AUBURN | The jersey may have Georgia on it, but the Bulldogs will have a new look on Wednesday night when Auburn travels to Athens.
Besides a new coach in Mike White, UGA has two newcomers – Terry Roberts and Justin Hill – currently in the top four Bulldogs in minutes and points per game.
"Mike has come in and done a really good job," Bruce Pearl said. "They've got an older, veteran team with a lot of transfers. They're playing pretty well right now."
Despite the plethora of incoming players this past offseason, the one constant that remains is Kario Oquendo. The 6-foot-4 guard gave the Tigers trouble last season, almost willing the Bulldogs to a major upset over No. 1 Auburn by scoring 25 points and recording four steals. Oquendo leads White's team with 14.3 points per game.
"He's having a good season," the coach said. "He's really turning it on right now. His last couple of games against Rider and Chattanooga, he was pretty unstoppable. There's a scouting report on him, but just because there's a scouting report, it doesn't mean you can stop him."
Roberts runs the show on the floor for the Bulldogs, currently ranking second in the SEC in assists (4.4) per game. He's part of a group that can give a team fits with their three-point shooting and ability to get the ball into the paint.
"They've got pieces," Pearl said. "They definitely do. They've got pieces. They've got a good inside-out attack."
The Auburn coach also admits that White has a history of having the upper hand in matchups between the two. While the two are familiar with each other's coaching, Pearl says you never get what you expect when facing a White-coached team.
"You can scout them and look at what they're doing against others, but then against us, oftentimes, they'll do something different than what they've been doing," he said. "Unique to us. And so sometimes it's — because not everybody plays like we do. It's hard to look at what other people are doing and then figure, 'Well, that's what they're gonna do.' The matchup obviously has been competitive."
Auburn and Georgia tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game airs on the SEC Network.