Category: Hoops

Georgia basketball falls to Kentucky at home

The Kentucky Wildcats overcame a six point halftime deficit to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens by a score of 78-69 this Tuesday night.

Kentucky pulled away late Tuesday night to beat Tom Crean’s Georgia Bulldogs at home by a score of 78 – 69.

What may have seemed like an easy conference victory for the Wildcats, the final score doesn’t quite represent the type of game the Dawgs put up.

Georgia finished out the first half leading Kentucky by a score of 37 – 31, led by no other than freshman guard and future NBA lottery pick, Anthony Edwards.  Edwards, the Atlanta native finished the contest with a game high 23 points on 8/17 shooting as well as 3/9 from three-point range.  Joining Edwards in the double digit category was Jordan Harris, who finished the night with 10 points, helping to electrify the sellout crowd in Athens.  Edwards also tacked on 5 rebounds and 2 assists, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat John Calipari’s disciplined squad.

Kentucky featured a much more balanced offense, with four players scoring in double digits.  Kentucky spread the floor very nicely and were able to get good spacing for high quality shots.

Leading the Wildcat charge were freshman guard Tyrese Maxey and junior forward Nick Richards.  Maxey finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 blocks while Richards had 17 of his own, going along with 7 rebounds.

Kentucky struggled rebounding the ball in the first half as well as shooting free throws, but the Dawgs poor three-point shooting helped the Wildcats stay in the game.  Georgia led by as many as nine points in the first half but just couldn’t hang on late in the 2nd.

Immanuel Quickley hit a three-pointer with 8:09 left in the game to give Kentucky their first lead of the 2nd half.  The game remained close until Quickely hit another dagger three with only 3:59 remaining, giving Kentucky a 66 – 61 lead that eventually snowballed into a Wildcat victory and an agonizing defeat for the Bulldogs.

“I feel like we just didn’t play with toughness in the second half,” Edwards said postgame. “I played bad defense. We all played bad defense.”

Coming off a big upset victory over Memphis, this win would’ve given the Dawgs major brownie points in NCAA Tournament talks.  It was a hard fought game until the last minute and shows Georgia can hoop with anyone this season.

Preview: Georgia basketball takes on Kentucky at home

The Dawgs have another tough test Tuesday at home against Kentucky

On Tuesday, the Georgia Bulldogs will begin their SEC schedule with a bang as they take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Athens.

The Dawgs will be coming off the biggest win of Tom Crean’s tenure thus far on Saturday as they went into the Fedex Forum and stunned the ninth-ranked Memphis Tigers on the road. Although it wasn’t his most efficient game, Anthony Edwards still got timely baskets and made big plays en route to the victory.

The fourteenth-ranked Wildcats are coming off of a comfortable home win over Missouri in their first SEC game of the season. They are led in scoring by guard Tyrese Maxey at 13.8 points per game. Tuesday night will be their first road game of the season.

The Dawgs should be riding high after their huge win on Saturday, but will need to play just as well if not better if they are going to get their second straight win over a ranked opponent. Georgia has not beaten Kentucky in several years, despite playing the Wildcats tough on numerous occasions.

We have seen how close the Bulldogs can play Kentucky of late, but finishing the job is a whole different story. 2015 or 2017 bring back any memories? How about those SEC Tournament games?

We’ll talk more on that later before the ball tips in Athens.

Upset complete: Georgia basketball knocks off #11 Memphis

Behind a balanced offensive performance, Tom Crean’s squad outlasted a red-hot Memphis team 65-62 in an early season classic.

Georgia’s men’s basketball team marched into Memphis to face a Tigers team in the middle of a ten-game winning streak. Correction: at the end of a ten-game winning streak.

Behind a balanced offensive performance featuring four Bulldogs scoring double-digit figures, Tom Crean’s squad outlasted a red-hot Memphis 65-62 in an early season classic. The game featured over twenty lead changes and no team ever led by more than eight points.

Junior Rayshaun Hammonds led the way for the Dawgs, scoring 15 and securing 12 rebounds.

Freshman star Anthony Edwards had a less-than-memorable afternoon, shooting 4-17 from the field, but found some rhythm at a crucial time. Seven of his thirteen points were scored during a run that brought Georgia back from being down 39-47 to being up 51-48 across a span of three minutes and ten seconds.

Graduate transfer Donnell Gresham, Jr. posted 12 points and freshman spark plug Sahvir Wheeler racked up 10 off the bench.

Georgia improves to 10-3 on the season and has won four straight. The Dawgs’ next game takes place on Tuesday night, when they welcome the #14 Kentucky Wildcats to Stegeman Coliseum.

The broadcast begins on ESPN at 9:00 p.m. EST.

UGA basketball lands prime-time game versus Kentucky

Georgia Bulldogs versus Kentucky Wildcats basketball tip-off, TV. Anthony Edwards and UGA host the 17th ranked Wildcats.

The Georgia Bulldogs basketball team will be playing the Kentucky Wildcats in prime-time in their second game of 2020. Anthony Edwards is a likely culprit for the Dawgs getting more prime-time attention.

Tom Crean and the Bulldogs are 9-3 to start the season including 8-0 at home. Georgia faces a tough two game stretch to tip off 2020: they travel to 9th rated Memphis and then 17th rated Kentucky comes to Stegeman Coliseum. Will Georgia be able to continue their perfect home stretch?

The Kentucky game will tip-off at 9:00 P.M. and will be aired on ESPN:

It’s an important for the Dawgs to win one of these two games. With UGA currently 70th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the Bulldogs need a quality win to pad their NCAA Tournament resume.

Georgia additionally must aim for a winning record in conference play. With a 10-8 or better SEC record, the Bulldogs would have better tournament hopes. Last season, Florida and Ole Miss made the NCAA Tournament after going 9-9 and 10-8 in conference play respectively.

This week should help Dawg fans ease the pain of the end of football season. Let’s enjoy Anthony Edwards while he’s here!

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UGA basketball bulldozes Austin Peay 78-48

The Georgia Bulldogs got a big home win Monday night.

The Georgia Bulldogs basketball team got a much-needed home win on Monday night against Austin Peay.

The game was relatively close at the half, as both teams came out of the gates slow in the first half and the Dawgs led 31-26 after 20 minutes.

However, after the break, things picked up dramatically for UGA as they would outscore Austin Peay by 25 points in the second half en route to a final score of 78-48.

The Dawgs were once again led in scoring by Rayshawn Hammonds, who logged 17 points on 8/12 shooting. UGA also shot an impressive 38% from three-point range, a key factor in the victory.

The Dawgs now set their sights on a tough road test Saturday against the ninth-ranked Memphis Tigers.

 

Georgia basketball hosts Austin Peay in Athens

UGA basketball hosts Austin Peay in final non-conference home game of season

The Georgia men’s basketball team will play host to Austin Peay Monday night in Athens, before traveling to Memphis on Saturday. At 8-3, the Bulldogs are on the outside looking in for March right now, but still in position to slip into the dance.

In order to make its first NCAA Tournament since 2015, Georgia will have to beat the Governors at home on Monday and hover just above .500 in conference play this winter. Then, the Dawgs will likely need a pair of wins in Nashville for the SEC Tournament, especially with the conference having a down year outside of Auburn.

Heading into tonight’s contest, the Bulldogs are -12.5 point favorites per ESPN for their 7:00 tip and looking to extend a perfect 7-0 record at home. Meanwhile, Austin Peay comes into the game with a 6-6 record, 0-5 on the road for the season. According to ESPN’s BPI, the Bulldogs have an 82.1% chance to win on Monday, with all stats pointing in the home team’s favor.

Freshman guard Anthony Edwards leads Georgia in scoring with 19.7 PPG, while Terry Taylor averages 23.5 for the Governors. The Bulldogs are currently averaging 82.5 points per game, as opposed to Austin Peay’s 78, but give up 76.3 in relation to the Governor’s 75.3

For those not attending the game at Stegeman Coliseum, you can watch on ESPN+ or listen to GeorgiaDogs.com

Let’s finish out the home non-conference slate with a bang. Go Dawgs!

Georgia basketball secures win over Georgia Southern

A trio of freshmen helped propel the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team to a home victory over Georgia Southern this Monday night.

The Georgia Bulldogs outlasted a scrappy Georgia Southern team Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum by a final score of 73-64.

The Dawgs were led to victory by a duo of freshmen.  Freshman forward Toumani Camara shot a perfect 8/8 for 16 points and tacked on 7 rebounds and an assist to top it off.  Going with that was Anthony Edwards’ 23 points on 50% shooting, as well as 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

The 16 points out of Camara were his collegiate career high and Edwards remains the #1 freshman scorer in the country with his 23 piece.

Georgia Southern put up a fight for the entirety of the game.  Their zone defense was working until Edwards closed it out with a few big buckets late down the stretch in the 2nd half.  Georgia Southern’s Ike Smith led all players with 25 points on the night.

With Georgia down 60-59 and under 4:30 left in the game, Edwards had a consecutive assist, dunk, layup, dunk and dunk without Georgia Southern scoring to give the Dawgs a 69-60 lead and close out the game.

Here are two of his dunks from that clutch 2:30 stretch:

Edwards has been special all year, living up to the hype that has been surrounding him.  Right now he is a projected top-5 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

UGA head coach Tom Crean credited freshman guard Sahvir Wheeler and Toumani Camara on their defensive effort in the game.  “We won the game because of what we did on defense.  Sahvir and Toumani didn’t come out of the game at all in the second half, two freshmen just rallied it up in a big way, we earned these two victories.” said Crean in a postgame interview.

The Bulldogs advanced to 8-3 on the season with the win and will face Austin Peay at home next on December 30th.

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Recap: UGA outlasts SMU in overtime

The Georgia Bulldogs basketball team got a win Friday.

It was a wild win on Friday night for the Georgia Bulldogs over the previously 8-1 SMU Mustangs.

After a back-and-forth battle all night between the two teams, the game fittingly went into a first overtime period, where the teams traded highlight plays.

With the Dawgs down two, freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler made a clutch layup to tie the game and force a second extra period.

With just seconds remaining in that overtime, Wheeler once again found a hole in the SMU defense and maneuvered to the rim for what would be the game-winning layup.

All in all, this was an impressive win for the Dawgs against an SMU team who many project to be in the NCAA tournament in March. Georgia was led in scoring by Rayshaun Hammonds with 21.

The Dawgs now set their sights on the Georgia Southern Eagles for a contest Monday night.

ICYMI: Georgia basketball’s Sahvir Wheeler makes last second layup

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the SMU Mustangs in double overtime yesterday. UGA won 87-85 thanks to Sahvir Wheeler’s game-winning layup.

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the SMU Mustangs in double overtime yesterday in Athens. UGA won 87-85 thanks to Sahvir Wheeler’s game-winning layup:

Georgia is now 7-3 on the season, while SMU fell to 8-2. This basket has big implications for Georgia’s NCAA tournament hopes.

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UGA basketball steamrolled by ASU, 79-59

It was a disappointing effort from the Dawgs in the desert.

On Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs basketball team took on the Arizona State Sun Devils in their first true road game of the season and will leave the desert with a 79-59 loss.

It was a frustrating game all around for the Dawgs, as they only shot 35% percent from the field and made just two of their 24 three-point attempts. Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards was unable to get it clicking offensively, scoring 13 points in one of his lowest scoring outputs thus far.

Defensively, the Dawgs struggled to contain the Sun Devils, who shot almost 50% from the floor and made ten more shots than UGA.

After a disappointing showing Saturday, the Dawgs will practice this week before a showdown with SMU on Friday in Athens.UGA