Jump To Top of Page
SB: Dawgs beat Hawgs 8-2, even series
The third-ranked Georgia softball team defeated No. 20 Arkansas 8-2 on Sunday to even the weekend series at Jack Turner Stadium.
The Bulldogs climb to 29-5 on the season and 6-2 in SEC play.
Jayda Kearney tied a career-best four hits in Sunday’s matchup, while Jaydyn Goodwin added three hits and four RBI. Sara Mosley and Ellie Armistead each added a hit and an RBI.
Madison Kerpics (9-1) pitched four innings in her start, allowing two runs on three hits and fanned two batters. Shelby Walters recorded a three-inning save, her second save of the season. She pitched three scoreless, hitless innings and allowed just one baserunner.
With runners on the corners and two out in the bottom of the first, Goodwin singled off the pitcher, and the ball went into right, allowing Mosley to score and putting Georgia ahead 1-0.
An RBI fielder’s choice and an RBI single to left plated two Arkansas (25-9, 4-4) runs in the top of the second to flip the lead in the Razorbacks’ favor, 2-1.
Georgia got both runs back in the bottom of the inning. With two out and two on, Mosley singled to right, plating Marisa Miller and tying it up. Kearney followed with an RBI hit through the right side to score Lyndi Rae Davis and give Georgia back the lead, 3-2.
Back-to-back RBI doubles off the bats of Goodwin and Armistead plated two more runs for Georgia in the fourth, widening the lead to 5-2.
Goodwin’s hot hitting continued in the sixth with a two-RBI double, then a sac fly off the bat of Miller completed a three-run inning, 8-2.
Walters retired the Razorbacks in order in the seventh to secure the Georgia victory.
The series rubber match is set for Monday evening at Jack Turner Stadium. First pitch will be at 7 p.m. on SEC Network. Head coach Tony Baldwin will be mic’d up as part of Mic’d Up Mondays.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On Sunday’s win over Arkansas…
“I’m proud of the way that we just played Georgia softball. I thought we were really present. I thought we were competitive. One of the things that we talk about is ‘make after misses.’ You’re going to shoot your shot. Sometimes it’s going to go in, sometimes it’s not, but you’ve got to go back with the next shot believing that it’s going to in. I thought we came back with that attitude today that things were going to go our way, and then we did the things that it takes to make it happen. Really proud. I thought Madi [Kerpics] really buckled down there and answered back. I thought Shelby [Walters] was really sharp. I thought Marissa [Miller] did a great job behind the plate handling the pitchers, and then lots of good at-bats up and down the lineup.”
On the defensive play…
“Oh man, you can’t beat it. We go through two days playing defense like that – it’s really been the difference in our season in terms of our ability to minimize damage. We’re not going to be perfect, but if we can just keep it from snowballing on us, then our offense is good enough to give us an opportunity to win the game. That’s all we can ever try to do. When you’re playing competition, it just gives yourself an opportunity to win the game. Ellie [Armistead] was outstanding. [Sydney Kuma] was outstanding. Jayda [Kearney] has made some big plays two days in a row. Just proud of the team effort.”
Highlights
Box Score
BSB: Vols clinch series with a 7-0 win
Fifth-ranked Tennessee posted a 7-0 win over No. 22 Georgia to clinch an SEC series Sunday in front of 5,006 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols improved to 24-5 overall, 5-4 in the SEC while the Bulldogs fell to 22-6 (4-5 SEC), marking the first time they had been shut out this season.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond very well,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. “We threw the ball well at times, just a couple of walks with 13 strikeouts so we made them earn it. We couldn’t string anything together offensively. Their starter moved the ball up and down and changed speeds. We’ll get back to work Monday and get ready to play Tuesday. You have to get better at this game every single day and that will be our challenge moving forward.”
The first chance to score came by the Bulldogs in the fourth after three straight one-out singles. However, Tennessee threw out Slate Alford at home as he tried to score from second on a base hit by Logan Jordan that bounced off the left field wall. In the bottom of the frame, the Vols grabbed a 2-0 lead on a balk called on Coleman Willis and a sacrifice fly by Reese Chapman. The Vols got a leadoff double and a base hit from Dylan Dreiling. Georgia went to the bullpen and brought in Willis in relief of graduate Christian Mracna. He retired Dean Curley before the balk, scoring Tears as Dreiling advanced to third and later scored. A two-out solo home run by Dalton Bargo off senior Zach DeVito in the fifth made it 3-0 Vols. Then, they put two more runners in scoring position when Georgia looked to graduate Josh Roberge and he retired Dreiling on a nifty defensive play by second baseman Sebastian Murillo.
Mracna (3-2) started and allowed two runs on five hits in three innings with no walks and seven strikeouts in the loss. Tennessee senior left-hander Zander Sechrist (1-0) picked up his first win after a career-high six shutout innings and seven strikeouts. He left after a leadoff walk to Jordan in the seventh, and Nate Snead closed it out for his second save. In the bottom of the seventh, the Vols added three more two-out runs to extend their lead to 6-0. Georgia put two on with one out in the eighth, and Snead retired Charlie Condon and Alford to preserve the shutout. UT added an unearned run in the eighth for the final.
Georgia returns to action Tuesday at Foley Field against Georgia State (15-12). First pitch will be at 5:02 p.m., and the game will be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Box Score
Tennis: Men fall to Florida, Women to Auburn
Women
The No. 4 Georgia women’s tennis team suffered its first loss in Southeastern Conference play as it fell 4-3 on the road to No. 16 Auburn at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Sunday.
The Bulldogs’ (13-4, 8-1 SEC) opened the day out in front after earning the doubles point.
After losing the match on court two, Georgia leveled the courts as No. 16 Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova earned a top 10 ranked win against No. 9 Ariana Arseneault and DJ Bennett (Auburn), 6-2.
Mell Reasco and Anastasiia Lopata handled the rest as they took down Carolyn Ansari and Selin Ovunc (Auburn), 6-3, to earn the doubles point for the Bulldogs.
In singles play, Georgia trailed for the first time in the match after losses on courts two, three and four.
Down 3-1 on the scoreboard, Guillermina Grant pulled one back for the Bulldogs, coming back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 against Adeline Flach (Auburn) and cut the team deficit to 3-2.
After dropping the second set late in the tiebreaker, No. 91 Mai Nirundorn capped off a three-set battle on court six with a 6-2, 6(5)-7, 6-4 victory over Ali DeSpain (Auburn) to put the Bulldogs level at 3-3 with the match lying in the balance on court one.
Trailing after one set, No. 24 Vidmanova battled back to win the second and force a third set, but ultimately fell just short in the end on court one as Auburn escaped with the win.
Georgia will now return to Athens to close out the regular season with four home matches starting with hosting Mississippi State on Friday, April 5 at 5 p.m. ET followed by No. 30 Ole Miss on Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m. ET, with both matches taking place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Men
The No. 34 Georgia men’s tennis team came up short against No. 32 Florida in its final home match of the regular season, falling by a 4-2 result on Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Thomas Paulsell and Ryan Colby won their sixth-straight match while Cyrus Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña clinched their fifth doubles point together on court three. Georgia (10-11, 3-6 SEC) took the doubles point for the sixth-consecutive match and second time in a row against Florida (10-9, 4-5 SEC).
“We battled hard today, but we’re showing a little youth from time to time and that cost us dearly today. Our guys are fighters,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “They came out here and did a great job in doubles and continued to fight, but we’ve got to be a bit more solid in big, more important games and take care of our service games a little bit better. We’ve now got to get ready for Ole Miss on Friday on the road, so that will be a big challenge.”
To begin the day, Paulsell and Colby defeated Jeremy Jin and Henry Jefferson, winning their sixth match in a row together and lifting their record to 9-2. On court three, Mahjoob and Perez Peña secured the doubles point for a team-best fifth time after breaking their opponent twice in a row, winning by a 6-4 score.
In singles action, No. 61 Paulsell defeated No. 66 Jin on court one in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-0, for his fifth ranked win of the year. The Gators began their comeback on courts six and three to tie the match. No. 58 Colby quickly took the first set against Aidan Kim on court two but fell behind in the third set and was unable to take the win. Florida ultimately took the win after four singles wins on courts six, three, two and five.
Georgia will travel to take on Ole Miss on Friday, April 5, at 4:00 p.m. ET at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Bulldogs hold a 48-12 series edge over the Rebels, including sweeps in the last two meetings between the programs.
NIT: Georgia (20-16) vs. Seton Hall (23-12) tomorrow at 09:30
Georgia (20-16) vs. Seton Hall (23-12)
Date: Tuesday, April 2
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Location: Indianapolis, Ind.
Series History: Series tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: SHU, 69-62, on 11/28/15
TV: ESPN2 (Mike Corey, play-by-play; Fran Fraschilla, color analyst; Myron Medcalf, reporter)
National Radio: Westwood One (Cooper Boardman, play-by-play; Will Perdue, analyst)
UGA Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – SiriusXM TBD (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, color analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
The Starting Five
• Georgia ventures to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to take on Seton Hall in the semifinals of the NIT on Tuesday. The Bulldogs are making their third trip to the NIT semis (also in 1982 & 1998).
• With its NIT wins over Xavier and Ohio State both being decided at the final horn, Georgia upped its records to 10-8 in games that were one-possession contests in the final 5:00 and 8-5 in matchups that were separated by three points or less in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
• Mike White is now 16-8 (.667) in the postseason, 6-4 in NCAAs and 10-4 in NITs. He is 7-4 in NIT road games including wins at Ohio State (twice), Florida State, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and…Georgia.
• All 12 scholarship Bulldogs who have played this season have started at least two games, mixing and matching to comprise a dozen different starting quintets.
• April 2 matches the latest the Bulldogs have ever played and is the 41-year anniversary of Georgia’s loss to N.C. State – yes, that N.C. State team – in the 1983 Final Four. The Bulldogs bested top-seeded St. John’s and No. 2 seeded North Carolina to win the East Regional at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
The Opening Tip
Georgia and Seton Hall will face off at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday in the semifinal round of the NIT. The Bulldogs are appearing in the NIT semis for the third time after also doing so in 1982 and 1998.
Georgia enters the contest at 20-16, the Bulldogs’ first 20-win season since 2016.
Georgia advanced to Indianapolis by defeating Xavier in Athens and then notching back-to-back road wins at Wake Forest in three days. In the process, the Bulldogs handed:
• Xavier its first-ever NIT first-round loss. The Musketeers were 9-0 prior to this season.
• Wake Forest just is second home loss in 19 outings at LJVM Coliseum this season.
• Ohio State its first home loss in six contests under head coach Jake Diebler, a stretch which included wins over five postseason participants – NCAA teams No. 2 Purdue and Nebraska and three NIT qualifiers.
Among UGA’s career leaders…
Jabri Abdur-Rahim is
• 3 3FGs from co No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison
• 9 3FGs from No. 12 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
• 2 3FGAs from No. 14 Turtle Jackson
• 9 3FGAs from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines
Noah Thomasson is
• 1 3FG from No. 9 J.J. Frazier
• 2 3FGs from No. 8 Ezra Williams
• 5 3FGs from No. 7 Bernard Davis
• 6 3FGs from No. 6 G.G .Smith
• 8 3FGAs from No. 5 Kenny Gaines
• 11 3FGAs from No. 3 D.A. Layne
• 20 3FGAs from No. 2 Anthony Edwards
Career statistics wise…
Noah Thomasson
• is 2 points from 1,500
Season’s Storylines Continue
Each of Georgia’s NIT outings continued common storylines for the Bulldogs this season.
Wins over Xavier and Ohio State were not decided until the final horn. All told, 18 of the Bulldogs’ 36 contests were one-possession games in the final 5:00. Georgia is 10-8 in those. Thirteen of those were still within three points in the final 30 seconds of regulation. The Bulldogs are 8-5 in those.
With the victory at Wake Forest, the Bulldogs improved to 15-1 this season in which they have held their opponents under 70 points…and 28-2 in Mike White’s two seasons in Athens.
A Little On The Bulldogs’ Personnel
Noah Thomasson is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 13.1 ppg and also paces Georgia with 26 double-digit and five 20-point performances. The only player to start all 36 games, Thomasson enters the Seton Hall game two points shy of 1,500 for his collegiate career.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim is scoring at a double-figure pace for the Bulldogs as well at 12.2 ppg, largely due to sporting team-high shooting percentages of .356 from 3-point range and .887 at the free throw line. However, Abdur-Rahim has missed the last seven games with an injury, the first DNPs of his career at Georgia. Prior to that, Abdur-Rahim had played in 93 straight contests.
A balanced offensive attack features three more Bulldogs contributing between just south of double figures, with Justin Hill and RJ Melendez both at 9.6 ppg and Silas Demary Jr. at 9.4 ppg.
UGA’s NIT History
The Bulldogs are making their 15th appearance in the NIT and now have a 16-14 all-time record in the tournament.
Georgia earned its first postseason bid of any kind to the 1981 NIT and also participated in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
This matches the Bulldogs’ best NIT efforts. They advanced to the semifinal round in 1982 and 1998. Georgia lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the 1982 semis. The Bulldogs fell to Penn State, 66-60, in the 1998 but bounced back to defeat Fresno State, 95-79, in the third-place consolation contest.
Series History With Seton Hall
Georgia and Seton Hall split a two-game series contested during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns, with the home team winning each.
In the most recent meeting in Newark on Nov. 28, 2015, Yante Maten scored what was then a career-high 21 points; however, Georgia dropped a 69-62 road decision to Seton Hall at the Prudential Center.
Georgia led for most of the first half and, following a 30-30 tie at halftime, regained an edge for the first five-plus minutes of the second stanza. The Pirates took the lead with 14:41 left and gradually expanded that margin to 56-46 with less than eight minutes remaining.
Georgia rallied with a 13-4 surge that cut the lead to 60-59 with 2:23 left, but Seton Hall made several plays down the stretch. With 28 seconds on the clock, Isaiah Whitehead hit a big 3-pointer for the Pirates, the last of his game-high 22 points, to all but put the game out of reach.
The previous season on Dec. 21 at Stegeman Coliseum, Georgia topped Seton Hall, 65-47. Charles Mann, Georgia’s current Director of Player Personnel, and Kenny Gaines, now a graduate manager for the Bulldogs, played key roles in that victory.
Gaines and Mann, then both juniors, scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, to lead Georgia. J.J. Frazier added what were then career-high tallies of 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The Bulldogs raced to a 41-22 halftime lead and maintained a relatively comfortable margin the rest of the way en route to a key rpi-boosting victory. Seton Hall’s 47-point output held up as the Pirates’ low offensive tally for the 2014-15 campaign.
Scouting The Pirates
Seton Hall arrives in Indianapolis at 23-12 overall. The Pirates wrapped up Big East play with a 13-7 record and in fourth place in the league standings.
Kadary Richmond paces a trio of Pirates scoring at a double-digit pace at 15.6 ppg, followed by Dre Davis at 14.8 ppg and Al-Amir Dawes at 14.6 ppg. Dawes, Dylan Addae-Wusu and Jaden Bediako have started all 35 games for Seton Hall. Bediako leads the Pirates in rebounding (6.9 rpg), blocks (1.69 bpg) and field goal percentage (.614).
Last Time Out
Noah Thomasson scored 21 points – his team leading 26th double-digit output and fifth 20-point performance – to pace Georgia in a 79-77 win at Ohio State on Tuesday.
Blue Cain added 17 points and Frank Anselem-Ibe notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards for the Bulldogs.
The back-and-forth matchup featuring no less than five ties and 13 lead changes. Georgia led 64-53 with 9:51 remaining before the Buckeyes embarked on a 17-0 run. A Cain 3-pointer ended that surge and opened a 15-7 spurt by the Bulldogs to close out the contest.
Ohio State missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final five seconds.
“We’re really proud of these guys – I mean really proud of these guys,” head coach Mike White said. “Our resiliency, our toughness, our willingness to want to continue to compete and keeping fighting to win was on full display. I’m just really proud of this group. To get to Indianapolis and be a part of this thing, I’m really proud of our guys.”
There is no Denying It, Bulldogs Are Better
Georgia wrapped up the regular season with the same records as a year ago – 16-15 overall and 6-12 in the SEC. However, most who have watched the Bulldogs this season would agree they have made considerable improvement.
For any doubters, there is quantifiable data.
Of note, the Bulldogs’ scoring differential in conference games went from -13.0 ppg in 2022-23 to -3.9 ppg this season. Georgia did so after – according to KenPom, not us – the Bulldogs played the fifth toughest SEC schedule this winter…as opposed to the ninth hardest in 2022-23.
Georgia’s improvement is validated even more within Ken Pomeroy’s and other increasingly popular metric assessments.
Entering the NIT, six of the most commonly utilized models had the Bulldogs up by an average of 53.9 spots. With the improvement since among the four that continue to update during postseason play – Torvik, KenPom, BPI and SOR – that average is up to 62.7 positions as outlined below.
22-23 23-24 Diff.
Overall 16-15 16-15 –
SEC 6-12 6-12 –
Torvik 159 64 +95
KenPom 154 79 +75
BPI 148 76 +72
NET 152 *100 +52
SOR 119 66 +53
KPI 121 *92 +29
Avg. 142.2 79.5 +62.7
* not updated since 3/17
White Adds To Strong Postseason Record
With Georgia’s win over Xavier, Mike White improved to 9-0 in opening-round games of the NCAA Tournament and NIT.
White enters the Seton Hall game a combined 16-8 in those tournaments – 6-4 in the NCAAs and 10-4 in the NIT.
While at Florida, White was the only SEC coach to lead his teams to NCAA bids in every tournament between 2017-21…and the Gators were a lock for “March Madness” in 2020.
Florida also was one of only six Division I programs to win a game in each of those four NCAA tourneys from 2017-21 along with Kansas, Gonzaga, Michigan, Villanova and Florida State. Headlining those bids was the Gators’ trip of the 2017 “Elite Eight.”
In the NIT, White has records of 5-3 at Louisiana Tech, 2-1 at Florida and 3-0 at Georgia. With apologies to Georgia radio network producer Adam “Road Dawg” Gillespie, White probably has a better claim to that nickname. White has led teams to NIT road wins at Ohio State (2016 and 2024), Florida State (2013), GEORGIA (2014), Texas A&M (2015) and Wake Forest (2024).
White’s postseason success dates back to his career as a four-year starter at Ole Miss. He helped the Rebels to their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids in 1997 and 1998 and added a third straight in 1999. White lists dribbling out the clock against Villanova for the first Ole Miss NCAA Tournament win ever as a senior as the most memorable moment of his playing career.
Thomasson Making Moves Among UGA’s 3-Point Leaders
Noah Thomasson has now connected on 79-of-225 3-point attempts this season, tallies that rank among the most ever by a Bulldog during a single season.
With 15 3-pointers in the last five games, Thomasson went from No. 19 to No. 8 among Georgia’s all-time season leaders.
The Houston native’s 225 shots from behind the arc is now No. 4 position among all Bulldogs.
Anselem-Ibe Answers The Call
Frank Anselem-Ibe has done a pretty good Strap Purl against Linton impression and certainly made the most of his first two starts of the season at Wake Forest and Ohio State.
Anselem-Ibe entered Sunday’s game against the Demon Deacons averaging 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.4 minutes in the 26 games he played in this season. He notched season highs of eight rebounds, three assists and 28 minutes – twice his previous most of 14 MP – in Winston-Salem.
At Ohio State, Anselem-Ibe recorded season highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. The double-double against the Buckeyes was the first of his collegiate career and came in the 95th game played in his time at Syracuse and Georgia.
Anselem-Ibe joined a pretty stellar list of former Bulldogs to record a double-double in NIT following (chronologically) Dominique Wilkins, Terry Fair, Charles Claxton (Nic Claxton’s dad), Shandon Anderson, Jumaine Jones and Yante Maten.
Raising Cain’s Game Proves Beneficial For Bulldogs
Blue Cain’s freshman season has evolved from solid to stellar during the postseason.
After averaging 7.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.6 minutes during the regular season, Cain is contributing 10.8 points (third on the team) and 5.0 boards (second on the team) in 26.8 mpg in five games of the SEC Tournament and NIT.
Cain opened the SEC Tournament with a career- and game-high 19 points to lead Georgia against Missouri. He scored 14 second-half points against the Tigers, largely due to connected on 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc – and one from the SEC logo.
Cain also was key in the Bulldogs’ NIT quarterfinal win at Ohio State. He scored 17 points, including a 3-pointer that ended a 17-0 run by the Buckeyes.
Bulldog Freshmen Making Their Mark
Georgia’s freshmen have made a impressive impact this season, particularly in SEC play.
Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James have all got a starting nod in the Bulldogs’ last seven games – the first time a trio of freshmen started for Georgia since Anthony Edwards, Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler did so in the 2020 SEC Tournament.
Cain and Demary are two of only SEC eight freshman who logged 20.0 mpg in conference outings this season. James has seen his playing time jump significantly of late, averaging 17.5 mpg in the last 14 games.
Demary, who was named to the league’s All-Freshman team in balloting of league coaches, leads all SEC freshman in games started, both overall (34) and in SEC action (17). The lone game he was not on the floor for the opening tip was against Texas A&M on “Senior Day.” Demary was one of only five freshmen in the SEC who averaged double figures in conference action at 10.5 ppg.
Cain was one of just 10 SEC freshmen who scored 6.5 ppg or more in league games. He has done much of his damage from 3-point range, with 49 of his 102 field goals (48.0 percent) coming from behind the arc.
In addition to his increased playing time, James is averaging 5.2 ppg and 3.4 rpg in Georgia’s last 14 contests, more than double the 2.1 ppg and 1.4 rpg he contributed in seven games played during the Bulldogs’ first 22 outings of the season.
Some Big Numbers for Bulldogs’ Seven “Seniors”
Georgia honored seven players on “Senior Day” against Texas A&M, even though the group features a trio of graduate transfers.
Those Bulldogs included first-year grad transfers RJ Sunahara, Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson; second-season seniors Frank Anselem-Ibe, Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe; and third-year senior Jabri Abdur-Rahim.
That septet – we googled it – of Bulldogs has combined to comprise some pretty massive statistics as NCAA basketball players. Those totals, with the D-I statistical leader, are listed below.
Seven “Seniors” Totals
Stat No. Leader
Games played 789 Tchewa 139
Games started 440 Thomasson 96
Minutes 17,210 Thomasson 3,387
Points 7,009 Thomasson 1,498
Rebounds 3,082 Tchewa 723
Assists 1,154 Hill 423
Blocks 375 Anselem-Ibe 57
Steals 484 Hill 111
Hill Continues Milestone Stretch
Justin Hill has notched a trio of significant statistical markers over the past nine games.
During his 17-point performance against Missouri in the SEC Tournament, Hill surpassed 1,300 points for his career. More significant than reaching the milestone was the setting. Hill’s jumper at the 3:36 mark to top 1,300 points also ignited the Bulldogs’ 12-0 run to end the game.
On Feb. 21 at Vanderbilt, Hill delivered the 400th assist of his career. He now has 423 which, as of March 29, ranked No. 88 on the NCAA’s career leaders ledger of Division I players.
On March 2 against Texas A&M, Hill collected the 400th rebound of his career.
Bulldogs’ Bench Providing Productivity
Georgia is now ranked No. 21 nationally in benching scoring at 28.4 ppg – 37.9 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring average of 74.9 ppg.
The Bulldogs’ reserves have outscored their counterparts in 29 of 36 games, including 16 straight from the season opener against Oregon on Nov. 6 to a Jan. 20 trip to No. 8/10 Kentucky.
Georgia sports an impressive cumulative scoring margin of +372 in bench points – an advantage of +10.3 ppg.
Everyone Gets A Nod For the Bulldogs
All 12 scholarship Bulldogs who have played have started for Georgia this season. Those dozen Dogs have been used to comprise 12 different starting fives.
Georgia mixed and matched seven players to form three different starting quintets over the first 10 outings.
The Bulldogs then settled into the same starting unit for the next 10 contests.
Over the last 11 regular-season games, Georgia used eight different sets of starters.
The lineup shifted again at Wake Forest, when Frank Anselem-Ibe started with Russel Tchewa out with an illness.
That makes Noah Thomasson the only Bulldog to start every game…although freshman Silas Demary Jr. was on the floor for the opening tip of every contest other than “Senior Day.”
Georgia’s Magic Number Is On The “Other” End of The Floor
The 13th and final rule Dr. James Naismith listed when creating basketball was “The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner.” Quite simply, the team that scores the most points wins.
For Georgia, the number of points the opposing team scores has been an extremely strong indicator of success during Mike White’s two seasons with the Bulldogs.
Georgia is 28-2 when holding its opponents under 70 points during White’s tenure. The losses on that ledger were a 66-67 setback at LSU on Feb. 27 and a 61-55 decision at South Carolina in the 2022-23 regular-season finale.
More and More Nail-Biter For The Bulldogs
Georgia’s NIT victories over Xavier and Ohio State were not decided until the final horn, upping the number of “close games” for Georgia this season to 18.
Of the Bulldogs’ 36 games to date…
• 18 have been a one-possession game in the last five minutes. Georgia is 10-8 in those games.
• 16 have been a one-possession game in the last 90 seconds. Georgia is 8-8 in those games.
• 13 have been a one-possession game in the last 30 seconds. Georgia is 8-5 in those games.
Bulldogs Notch Sixth Road Win
Georgia’s victory at Ohio State represented the Bulldogs’ sixth road win of the season and upped the Bulldogs’ record to 6-6 in road contests.
Georgia was a combined 7-44 on the road over the previous five seasons. The six road Ws in 2023-24 are the most the Bulldogs have recorded in a season since the 2014-15 campaign.
Tchewa’s Numbers, Efficiency Increase Considerably In SEC play
Russel Tchewa increased his production and efficiency considerably during SEC action.
Nine of his 12 double-figure scoring outputs and all six of his double-digit rebound counts came during league play. Those produced all of Tchewa’s team-leading five double-doubles on the year.
After averaging 6.1 ppg in 13 non-conference games, Tchewa upped that to 9.3 ppg against SEC foes – an increase of 3.2 ppg.
After averaging 6.3 rpg in November and December, he grabbed 7.2 rpg in league outings – an increase of 0.9 rpg.
After shooting 49.1 percent from the field in non-conference action, Tchewa converted on 59.4 percent versus conference competition – an increase of 10.3 percent.
After logging 22.2 minutes of action in non-conference contests, he played 28.1 mpg in the SEC – an increase of 5.9 mpg.
SEC PPG Increases
Player Non SEC
Noah Thomasson 12.5 13.4
Silas Demary Jr. 8.5 10.5
Justin Hill 8.5 9.1
Russel Tchewa 6.1 9.3
Abdur-Rahim, Melendez Own Top-5 Season FT Percentage Marks
Jabri Abdur-Rahim and RJ Melendez now own two of the five best single-season free throw percentages in Georgia history. A minimum of 50 makes are required for inclusion on the Bulldogs’ all-time single-season free throw percentage leaders’ ledger.
Abdur-Rahim surpassed that standard during the Mount St. Mary’s game on Dec. 20, just the 11th outing of the season. He has now connected on 118-of-133 (.887) free throws, the third-best percentage in school history.
Melendez met the 50 makes standard versus No. 24/22 Alabama on Jan. 31. He is currently 59-of-67 at the line this season, an 88.1 percent conversion rate that is No. 5 all-time among Bulldogs.
Jabri Sets Game Mark, Joins Career Percentage Line Leaders too
In addition to his aforementioned season efforts, Jabri Abdur-Rahim shares Georgia’s best game free throw percentage and is among the best career converters too.
Minimums of nine and 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among those leaders.
Abdur-Rahim’s school-record 10-of-10 effort against Mount St. Mary’s tied Georgia’s single-game record, the 15th time a Bulldog converted on nine or more FTs in a single contest.
Abdur-Rahim has connected on 238-of-285 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 83.5 percent that currently has him at No. 2 all-time among Bulldogs.
A Lot Of Entertaining Outings During The Losing Streak
Georgia’s losing streak from Jan. 27-Feb. 17 featured six competitive and dramatic contests.
The Bulldogs rallied from 21 points down to force overtime at Florida before falling 102-98.
Georgia then owned double-digit leads over both No. 24/22 Alabama and South Carolina before the Tide and Gamecocks rallied. The Bulldogs led for a combined 56:55 of those contests – 33:49 against Alabama and 23:06 versus South Carolina.
Georgia trimmed a 13-point deficit to three before Mississippi State surged to victory.
The Bulldogs matchup at Arkansas on Feb. 10 featured three ties and five lead changes in the final 3:47 before the Razorbacks secured a three-point decision.
Georgia again led for more than half the game – 21:11 to be exact – and built an 11-point, first-half edge over Florida in Athens before the Gators rallied in the second stanza.
Melendez Has Bulldogs’ Biggest Game Ever Off Bench…We Think
RJ Melendez’s 35-point performance at Florida on Jan. 27 tied the 20th-highest single-game output ever by a Georgia Bulldog. It may be the most ever by a Bulldog off the bench.
Box scores determined the vast majority of the scoring efforts tied with and ahead of Melendez were done by starters. In fact, there are only four performances where research as yet to confirm were accomplished by starters as outlined below.
It’s hard to fathom that Alfred Scott did not start Georgia’s 122-2 – yes 122-2, that’s not a typo – win over Southeast Christian on Jan. 12, 1918. FYI, that performance stands as the largest margin of victory by any Division I team.
Jacky Dorsey was known to start throughout his career in Athens; however, box scores for the two games haven’t been located.
Zippy Morocco’s contest came during the same season when he set what was the SEC’s season scoring record, compiling 590 points.
Did He Get The Nod?
Pts. Player, Game
62 Alfred Scott vs. SE Christian (1/12/1918)
43 Jacky Dorsey vs. So. Miss (12/21/74)
41 Jacky Dorsey vs. LSU (1/20/75)
38 Zippy Morocco vs. Tennessee (2/25/53)
“Don’t Look, Ethel!”…On The Bulldogs’ Winning Streaks
Georgia’s 2023-24 season has been of the streaky nature.
Georgia put together a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 24-Jan. 10, tying the fourth-longest in program history and the longest in 75 years since the 1947-48 season as outlined below.
Within their 12-3 start to the year, the Bulldogs were a perfect 10-0 at Stegeman Coliseum, equaling the seventh-longest home winning streak and the fifth-longest home streak since moving into the arena in 1964.
Overall Winning Streaks
Rk. Season(s) No.
1. 1912-13 & 1913-14 16
2. 1930-31 13
3. 1947-48 11
4. 2023-24 10
1930-31 10
Jump To Today’s Discussion Thread