Saturday, March 7th, 2:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) -- Athens, Georgia. Television: None. Home Record: South Carolina 16-2, Georgia 10-7. Away Record: South Carolina 4-6, Georgia 1-9. Neutral Record: South Carolina 0-0, Georgia 1-2. Conference Record: South Carolina 9-6, Georgia 3-12. Series Record: Georgia leads, 46-45.

GAME NOTES: The South Carolina Gamecocks are fresh off a bitterly disappointing defeat, and they will close out the regular season with an SEC clash against Georgia. South Carolina had a chance to earn a share of the SEC East Division title on Thursday, as it played host to Tennessee. Unfortunately, that game wasn't even close, as the Vols earned an 86-70 victory in Columbia. The Gamecocks have now been beaten decisively in back-to- back games and have put their NCAA Tournament prospects in jeopardy. No one expected Georgia to beat Kentucky in Lexington on Wednesday, but that's exactly what happened, as the Bulldogs emerged with a 90-85 triumph. They are still just 12-18 overall and 3-12 in SEC action, but all three league wins have come in the last six outings. Clearly, the team is playing with a confidence that was absent through the first nine conference games. South Carolina recorded a 79-68 victory over Georgia on February 7th, cutting the Bulldogs' lead in the all-time series to 46-45.

The strength of the South Carolina team is its guard play, as Devan Downey and Zam Fredrick form one of the top backcourt duos in the SEC. Downey is an explosive performer who is racking up 20.1 ppg to go along with 125 assists and 85 steals. As for Fredrick, he checks in with 15.5 ppg. Domonique Archie brings 11.3 ppg to the floor for the Gamecocks, and Mike Holmes (10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg) rounds out a solid foursome. Because of the loss to Tennessee on Thursday, South Carolina now needs a win over Georgia today and a Vols' loss to Alabama to claim a share of the division crown. Poor defense led to the setback two days ago, as the Gamecocks permitted Tennessee to connect on 54.7 percent of its field goal attempts. A 44-22 rebounding deficit clearly hurt the cause as well. Downey and Fredrick tallied 16 points apiece in the loss, while Holmes and Brandis Raley-Ross contributed 10 points each.

Terrance Woodbury was sensational for Georgia in the victory over Kentucky on Wednesday, as he hit all four of his three-point attempts and finished with 30 points. Trey Thompkins posted 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Dustin Ware contributed 18 points. The Bulldogs, who shot 11-of-16 from behind the arc, got 13 points from Corey Butler as well. They overcame 19 turnovers with the help of a 25-of-30 effort from the foul line and a 38-27 rebounding advantage. Woodbury is scoring 14.2 ppg this season, and he gets plenty of help from Thompkins, who is netting 12.8 ppg. Considering the fact that there is no other player on the roster netting more than 7.4 ppg, Woodbury and Thompkins must be productive offensively to give the team a chance at victory today.

Expect South Carolina to bounce back strong with a win today. The duo of Downey and Fredrick will outplay Woodbury and Thompkins.

Predicted Outcome

South Carolina 75, Georgia 67