucket, and they ultimately hung 81 points on Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum. Of course, UGA also put up 123 points of their own that afternoon, so expect a lot of points in this Western Carolina game as well.
Western Carolina hasn’t won on the road, with their average margin of defeat standing at 24.3 points. That figure jumps to 31.3 just looking at high-major opponents. As for Georgia, their average margin of victory at home against lower-tier programs is 44.2 points. They are also averaging 105.6 points per game in those contests. The 33.5-point spread is so massive that it’s hard to feel great about the Bulldogs covering, even if the Catamounts are going to play right into their tendency to run up the score.
