Bulldogs welcome chance for top 20 test vs. Arizona State

Nicolas Claxton was 10 years old the last time Georgia hosted a top 20 nonconference opponent.

Claxton and the Bulldogs get a mid-December opportunity to gauge their progress under first-year coach Tom Crean on Saturday when Arizona State rolls into Stegeman Coliseum for a 6 p.m. game.

“I think it will be a great measuring stick for us coming out and playing a ranked opponent,” Claxton said. “Arizona State is a very balanced team and they do a lot of things well. We’re coming out ready to play and our fans will be behind us and we’ll feed off the energy.”

Arizona State (7-1) is ranked No. 20 with its only loss to current No. 7 Nevada 72-66 in Los Angeles on Dec. 7. This is the Sun Devils' first true road game.

Georgia (5-3) last played a top 20 nonconference opponent at home when it beat a No. 20 Georgia Tech team 73-66 on Jan. 5, 2010, in Mark Fox’s first season as coach.

Georgia says it has sold out five future home games this season, but tickets remain for Saturday’s game. Crean made a pitch for more fans to fill seats for this one when he was asked if it’s too early to think about getting quality wins in a building season.

“It’s important to get a sell-out crowd, that’s what’s really important, too, to help us energize” Crean said. “But no question we want a big win. If you beat Arizona State, you’re doing something because they’re good. They’re going to win a ton of games. They’re a ... frontrunner to win (the Pac-12), moving into it right there.”

The highest-profile game yet for Georgia under Crean will be shown on the SEC Network. It’s the first one televised this season since until now the Bulldogs games were only available through streaming services of the SEC Network and ESPN or on Stadium’s Facebook page.

Georgia’s most notable win based on the NCAA’s net ratings, the new metric which replaced the RPI, is No. 163 Texas Southern, 92-75, on Dec. 3.

The Bulldogs had a 12-day layoff since then.

“It’s the longest break I’ve been a part of I think personally,” said Crean, in his 19th year as a college head coach.

Georgia had a chance for a good road win despite travel issues before losing at Temple by four and fell hard in its final two games in a tournament in the Cayman Islands to then No. 20 Clemson by 15 and Georgia State by 24 on Nov. 20-21.

“We got smacked in the mouth by both of them, especially Georgia State,” Claxton said.

Crean said the team had “very good practices,” during the break for final exams. Claxton said one of the focuses has been on cutting down turnovers (nearly 17 per game).

“We’ve improved a lot,” guard Tyree Crump said. “I feel like we’re a better team than we were a month ago.”

Arizona State 6-foot-4 , 215-pound freshman guard Luguentz Dort is being projected as an NBA first-round draft pick next year. He averages 22 points and 6 rebounds per game.

“We’re going to see incredible pressure in this game,” Crean said. “Dort is as good an on-ball defender as a freshman I can remember. As far as a guy scoring those amount of points and creating all the havoc on the offensive end, he is that good at pressuring the ball defensively because of that length, size and strength.”

The Sun Devils rank seventh nationally in rebound margin at 12.5. Georgia isn’t far behind at 18th with 8.5.

“I most definitely think as a collective unit we’ll be able to hold our own on them,” Claxton said.

Crean praised the Sun Devils utilizing an assortment of “very skilled guys” that includes 6-foot-8 forward Zylan Cheatam, who averages 12.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

“They’re outstanding defensively because of their length,” he said. “We’ve got some length on our team certainly, but we can’t replicate that length in practice.”

Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, the former Duke star, told SunDevilSource, a 247 Sports website: “I don’t think we’re going to come close to overwhelming them from a size, athleticism standpoint.”