The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Sports

Terrance Woodbury leads the Bulldogs against Mississippi State today in the SEC Tournament. [Click to enlarge]

TAMPA - The Georgia men's basketball team's season has been classified as disappointing, underachieving and at times embarrassing.

Georgia enters the SEC Tournament 12-19, having won only three of the 18 games played since Jan. 3.

But the label defending SEC Tournament Champions persists. And those three victories have come in the last seven games.

"We talked about the SEC Tournament after our game with South Carolina," Georgia interim coach Pete Herrmann. "And we wanted to come to Tampa and handle ourselves as the defending champions. We're very proud of that, very concerned that we come down with confidence as the defending champions in the league tournament."

Georgia takes on Mississippi State Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Georgia lost 67-61 in the lone regular season meeting between the two as Mississippi State got off to a torrid start, stroking 4-of-6 from 3-point line en route to a 30-11 lead.

Georgia didn't pack it in, as freshman Dustin Ware and junior Ricky McPhee combined for 29 points in a comeback effort that fell short.

"Last game, No. 2, Laverne Johnson, he got off to a great start," said Georgia senior Corey Butler. "We shut him down in the second half. But it's just a matter of coming out ready to play. We got off to a lot of bad starts this year in a couple of games. It's just a matter of being there in the beginning of the game, and we'll definitely be there in the end."

Mississippi State finished first in the SEC in 3-pointers made, shooting 36 percent. State hit nine 3-pointers against Georgia.

"It wasn't like a big surprise," Herrmann said. "We knew going into the game everyone was shooting it great, as the whole team shoots it great. [Mississippi State coach] Rick [Stansbury's] team had two games of making 14 threes, and one game of making 16 threes. So they're very confident shooters."

Georgia's offensive blueprint for success has been sketched with fast starts, triggered by senior Terrance Woodbury. In Georgia's three wins in the SEC, the 6-foot-7 Virginia native has averaged 22 points while shooting 73 percent from the 3-point line.

Mississippi State's defense is headlined by two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Varnado, who averaged nearly five blocks a game this year.

Varnado plays a role in a Mississippi rotation that causes mismatches. State employs a starting line-up which features four guards and Varnado as the lone presence in the paint.

"We've got to make sure we locate them, find them, don't let them get going in transition to begin with," Herrmann said. "That's where [Johnson's] really best. And don't disrespect his range. It's from the sideline in. It's very deep, as is [Phil] Turner's and [Barry] Stewart's, and they can shoot that ball. With the creation ability of Dee Bost, this is a very dangerous team."

The winner play South Carolina Friday at 3:15 p.m.

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