Georgia at Clemson, Friday 7:00pm ET
When Georgia travels to Clemson on Friday night, it will be a battle between two fringe NCAA Tournament teams led by under-the-radar seniors who figure to put up massive numbers as they look to carry their teams toward March.
The Bulldogs will be led by 5-foot-10 point guard J.J. Frazier who quietly averaged a ridiculous 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season. Frazier will get a hand from junior Yante Maten, a 6-foot-8 forward who poured in 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds as a sophomore, but Georgia has very little else in the way of significant help for their two stars.
Clemson, meanwhile, will rely on the heroics of senior Jaron Blossomgame. The 6-foot-7 forward broke out as a junior by averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in a high usage role. What stuck out about Blossomgame’s junior campaign was his massively improved three-point percentage, raising it from 28.8 as a sophomore to 44.1 percent last season. The 23-year-old is a potential first rounder in next June’s NBA Draft and his offensive versatility is a big reason why. The Tigers will naturally have an advantage with this one being played at Littlejohn Coliseum, but expect Georgia to put up a significant fight.