The Xavier Musketeers (3-2) and Georgia Bulldogs (5-0) are set to face off in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic on Friday, going head-to-head in Charleston, South Carolina. The Big East vs. SEC showdown will tip off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The Bulldogs are 10.5-point favorites in the matchup with -625 moneyline odds, and the total has been set at 165.5 points. Here is a preview of the non-conference showdown featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Xavier vs. Georgia Preview
Xavier Preview
The Musketeers opened the season with a pair of wins, but neither was particularly convincing. Xavier fended off Marist to the tune of a 66-62 victory before eking out a 74-69 win over Le Moyne. Santa Clara, which hasn’t been to an NCAA tournament in 30 years, proceeded to pummel Xavier 87-68 on its own home floor. The ensuing road contest against Iowa didn’t go any better, as the Hawkeyes won that one 81-62. A return to Cincinnati helped the Musketeers get back on track with a 99-69 win against Old Dominion in their latest result.
Florida Atlantic transfer Tre Carroll currently leads Xavier with 15 points per game. The 6-foot-7 forward is shooting 36.4% from distance and 81.3% on free throws, all while averaging 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists a night. Former UC San Diego and Boise State standout Roddie Anderson III ranks second on the team with 14.8 points per game, also shooting 36% from beyond the arc. In between his 29-point and 20-point showings against Santa Clara and Old Dominion, however, Anderson finished with just three points versus Iowa.
Coach Richard Pitino brought forwards Jovan Milicevic and Filip Borovicanin with him from New Mexico. The former is averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 37.5% from deep and 38.9% from two. The latter is averaging 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Valparaiso transfer All Wright is averaging 9.4 points per game on 52.6% 3-point shooting.
Xavier is No. 103 in the latest KenPom rankings, which is 10th-highest of the 11 Big East programs. The Musketeers boast the No. 120 offense and No. 95 defense in terms of adjusted efficiency.
Georgia Preview
Through the first week of action, the Bulldogs were one of the most dominant teams in the country. Georgia beat Bellarmine 104-59, then proceeded to put a historic 94-29 beatdown on Maryland-Eastern Shore. They followed that up with a 120-81 win over Morehead State, a 92-87 win over in-state rival Georgia Tech and an 87-57 win over Florida A&M. The Bulldogs played each of their first five games at home.
Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal, is averaging 15.6 points per game. He is hoisting 6.0 3-pointers per game but only hitting 26.7% of them, all while he shoots 60.7% on 2-pointers and 80.0% on free throws. The 6-foot-1 sophomore is also averaging 3.0 steals per game. As for his backcourt mate Blue Cain, he is averaging 15 points per game to open his third season with the Bulldogs. Cain is shooting 32.1% on 5.6 3-point attempts a night to go along with his 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game.
Another eight Bulldogs average at least 5.8 points per game. Nigerian big man Somto Cyril leads the team with 2.8 blocks per game, while Marcus Millender is averaging a team-high 4.4 assists per game off the bench. Cyril and BYU transfer Kanon Catchings are averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, trailing junior Dylan James and his 6.4 rebounds per game.
In the updated KenPom rankings, Georgia comes in at No. 33 overall. The Bulldogs have a well-balanced profile, ranking No. 33 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 38 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Georgia runs one of the fastest offenses in the country, too, ranking No. 13 with 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes. Part of that can be attributed to the 9.0 shots they block and 21.8 turnovers they force per game, both of which rank No. 2 in the country.
Xavier vs. Georgia Pick, Best Bet
For as dominant as Georgia has been this season, the Bulldogs’ only win against a high-major opponent came by five points at home. With Georgia Tech sitting just nine spots higher than Xavier in the KenPom rankings, banking on Georgia winning by 11 or more at a neutral site may not be advisable. Friday will mark their first trip out of Athens, after all.
Georgia Tech scored 87 points against Georgia, despite ranking No. 229 in adjusted offensive rating. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 67 points per game in their other four contests this season, all while ranking No. 76 in tempo. The Musketeers bring a very comparable profile to the table with 73.8 points per game and the 75th-fastest tempo in the country. Expect a similarly high-scoring matchup to the one Georgia had against Georgia Tech, which reached 179 points.
