Need for balance over 'zombie' mode increases for Georgia

ATHENS -- It sure seems Mark Fox is hoping his team wakes up soon.

In the midst of a funk, Georgia (10-6, 3-2 SEC) has gone through some confounding stretches. Two weeks ago at Mississippi, the Bulldogs went more than 10 minutes without a field goal and let a winnable game slip away.

Against Tennessee, Georgia trailed by nine before rallying in the second half to get the win. The Bulldogs were blown out by Texas A&M and needed to hold on to a late comeback attempt by Missouri on Wednesday. The Missouri game was the most significant, considering this is a team the Bulldogs defeated by 18 not too long ago.

But this time, on the road, Georgia let a 12-point lead turn into a three-point victory. Now, basketball isn't the same as football in that there is such a thing as bad wins. Georgia's victory over Missouri (8-10, 1-4) will count the same as the blowout win it got over the Tigers two weeks before. But the inability of being able to put away a team surfaced again, which is concerning at this stage of the season.

"You're going to have periods throughout the year where you're just kind of in the zombie mode," Fox told the SEC Network crew following Wednesday's win. "That's kind of where our team's been. We pleaded with them to just compete and to play hard."

Fox might have to reassert that plea when Georgia takes on Arkansas at home Saturday, which is the first game of what should be a grueling stretch that will test whether the Bulldogs are in fact able to make the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year.

Following the Arkansas game, Georgia travels to LSU, visits Baylor and hosts South Carolina. A loss to Arkansas would put significant pressure on Georgia to win all three of the following games. A win over the Razorbacks could give the Bulldogs some wiggle room.

For Georgia, the key to its success is finding and maintaining balance. Against Missouri, the frontcourt -- led by sophomore forward Yante Maten's 21 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks -- was able to guide Georgia to victory. While Houston Kessler scored only two points, he grabbed 10 rebounds, which helped give the Bulldogs a key 43-32 advantage in that area.

The better Georgia rebounds, the likelihood of winning increases. The Bulldogs are 9-0 in games in which they tied or won the rebounding battle.

While J.J. Frazier caught fire in the second half and posted 16 points, better shooting from the guards could have made this game less interesting and allowed Georgia to coast. Kenny Gaines scored 11 on 4-of-11 shooting. Charles Mann finished with five points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.

That's not to be too tough on the guards, who have been crucial to Georgia's 10 wins this year. Against Tennessee, Georgia went 12-of-19 from the 3-point line while Maten struggled to get going down low.

And that's the issue with this team. It needs a semblance of balance night in and night out, which can be tough when it is relying on the outside shot and only one proven scoring threat down low. Kessler, Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide have all been tremendous at times on defense and with rebounding. But the offense hasn't been there, which has put more pressure on Georgia's core four players of Maten, Gaines, Mann and Frazier.

If other players can soon step up and help shoulder the offensive load, especially if one of Georgia's top four scorers is experiencing an off night, then it could go a long way to what this team can accomplish in March.

Perhaps the Bulldogs will soon hit their stride, much like a year ago when they went on a five-game winning streak after starting conference play 0-2. If it happens in the next two weeks, the Bulldogs could wind up knocking off some big-name teams while improving their NCAA tournament chances.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Need for balance over 'zombie' mode increases for Georgia ."