The University of Georgia men’s basketball team will play its first exibition game on Thursday when it plays host to Augusta State at 7 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.

Fans will be admitted free to the game and can also tune into the free audio and video streams of the game by visitng www.georgiadogs.com/allaccess.

So far this season the Bulldogs have staged a few controlled inter-team scrimmages, as well as a session with Clemson that was closed to the public five days ago.

Though Thursday’s exhibtion will not count in the win/loss ledger, it will nonetheless be a welcome change, according to Georgia coach Mark Fox.

“I think we’re all excited about playing somebody else, about putting on the uniform and getting back into game-type situations,” Fox said. “We’ve worked hard these past three weeks and are anxious to play a game.”

The Bulldogs will face Augusta State without the services of All-Southeastern Conference forward Trey Thompkins, whose sprained right ankle will keep him out of action for an undetermined period of time.

Thompkins, a junior from Lithonia, is Georgia’s top returning scorer and rebounder from last season and has already received a pre-season All-America mention.

“It’s a pretty severe sprain,” Fox said. “He will definitely not play on Thursday and I’d say the chances of him playing in the opener are slim. Trey’s got a very bright future, and we won’t bring him back until his body is ready.”

The Bulldogs will tip off their 2010-11 regular season when they play host to Mississippi Valley State at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12.