No. 21 Georgia’s Nation-Leading Strength Comes with Caveat as It Hosts No. 17 Arkansas 

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No. 21 Georgia’s Nation-Leading Strength Comes with Caveat as It Hosts No. 17 Arkansas 
Photo Credit: Craven Whitlow / Georgia Athletics
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This past Saturday, Arkansas sleepwalked into a road game and got blown out by Auburn.

The No. 17 Razorbacks cannot afford a similarly sluggish start against No. 21 Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs boast the highest-scoring offense in the nation at 96.4 points per game. The Hogs rank 14th at 90.5 points per contest, suggesting there may be a track meet on hand in Athens. Five SEC teams are averaging over 90 points, while no other high-major conference even has multiple such squads.

Georgia enters this contest with a 14-3 record and a 2-2 mark in SEC play. The Bulldogs outlasted Auburn in a 104-100 shootout and narrowly defeated the same South Carolina team Arkansas dismantled Wednesday. They lost on the road to Florida and are coming off a close home loss to Mississippi.

While Georgia’s offense is outscoring the rest of the pack, it hasn’t been quite as efficient. The Bulldogs rank 23rd in KenPom offensive efficiency, which measures points per 100 possessions adjusted for opponents. Arkansas (No. 7) is one of six SEC teams ahead of Georgia in that category.

The Hogs like to run in transition, but the Bulldogs play at a truly breakneck pace. Georgia is third in KenPom’s adjusted tempo rankings, while Arkansas ranks 24th. The Bulldogs rank 66th nationally in team field goal percentage (47.9%) while Arkansas is 33rd (49.2%).

Second-year head coach Mike White has a similar offensive formula to Calipari, focusing on attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. In fact, the Bulldogs make more free throws per game (21.8) than any other team in the country. Georgia and Arkansas both make nine three-pointers per game, while other elite offenses like Alabama and Texas A&M are close to a dozen.

While it doesn’t entirely discredit Georgia’s offensive success, it must be noted that the Bulldogs’ non-conference strength of schedule ranks a woeful 343rd out of 365 teams. White’s squad beat Georgia Tech, Xavier, Florida State and Cincinnati in non-conference play with a loss to Clemson. 

Even Vanderbilt, whose legitimacy as a contender was scrutinized for not being battle-tested, ranked 133rd in that metric. Arkansas will be the first ranked team UGA has faced this season. To truly live up to that moniker, however, the Hogs must improve their defensive performance.

Arkansas came out on top against top-25 offenses in Texas Tech and Louisville, but struggled to contain Houston, Auburn and Duke. Michigan State is the only team to beat the Hogs without scoring 80-plus points.

Authors

  • Michael Main is a Fayetteville native who, like both of his older brothers, attended the University of Arkansas. Main graduated in 2025 with a double major in journalism and political science and a minor in legal studies. He spent his childhood following the Razorbacks closely and attending as many games as possible, witnessing iconic moments like the Michael Qualls put-back dunk, the Henry Heave and a number of field stormings. Main was a member of the Razorback Marching Band and Hogwild Pep Band, attending every home football and basketball game while he was a student and traveling to San Francisco, Providence, Tampa and elsewhere for postseason play. After freelancing for BoAS for a year and a half, the 22-year-old made the transition to a full-time role as senior writer following his graduation. In his free time, Main is likely spending time outdoors, enjoying the company of friends or feeding his obsession with Liverpool FC and European football as a whole.

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