Georgia Looks Lost at Auburn in Blowout Loss

Georgia shouldn’t lose to Auburn like it did on Saturday. 

Is this an end-of-the-world scenario? No, but there are a slew of things to clean up after the Bulldogs’ huge three-game stretch that ended with only one win. 

It was obvious today that Georgia was a young team with not a ton of experience. There’s a big difference in playing a road game, and playing a conference road game. The crowd is typical the biggest difference, but UGA knocked off top-ten Memphis seven days ago on the road. 

The other big thing about conference ball is that no one is super impressed by anyone else. You can lose a league game whenever because there’s so much familiarity and scouting that goes on.

Georgia was frustrated Saturday. The Dawgs come out quick - jumping to a seven-point lead eight minutes into the first half. But Auburn went on a 30-12 run to take firm hold of the game by the half. No. 5 Auburn went on to win 82-60.

Why?

Anthony Edwards struggled in the first half. He made two buckets close to the basket, but didn’t hit his other four jumpers. He missed seven free throws in the game. I wonder if that will happen again the rest of his life. 

Edwards is the straw that stirs the drink that is Georgia. I write about him so much because he’s that important. The other players in the program matter a ton - guys like Rayshaun Hammonds and Sahvir Wheelr have shown what they can do this year. 

But if Edwards isn’t going there’s something missing. He is Atlas for these Dawgs. Georgia has to have him, or the world just isn’t right. And that goes for all facets of the game. Edwards has the ability to be the best scorer and defender on the floor when he’s out there. 

That doesn’t happen as often as it should. 

That’s a part of growing up and understanding your body and position on the team. January is probably going to be the most up-and-down part of this team’s season, but we’ve seen UGA jostle back and forth a few times this year already. Edwards is the key to nulling out the madness. 

The Atlanta native has a lot on him - expectations are through the roof. But that’s part of all of this, too. There’s never an expectation that Georgia lose by 20 or more in basketball, but that’s happened twice this season now. UGA still doesn’t have a head-scratching loss.

The good news is that UGA now returns home to take on the Vols. Needless to say, Georgia needs to get a win here soon. There’s no question that the start of this new year has been rough. I’m not sure who has played three ranked teams in a row in the country, but Georgia just did. 

The trip to Auburn might be the toughest game Georgia plays this season. After all, the Tigers haven’t lost this year, and are knocking on the door of being the No. 1 team in the country. That’s where the SEC is now: Auburn looks like it could be the best team in the nation. 

Auburn. 

That’s where Georgia can be, and in not too many years. But in the meantime Tom Crean will have to get his team right before they deal with the Vols.