Georgia hits the road for the first time of this young season when it plays Loyola of Chicago in the first round of the NIT Season Tipoff on Monday night.
What: Loyola of Chicago (0-1) vs. Georgia (1-0)
Where: West Lafayette, Ind.
When: 9:30 p.m., Monday
TV: None
The Bulldogs are seeded sixth out of the field of 16 teams while Loyola is the 10th seed. Whoever wins this contest will face the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Purdue and No. 14 Eastern Michigan.
This is Georgia’s third all-time appearance in what was once called the Pre-Season NIT, with all three times coming in 10-year intervals: 1988-1998-2008.
Each of the first two appearances featured first-round wins at home, followed by losses at North Carolina in the second round.
It’s a good thing Georgia has its most plentiful roster in years. The Bulldogs have needed every healthy body in preparing for the 2009 season.
Four players have missed measurable practice time because of various injuries.
Freshman guard Ebuka Anyaorah, in fact, will miss the entire season after undergoing surgery to mend a stress fracture in his left leg. Others who have missed time include fellow rookie Trey Thompkins, who has scarcely practiced because of multiple injuries, most recently an ankle sprain; senior Terrance Woodbury (ankle); and junior Albert Jackson, who sprained ligaments in his left ankle in the Albany State game.
Monday’s game marks just the second time these two schools have ever met in basketball. Georgia won the first meeting on Dec. 13, 1986, by an 81-69 score. The game was played as part of the Cotton States Classic tournament at the old Omni arena in Atlanta.
Bulldog teams, in fact, have only a minimal history against the current membership of the Horizon League.
The Georgia squad of 2002 played the only other Horizon opponent when it hosted Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then coached by Bruce Pearl, and defeated the Panthers 89-69.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Loyola of Chicago (0-1)
G 22 Marcus Thomas (6-2, 190) 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
G 24 Justin Cerasoli (6-5, 190) 6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
G 25 J.R. Blount (6-1, 180) 42.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F 33 Ross Forman (6-8, 210) 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F 55 Darrin Williams (6-8, 220) 10.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Georgia (1-0)
G 3 Zac Swansey (6-1, 175) 11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg
G 23 Corey Butler (6-3, 195) 9.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
C 50 Jeremy Price (6-8, 270) 7.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
F 30 Terrance Woodbury (6-7, 220) 10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F 34 Albert Jackson (6-11, 265) 0.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
