UGA Men’s Basketball: Dawgs To Face Rebels In SEC Tourney Opener

 

 

2019-20 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	Ole Miss
Points Per Game	75.7	69.2
Opp. Point Per Game	76.0	68.1
Scoring Margin	-0.3	+1.1
Field Goal Pct.	.448	.432
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.454	.422
3-Point Pct.	.296	.325
3-Pointers Per Game	7.0	6.1
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.327	.289
Free Throw Pct.	.702	.732
Free Throws Per Game	14.2	15.1
Rebounds Per Game	38.1	34.0
Opp. Rebound Per Game	36.0	35.0
Rebound Margin	+2.1	-1.0
Assists Per Game	13.3	13.1
Turnovers Per Game	14.9	13.1
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.89	1.00
Turnover Margin	-1.7	+0.5
Steals Per Game	7.1	7.2
Blocks Per Game	3.3	2.9

 

• Sahvir Wheeler’s 131 assists is the second-most ever by a UGA freshman. He is just two shy of Litterial Green’s UGA freshman record.
• Anthony Edwards is just five points shy of joining the SEC’s top-10 freshman scoring leaders. Allan Houston is the current No. 10 with 609 points.
• Anthony Edwards’ 604 points is the second-most ever by a UGA freshman and is 42 points away from the freshman record held by Jacky Dorsey.
• UGA’s total attendance record fell for the second straight season. A total of 164,071 fans attended 17 home dates, topping the old mark by more than 15,000 .
• Georgia’s celebrated freshman class – ranked among the top-10 groups nationally by every recruiting service – features five of the nation’s top-100 prospects.

 

Georgia opens SEC Tournament action on Wednesday evening when the Bulldogs take on Ole Miss at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Anthony Edwards and Rayshaun Hammonds are scoring at a double-digit pace for Georgia.

Edwards leads Georgia and is the nation’s top-scoring freshman at 19.5 points per game. He has reached double figures in the scoring column in 27 of 31 games, with 13 20-point outings and three 30-point efforts. Edwards has scored 604 points this season, the second-most ever by a Bulldog freshman and 42 shy of UGA’s freshman record of 646 by Jacky Dorsey in 1974-75.

Edwards, who is one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, has been tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week a school-record four times.

Hammonds is averaging 12.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. After posting two 20-point performances, four double-figure rebounding outputs and two double-doubles in 61 games played as a freshman and sophomore, Hammonds has notched six 20-point outputs, seven double-digit rebound counts and five double-doubles in 31 games this season.

Among UGA’s Career Leaders, Rayshaun Hammonds is…
• 48 points from becoming Georgia’s 49th 1,000-point scorer

Among UGA’s Career Leaders, Tyree Crump is…
• 8 3FGs from No. 9 Bernard Davis
• 12 3FGAs from No. 7 Dustin Ware

Among UGA’s Season Leaders, Anthony Edwards is…
• 6 points from No. 7 Alec Kessler (1990)
• 9 points from No. 6 Walter Daniels (1979)
• 32 points from No. 5 Yante Maten (2018)
• 36 points from No. 4 J.J. Frazier (2017)
• 42 points from No. 3 Jacky Dorsey (1975)
• 55 points from No. 2 D. Wilkins (1982)
• 128 points from No. 1 D. Wilkins (1981)

Among UGA’s Freshman Leaders, Anthony Edwards is…
• 42 points from No. 1 Jacky Dorsey

Among UGA’s Freshman Leaders, Sahvir Wheeler is…
• 2 assists from No. 1 Litterial Green

Among SEC Freshman Leaders, Anthony Edwards is…
• 5 points from No. 10 Allan Houston, UT
• 12 points from No. 9 John Wall, UK
• 28 points from co-No. 7 Colin Sexton, Bama, and Ben Simmons, LSU
• 42 points from No. 6 Jacky Dorsey, UGA

Georgia sports a 47-57 all-time record in 59 editions of the SEC Tournament.

The Bulldogs are 38-38 in SEC Tourney action since the event resumed in 1979 following a 27-year hiatus from 1953-79.

The Bulldogs won the 1983 and 2008 SEC Tournaments and finished as runners-up in 1940, 1981, 1988 and 1997. Georgia has reached the semifinals 15 times.

Georgia is 73-45 all-time versus Ole Miss, including an 8-2 record in SEC Tourney matchups.

Earlier this season on Jan. 25, the Rebels defeated the Bulldogs, 70-60, before a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum.

Jordan Harris notched what were then season-high efforts of 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks for Georgia, while freshmen Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

After leading 35-29 at halftime, the Rebels quickly stretched their advantage to 11 points.

The Bulldogs countered with a 14-2 run and went up 43-42 on an Anthony Edwards 3-pointer with 12:31 left.

Ole Miss regained the lead just 27 seconds later and never trailed the rest of the evening.

In the most recent SEC Tournament meeting on March 15, 2014, Charles Mann scored on a layup through traffic in the lane with just 17 seconds left to lift Georgia past Ole Miss, 75-73 at the Georgia Dome.

Mann led Georgia’s four double-digit scorers with 16 points. Kenny Gaines and Brandon Morris added 12 points apiece, while J.J. Frazier chipped in 11. Marcus Thornton contributed nine points and 11 rebounds.

Ole Miss was led by Jarvis Summers’ 26 points. Marshall Henderson scored 19, but went 2-for-16 from three-point range.

In the first half, the Rebels jumped out to an early 18-7 lead, but Georgia responded with a 16-6 run, largely supported by two three-pointers apiece from Gaines and Frazier.

In the second half, neither team led by more than four points and the lead changed 13 times.

Mann tied the game for the 17th time overall and then gave Georgia the lead with a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left. A Summers jumper at the 47-second mark put Ole Miss up 73-72 before Mann’s layup gave the Bulldogs the lead.

After Henderson missed a 3-pointer, Thornton made the first of two free throws with three seconds left to close out the scoring.

Ole Miss enters the SEC Tournament with a 15-16 overall record after compiling a 6-12 mark in league play.

Breein Tyree’s average of 19.7 ppg paces a quartet of Rebels scoring at a double-digit pace. Tyree is the SEC’s second-leading scorer and sports 14 20-point and four 30-point performances this season.

Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 17 points – his 27th double-figure scoring output and 21st time leading Georgia offensively this season – in a 94-64 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge last Saturday.

The Tigers methodically turned a 12-11 deficit into a 30-19 lead and held the Bulldogs at distance the rest of the afternoon.

Anthony Edwards enters the SEC Tournament ranked No. 8 among Georgia’s single-season scoring leaders and No. 11 on the list of the SEC’s top-scoring freshmen ever as outlined below.

Edwards’ 604 points is just 32 away from joining the top-5 season scoring efforts in the history of Bulldog basketball.

Edwards is five points shy of joining the SEC’s top-10 freshman scorers ever as outlined below.

Season Points Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
1.	732	Dominique Wilkins	1981	31
2.	659	Dominique Wilkins	1982	31
3.	646	Jacky Dorsey	1975	25
4.	640	J.J. Frazier	2017	34
5.	636	Yante Maten	2018	33
6.	613	Walter Daniels	1979	28
7.	610	Alec Kessler	1990	29
8.	587	Anthony Edwards	2020	30
9.	596	Alec Kessler	1989	31
10.	594	Bob Lienhard	1969	25
	594	Vern Fleming	1984	30

 

Top Freshman SEC Scoring Totals
Rk.	Player, School	Season	Total
1.	Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson), LSU	1989	965
2.	Malik Monk, Kentucky	2017	754
3.	Jamal Murray, Kentucky	2016	720
4.	Bernard King, Tennessee	1975	661
5.	Brandon Knight, Kentucky	2011	657
6.	Jacky Dorsey, Georgia	1975	646
7.	Collin Sexton, Alabama	2018	632
	Ben Simmons, LSU	2016	632
9.	John Wall, Kentucky	2010	616
10.	Allan Houston, Tennessee	1990	609
11.	Anthony Edwards, Georgia	2020	587

 

Senior Tyree Crump is out of action indefinitely after begin diagnosed with mononucleosis late last week.

Among Georgia’s career leaders Crump is ranked No. 10 in 3-pointers made and No. 8 in 3-point attempts as outlined below.

Crump has done the majority of his scoring as a Bulldog from behind the 3-point arc. Of his 801 career points, 528 (65.9 percent) are result of 3-pointers.

This season, 49 of Crump’s 68 made field goals (72.1 percent) are 3s. The Bainbridge native has connected on 176 trifectas at UGA, 69.6 percent of his 253 made FGs.

UGA Career 3FGA Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	3FGAs
1.	683	Levi Stukes	2004-07	261
2.	583	D.A. Lane	1999-01	231
3.	582	Ezra Williams	2001-03	213
4.	576	J.J. Frazier	2014-17	204
5.	569	Kenny Gaines	2013-16	213
6.	544	Litterial Green	1989-92	215
7.	536	Dustin Ware	2009-12	194
8.	524	Tyree Crump	2016-19	176
9.	500	G.G. Smith	1996-99	193
10.	453	Bernard Davis	1991-94	184
UGA Career 3FG Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	FT-FTAs
1.	261	Levi Stukes	2003-07	683
2.	231	D.A. Lane	1999-01	583
3.	215	Litterial Green	1989-92	544
4.	213	Ezra Williams	2001-03	582
	213	Kenny Gaines	2013-16	569
6.	204	J.J. Frazier	2014-17	576
7.	194	Dustin Ware	2009-12	536
8.	193	G.G. Smith	1996-99	500
9.	184	Bernard Davis	1991-94	453
10.	176	Tyree Crump	2016-19	524

 

Georgia has reached the 90-point scoring mark seven times during the 2019-20 season and 11 times during Tom Crean‘s 63 games as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

Prior to Crean’s arrival, Georgia scored 90 or more points 11 times in 11-plus seasons combined, a span of 387 games.

The Bulldogs scored 91, 95 and 100 points in their first three games this season – the first time the Bulldogs scored 90 or more three times in a row since 2006.

Georgia’s scoring has been relatively consistent. The Bulldogs’ season scoring average of 75.7 points per game is on pace to be their highest since averaging 79.2 points during the 2002-03 season.

Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler currently occupy the No. 2 spot among Georgia’s all-time freshman leaders for points and assists, respectively as outlined below.

Edwards joined the Bulldogs’ top-10 season scoring efforts by a freshman in just the 18th game of the season at No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 21. Over the next four outings, Edwards ascended to the No. 4 position, and he is now 42 points away from the record.

Wheeler’s eight assists against Alabama on Feb. 8 gave him exactly 100 passes-to-points this season. He became just the sixth Georgia freshman to record 100 assists and the first to do so in just over a decade, since Dustin Ware did so during the 2008-09 season.

After distributing a combined eight assists against Florida and LSU last week, Wheeler enters the SEC Tournament just two dishes away from matching Litterial Green’s Georgia freshman mark set in 1988-89.

UGA’s Top-10 Freshman Scoring Averages
Rk.	Player, School	G	Avg
40.	Anthony Edwards, Georgia	31	19.5
82.	Vernon Carey, Duke	31	17.8
97.	Tre Mitchell, Massachusetts	31	17.7

 

UGA’s Top-10 Freshman Assists
Rk.	Player, School	G	Avg
35.	Yuri Collins, Saint Louis	31	5.5
37.	Nico Mannion, Arizona	31	5.4
55.	Tyger Campbell, UCLA	31	5.0
57.	Sean East, UMass	31	4.9
84.	Isaiah Stevens, Colorado St.	32	4.5
91.	Rylan Jones, Utah	28	4.5
98.	Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia	30	4.4

 

Toumani Camara, who moved into the starting lineup in the 10th game of the season against SMU, has seen a massive up-tick in his production over the last 25 outings.

The freshman from Brussels, Belgium has more than doubled his playing time from the first six games and has increased his scoring and rebounding by relatively large chunks as outlined below.

During that span, Camara also posted career highs of 16 points vs. Georgia Southern, nine rebounds vs. Austin Peay and 34 minutes of playing time vs. SMU.

After notching one double-digit output in the Bulldogs’ first 16 outings, he has done so seven times in Georgia’s last 15 contests.

Camara’s Increased Efforts
Stat	First 6	Last 25
Points per game	4.0	7.1
Rebounds per game	2.5	4.8
Minutes per game	13.2	26.6

 

A half-dozen Georgia players posted double-figure scoring outputs against Arkansas on Feb. 29 and The Citadel on Nov. 12.

The last time six Bulldogs scored 10 or more points in a single game prior to this season was back in 2002.

Versus Arkansas on Feb. 29, Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, Rayshaun Hammonds poured in 22, Tyree Crump chipped in 14, Jordan Harris and Sahvir Wheeler contributed 11 each and Toumani Camara added 10.

Against The Citadel’s Bulldogs, Edwards had 29 points; Crump and Donnell Gresham Jr. added 13 apiece; and Hammonds, Amanze Ngumezi and Wheeler each chipped in 10.

Prior to that, you had to go back to a 92-62 win over Appalachian State on Dec. 22, 2002 to find a contest with six Bulldogs in double figures, when Steve Thomas scored 18 points, followed by Ezra Williams (13), Chris Daniels (12), Jarvis Hayes (11), Rashad Wright (11) and Jonas Hayes (10).

The Bulldogs’ celebrated freshman class – a consensus top-10 group according to every major scouting service – was vital in the Georgia’s Feb. 19 upset of No. 13/12 Auburn.

Anthony Edwards scored 18 points, while Sahvir Wheeler and Toumani Camara added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Anthony Edwards was selected as SEC Freshman of the Week for a school-record fourth time on March 2, the fifth SEC FOTW honor this season for the Bulldogs.

Edwards also was recognized as the league’s top freshman on Dec. 2, Feb. 3 and Feb. 24, while Sahvir Wheeler was selected on Dec. 23.

Edwards’ first SEC accolade came after he averaged 22.3 points in a trio of outings at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

He was honored the second time after becoming the first Bulldog freshman in over two decades to record consecutive double-doubles against Missouri and Texas A&M.

Edwards averaged 18.5 points per game in the Bulldogs’ back-to-back victories over No. 13/12 Auburn and at Vanderbilt prior to being honored for the third time.

His most recent recognition came after Edwards averaged 31.0 points against South Carolina and Arkansas.

Wheeler was selected after making layups in the final five seconds of both overtime periods against SMU. The freshman from Houston scored with four seconds remaining in the first OT to tie the score and extend the contest. In the second extra session, Wheeler’s layup split two defenders to score the game-winning bucket with 1.9 seconds left.

Georgia is 5-3 this season in games decided by four points or less.

That’s a dramatic difference last season when UGA was 0-6 in such outings, with all six setbacks coming to NCAA tourney teams.

Georgia’s non-conference effort in 2018-19 featured four- and two-point setbacks to Temple and Arizona State, respectively. The Bulldogs also dropped four consecutive extremely excruciating late-season losses by a combined nine points to LSU (83-79), Mississippi State (68-67), Ole Miss (72-71) and Auburn (78-75).

This season, Georgia defeated Georgia Tech (72-68), Chaminade (80-77), SMU (87-85) and No. 9 Memphis (65-62) before suffering setbacks against Missouri (72-69) and Alabama (105-102). Georgia earned its fifth victory in a tight game by besting Vanderbilt (80-78) on Tyree Crump’s buzzer beater, but then immediately dropped a 94-90 overtime decision at South Carolina.

Sahvir Wheeler returned to the court against Texas A&M on Feb. 1 after missing a Jan. 28 game at Missouri.

Wheeler, who leads Georgia in assists and is third in scoring, suffered an upper body injury in practice on Monday, Jan. 27, before the team departed for Columbia.

He played three of his best games of the season immediately after his return.

The Houston native had a strong linescore against the Aggies, with nine points, five assists, four boards and two steals.

Wheeler followed that with 16 points and four assists at Florida.

Against Alabama, he recorded career-high tallies of 24 points and eight assists (for the third time this season) in a career-most 42 minutes of playing time.

Freshman Christian Brown made an immediate impact off the bench in Georgia’s road games at Florida and Texas A&M.

At Florida on Feb. 5, Brown scored six points in five minutes, connecting on 2-of-3 3-point attempts.

At Texas A&M on Feb. 15, Brown contributed eight points in eight minutes, making 3-of-5 shots from the floor and converting on his two attempts at the line.

Anthony Edwards was named to updated Watch Lists for the Wooden and Jerry West Awards released in early February.

On Monday, Feb. 3, Edwards was the only SEC player and one of just two freshmen (along with Duke’s Vernon Carey Jr.) featured on the new top-20 list of candidates for the Wooden Award.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Edwards was one of two freshmen (along with Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey) and four SEC players on the top-10 list for the West Award, which is given to the nation’s top shooting guard.

Sophomore Tye Fagan scored 14 points at No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 21 by connecting on all six of his shots from the field (including a 3-pointer) and one attempt at the line.

Fagan has now scored in double figures three times this season and has done so in an extremely efficient fashion. In that trio of contests, Fagan has connected on 81.0 percent (17-of-21) of his shots from the floor.

Fagan recorded his first double-digit scoring output with 11 points against Dayton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He connected on 5-of-5 shots from the field, including his only 3-point attempt, against the Flyers.

The sophomore from Logtown paced Georgia with 15 points at Arizona State on Dec. 14. Fagan did most of his damage in the second half in Tempe with 11 points in 10 minutes.

Before that, Fagan’s top offensive performances were early last season. He notched eight points in three of the first four games of his freshman year.

Freshmen Toumani Camara, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler all started for the Bulldogs at No. 5 Auburn on Jan. 11.

That marked the first time Georgia started a trio of freshmen in a decade and 11 days.

To find the last contest when three first-year Bulldogs got the nod you have to venture back to a date with Kennesaw State on New Year’s Eve in 2008 when Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins and Dustin Ware all started.

Four members of the Bulldogs’ top-10 recruiting class have started this season. Rodney Howard did so against N.C. Central and Arizona State.

For a second-straight season, Georgia endured a brutal stretch to open SEC play.

The Bulldogs began league action by facing six straight 2019 NCAA Tournament teams – Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky (again) and Ole Miss.

Tom Crean has undergone some serious hazing from the scheduling Gods since arriving in Athens. A year ago, Georgia opened SEC play with consecutive Saturday road trips to the defending league co-champions from the previous year – Tennessee and Auburn.

While most of the SEC opened league play on Saturday, Jan. 4, Georgia was earning a historic road win at No. 9 Memphis.

That was: 1) just the second road victory over a ranked non-conference foe in Georgia Basketball history; and 2) just the second road win over a ranked foe by any SEC team this season…South Carolina’s upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22 being the other.

The victory also represented UGA’s first:

• win over a top-10 foe since defeating No. 10 Kentucky, 77-70, on Jan. 8, 2011.
• road win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 5 Kentucky, 65-57, at Rupp Arena on Jan. 17, 2004.
• road win over a ranked, non-conference foe since topping No. 7 Louisville, 73-70 in overtime, on Dec. 29, 1977.

Georgia’s freshman class features five of the top-100 prospects from 2019 and was consistently ranked among the nation’s top recruiting groups – No. 5 by ESPN.com, No. 6 by rivals.com and No. 10 by 247Sports.com.

Headlining the quintet is Anthony Edwards. The Atlanta native, who tabbed the nation’s best prospect by some, announced his commitment to his home-state school on national television on Feb. 11. He is the Bulldogs’ highest rated recruit ever.

Dominique Wilkins was the most hyped recruit in Georgia history in 1979. Individual rankings for that class are believed to be unavailable, but it also featured future stars such as Ralph Sampson, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Clark Kellogg and Sam Bowie.

In the internet age, current L.A. Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the highest ranked player in the 247Sports.com composite to enroll at Georgia at No. 12 in 2011. Current L.A. Clipper Louis Williams signed with the Bulldogs as the No. 6 prospect in the 2005 composite but opted to enter the NBA Draft.

The Bulldogs’ highest recruiting class ever was No. 2 in 1992 when UGA inked four top-100 prospects – Shandon Anderson, Terrell Bell, Pertha Robinson and McDonald’s All-American Carlos Strong (who was rated as high as No. 4 nationally) – in the fall and added then added Cleveland Jackson, the National Junior College Player of the Year, in the spring.

Additional top classes at Georgia include those in 1979 and 1980 which featured four McDonald’s All-Americans between them – Wilkins and Terry Fair in 1979 and Vern Fleming and James Banks a year later.

The Bulldogs’ class of nine freshmen – seven scholarship and two walk-ons – ranks as the third-largest in D-I hoops.

Navy, TCU and Utah sport a nation-leading 11 freshmen on their rosters. Air Force has 10 freshmen. In addition to Georgia, Louisville also has nine freshmen.

On this list, “freshman” is defined as a player who is a freshman eligibility wise and competing at that school for the first time this season…so there are some redshirts.

Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler poured in 24 and 19 points, respectively, in the season opener against Western Carolina on Nov. 5 – the second- and third-most points ever by a freshman in their Bulldog debut.

Since NCAA rules changed to allow freshmen to compete in basketball in 1972, 23 Bulldogs have scored in double figures during their first collegiate contest.

Edwards came within a bucket of Dominique Wilkins’ school record against Troy on Nov. 30, 1979 as outlined below.

Top Tally Debuts By UGA Freshmen
Year	Player	Points
1979	Dominique Wilkins	26
2019	Anthony Edwards	24
1979	Terry Fair	19
2019	Sahvir Wheeler	19
1998	D.A. Layne	18
2007	Jeremy Price	18
2004	Sundiata Gaines	17
2017	Rayshaun Hammonds	17
2011	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	15

 

Anthony Edwards’ 24 points against Western Carolina were the most by a Bulldog in an opener in nearly two decades – since Ezra Williams’ 26 versus Furman on Nov. 16, 2001.

You may have noticed Georgia’s roster has gone away from listing traditional basketball positions of guard, forward and center.

Tom Crean is a proponent for “position-less” basketball so players are now simply listed as the position “B”…which stands for “Basketball Player.”

“That’s what they are,” Crean said. “It’s not valid to call them centers and forwards and things like that with the way that we’re trying to play. They’re being trained as basketball players, every day. If you came out there to practice (6-11) Rodney Howard, a lot of times is doing the same things that (5-10) Sahvir Wheeler’s doing in the sense of how we train ball handling, driving, shooting…all those type of things. That’s what we’re recruiting. We’re recruiting basketball players.”

The Bulldogs signed four standouts to letters-of-intent during the NCAA’s early signing period, Tom Crean announced on Nov. 18.

Georgia’s incoming recruiting class was listed at No. 24 nationally in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.

Two in-state prep prospects – Kadarius “K.D.” Johnson from Decatur and Josh Taylor from Norcross – and a pair of Eastern Florida State College teammates – Jonathan Ned and Mikal Starks – will play for the Bulldogs beginning next season.

Georgia’s 31-game regular-season slate includes 14 games against teams featured in the last preseason edition of ESPN.com’s Bracketology released on Nov. 4.

The Bulldogs will host games against seven teams in the predicted field and take on six more away from Stegeman Coliseum.

In Athens, Georgia will entertain Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, N.C. Central and Tennessee.

The Bulldogs met Dayton and Michigan State in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational and will play road games at Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Memphis.