SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap- Georgia 64, Furman 50

If this were a blog focused on the SEC, I would be talking about how quickly Georgia is improving. Their win tonight was far from a thing of beauty, but with three straight wins heading into the holiday, it's pretty clear that the Dawgs are doing good things. They shot nearly 49% from the floor, and held the Paladins to 32.7% shooting.

The Paladins outrebounded the Dawgs 29-22, including 12 offensive rebounds to just 3 for Georgia. They forced just nine turnovers, and committed 14. Furman played well in spurts, but was not able to sustain anything. They cut the lead to single digits several times in the second half, but were never able to come up with the run to put them over the top. The 12-4 run late in the game that pushed the lead to 64-45 was the final straw. Only Brandon Sebirumbi got into double digits with ten points.

The Paladins showed the ability to control the boards against Georgia, which is a very positive sign for Furman moving forward. Their offense is still lacking, as this team lacks someone who they can count on to score on a consistent basis. Until they find a consistent scoring threat, this team is likely to struggle offensively. Bryson Barnes, who appeared to be that in his first game back when he scored 26, scored just 5 points tonight, following up his ten point effort in his second game back. He now has 41 points in 3 games, or 13.7 points per game. However, since his opening outburst, he is averaging just 7.5 points per game.

Furman can be a contender in the SoCon South this year. They will need everything to break right for them though. After watching this game and comparing it to earlier games seen involving Wofford and Georgia Southern (not to mention College of Charleston and Davidson), I think they are probably the fifth best team in the South. They just don't have the weapons necessary to get to third in the South. But they play hard and they play good defense. They may be more of a threat in the SoCon Tournament because of their defense. Then again, a lot of times one hot scorer can carry a team in the SoCon Tournament, and it is hard to imagine Furman finding that guy this year. This is a good team that is capable, but is probably not quite where they need to be in order to be wearing the home whites on the first day of the SoCon Tournament as a higher seed.