Rush The Court

Game #21.  RTC Live travels to the banks of the Mighty Mississippi for an interesting intersectional clash between the A-10 and the SEC.

During the first three years of the Rick Majerus era, Saint Louis has hosted just two major-conference opponents at Chaifetz Arena. Tonight, the Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC become the third.  After showing signs of improvement during coach Mark Fox’s first season in 2009-10, Georgia enters the year as America’s favorite sleeper in the SEC thanks to the decision of juniors Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie to pass on the NBA. The Bulldogs’ season already hit a roadblock, though, when Thompkins suffered a high ankle sprain last month. It’s still unclear when he’ll return, and without him, UGa survived a 72-70 nail-biter over Mississippi Valley State in the season opener before earning a solid home win against Colorado Tuesday night.  Georgia’s personnel issues with the Thompkins’ injury is minor compared to what Majerus dealt with this off-season. An impending sexual assault case involving point guard Kwamain Mitchell and center Willie Reed has left them suspended. Reed won’t return to Saint Louis and is rumored to enroll at Kansas State for the second semester, while Mitchell wants to return to SLU after winter break. Without their two leading scorers, the Billikens dropped their opener to Austin Peay at home before rolling D-II Rockhurst.  We’ll be watching the battle in the frontcourt tonight. Emerging sophomore Cody Ellis and highly touted freshman Rob Loe are versatile scorers for SLU, but can they match Georgia’s bulk defensively and score in the post against a beefy front line? The Billikens may also have issues defending Leslie—but then again, he’s a match-up nightmare for everybody.  SLU plays four freshmen extensively and still relies on a ton of youth. Without Mitchell and Reed, there’s no playmaker to take the reins offensively. Even without Thompkins, Georgia’s the favorite tonight thanks to its clear advantage in size, athleticism and experience.