Alabama preparing as if Georgia will have star guard J.J. Frazier in Saturday's matchup
Anthony Grant has moved on from Tuesday's emotional win at Auburn, choosing not to talk about the high points and focus on what lies ahead.
With good reason - the Crimson Tide don't know if they'll see Georgia star guard J.J. Frazier in Saturday's 7 p.m. CT game between the schools at Coleman Coliseum.
Frazier, a 5-foot-10, 150-pound sophomore guard, is scoring 10.3 points per game with 3.3 assists per game. He's dealing with a concussion and fractures to his hand and face that leave him questionable for Saturday's game.
"Obviously he's a very important part of their team," Grant said Friday. "You look at their team, they have all starters average double figures and he's been one of those guys. He's a key part for what they do. We're going to prepare as if he's playing, but we don't know his status right now."
Georgia head coach Mark Fox told reporters, "we'll see" on Frazier's status. Juwan Parker, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard scoring 5.5 points per game, is still likely out with a left Achilles injury.
Georgia has all five starters, including Frazier if he's healthy, scoring in double figures. Alabama was a finalist for 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward Marcus Thornton in the class of 2011, but he signed with Georgia. He leads the Bulldogs with 12.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Georgia has lost two straight, and the losses were surprising home games to Auburn and South Carolina. Frazier did not play against South Carolina. The Bulldogs (16-9, 7-6 SEC) were in several mock NCAA Tournament brackets, but are clearly on the bubble.
Alabama (16-10, 6-7) is trying to get its way back on the bubble. That will be tough against a veteran Georgia team that, if Frazier can't play, still would start two seniors and three juniors.
"You look at it, they're taking almost 100 more free throws than their opponent and they've made more free throws than their opponent have taken," Grant said. "That will be a huge emphasis for us, defending without fouling. If you go back to the game we played them last year, that was a big part of the game, the free throw line.
"I think our guys understand that from the defensive standpoint we've got to be at our best and also Georgia's a team, they make it difficult on you the way they defend. They've got good physicality and good size as well. We've got to be very good from an offensive standpoint."
Alabama will be without starting point guard Ricky Tarrant for the seventh game due to a lower leg injury. Retin Obasohan scored a season-high 16 in the win over Auburn.
"We're just trying to do the things that coach asks us to do," Alabama leading scorer Levi Randolph said. "We're trying to stay consistent. We have a lot of great players on this team so we trust in everybody and we're trying to play together."
Anthony Grant has moved on from Tuesday's emotional win at Auburn, choosing not to talk about the high points and focus on what lies ahead.
With good reason - the Crimson Tide don't know if they'll see Georgia star guard J.J. Frazier in Saturday's 7 p.m. CT game between the schools at Coleman Coliseum.
Frazier, a 5-foot-10, 150-pound sophomore guard, is scoring 10.3 points per game with 3.3 assists per game. He's dealing with a concussion and fractures to his hand and face that leave him questionable for Saturday's game.
"Obviously he's a very important part of their team," Grant said Friday. "You look at their team, they have all starters average double figures and he's been one of those guys. He's a key part for what they do. We're going to prepare as if he's playing, but we don't know his status right now."
Georgia head coach Mark Fox told reporters, "we'll see" on Frazier's status. Juwan Parker, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard scoring 5.5 points per game, is still likely out with a left Achilles injury.
Georgia has all five starters, including Frazier if he's healthy, scoring in double figures. Alabama was a finalist for 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward Marcus Thornton in the class of 2011, but he signed with Georgia. He leads the Bulldogs with 12.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Georgia has lost two straight, and the losses were surprising home games to Auburn and South Carolina. Frazier did not play against South Carolina. The Bulldogs (16-9, 7-6 SEC) were in several mock NCAA Tournament brackets, but are clearly on the bubble.
Alabama (16-10, 6-7) is trying to get its way back on the bubble. That will be tough against a veteran Georgia team that, if Frazier can't play, still would start two seniors and three juniors.
"You look at it, they're taking almost 100 more free throws than their opponent and they've made more free throws than their opponent have taken," Grant said. "That will be a huge emphasis for us, defending without fouling. If you go back to the game we played them last year, that was a big part of the game, the free throw line.
"I think our guys understand that from the defensive standpoint we've got to be at our best and also Georgia's a team, they make it difficult on you the way they defend. They've got good physicality and good size as well. We've got to be very good from an offensive standpoint."
Alabama will be without starting point guard Ricky Tarrant for the seventh game due to a lower leg injury. Retin Obasohan scored a season-high 16 in the win over Auburn.
"We're just trying to do the things that coach asks us to do," Alabama leading scorer Levi Randolph said. "We're trying to stay consistent. We have a lot of great players on this team so we trust in everybody and we're trying to play together."
