Washington vs Georgia | Prediction & Pick

Huskies and Bulldogs meet on Tobacco Road with something to prove

Of all the teams that were selected to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the candidacies of the Georgia Bulldogs and Washington Huskies were considered by many to be sketchy at best. That’s the backdrop for this second round contest on Friday in Charlotte.

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#7 Washington (23-10, 11-7 Pac-10) vs. #10 Georgia (21-11, 9-7 SEC)

Date/Time: Friday, March 18, 9:45 PM ET
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.
Broadcast: CBS

Money Line: Georgia +200, Washington -240
Spread: Washington -5 ½
Over/Under: 139 ½

The Huskies reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, and this appearance will mark their seven trip to March Madness since 2004. Washington was considered by many to be a bubble team down the stretch of the season, because they were too inconsistent in the Pac-10 Conference.

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They did post a sweep of UCLA in conference play, and splits with Arizona and USC, but the Huskies did not earn a victory outside the Pac-10 against any tournament team. However, the Huskies secured an automatic berth into the tournament by winning the conference tournament last week in Los Angeles.

Perhaps more puzzling was the candidacy put forth by Georgia. The Bulldogs had the eighth-worst ranking in the RPI (47) of those gaining an at-large bid in the tournament. Georgia is in the tournament for the first time since 2008, and for just the fourth time since the turn of the millennium.

Sure the Bulldogs won 21 games this season, but their victory in December of UAB was the only non-conference quality victory they had. So both teams feel like they hearing it from the haters this week and will each have something to prove in this contest.

Washington will want to make this game into a track meet. The Huskies finished third in the country in scoring, averaging 83.5 points per contest. They also finished in the top 12 in the country in rebounds per contest (39.3, 12th overall), and assists per game (17.2, 8th overall). Isaiah Thomas (no relation to the former Indiana University star from 1981) led the Huskies with 16.8 points per game, and beat Arizona in overtime to win their semifinal game in the Pac-10 tournament. Georgia does have their best player healthy in Trey Thompkins. He missed three games early in the season, but went on to lead the Bulldogs in points (16.1 PPG) and rebounds (7.5 RPG).

The odds makers have the Washington Huskies as a -5.5 point favorite with an over/under of 139.5.

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Predictions: Sometimes hearing 4-5 days of people doubting your credentials can work as a motivating tool, and we think it will for Georgia in a close game.

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Washington Huskies Betting Trends:

• Washington is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
• Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington’s last 6 games