The Bulldogs outplayed the Tigers 92-75 in a Monday night matchup in Stegeman Coliseum. This is the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Texas Southern. TSU has emerged as a perennial NCAA Tournament participate having competed in four of the past five seasons.
Tyree Crump, a junior guard, used this game to show the college basketball world what he can do. He scored a career high of 25 points with 15 of them coming from 3-pointers. He went five for seven and had a 71% 3-point percentage.
“I kind of know what kind of game I’m going to have during shooting rounds. I felt good today during shooting rounds. I was hitting shots so I knew it was going to carry over to the game,” Crump said about his most recent performance on the court.
Crump made a total of 44 3-pointers last season and already has 18 from the first eight games this year. He commented on his improvement in the off-season.
“I was in the gym a lot this summer working on shooting and working on my game. I feel like that kind of carried over to the season. Also, coach Crean getting my footwork right. Telling me ‘left, right’ every time ‘step into your shot and stay up’,” he said.
Derek Ogbeide and Nicolas Claxton also had attention grabbing performances. Ogbeide had 13 points and 10 rebounds making this his second double-double of the season and the 8th of his career. Claxton had 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks before he fouled out with almost three minutes left in the game.
The addition of Tom Crean as head coach at Georgia has brought a level of excitement to the season. A combined 22,160 spectators have attended the team’s first three home games making it the third-largest three-game tally in the past 18 years. The home games against Kentucky on January 15th and Florida on January 19th have both already sold out.
The Bulldogs, now 5-3 and undefeated at home, are set to play Arizona State in Athens, Ga on December 15th.