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Dawgs Place Three on AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America First Team

The Bulldogs had three named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FBS Coaches’ All-America First Team, according to an AFCA announcement Friday.

Senior OG Tate Ratledge, junior LB Jalon Walker and junior S Malaki Starks were all included on the 27-man First Team that included seven players from the Southeastern Conference.

This is the first All-America First Team selection for both Ratledge, who is a Rome, Ga., native, and Walker, who is a Salisbury, N.C., native.  Starks was a 2023 consensus All-American for the 13-1 Bulldogs last year.

On Thursday night, Walker and Starks were named to the Walter Camp All-America Second Team.

Georgia takes on the winner of Notre Dame and Penn State in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1.  ESPN will televise the matchup at 8:45 p.m. ET.

MBB: Georgia Meets Grand Canyon in Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena

Time: 6:00 p.m. ET

Venue: State Farm Arena (19,050)

Location: Atlanta, Ga.

Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Richard Hendrix, analyst)

Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 390 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, Producer)

The Starting Five

• Georgia returns to action on Saturday following an 11-day break from competition during Final Exams. The Bulldogs will face Grand Canyon at 6:00 p.m. in the third game of Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

• The Bulldogs are 8-1 – their best start since 2006-07 – and coming off a 69-48 win over Notre Dame which helped the SEC to an almost unfathomable 14-2 record in last week’s SEC/ACC Challenge. 

• Georgia’s astronomical ascent with college basketball’s metrics has continued during Mike White’s third season in Athens. Since White’s arrival, the Bulldogs have ascended an average of 187.7 spots among six of the most popular computer formulas – kenpom, NET, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR.

• Asa Newell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Newell is UGA’s first multi-time FOTW honoree since Anthony Edwards during the 2019-20 campaign.

• Entering this weekend, Georgia ranked among the nation’s top-40 teams in 11 statistical categories, headlined by being No. 3 in rebound margin (+13.2 rpg) and No. 4 in blocked shots (6.1 bpg).

The Opening Tip

Following an 11-day break from games during Final Exams, the Georgia Bulldogs return to action on Saturday to face Grand Canyon at 6:00 p.m. in the third game of a Holiday Hoopsgiving tripleheader at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The event also features Auburn taking on Ohio State at 1:00 and Florida meeting Arizona State at 3:30.

Georgia is 8-1 on the season, matching the program’s best start since the 2016-17 campaign.

The Bulldogs’ strongest attributes have been controlling the glass and protecting the rim. Entering this weekend, Georgia led the SEC in both rebound margin and blocks and nationally ranked No. 3 in boarding margin (+ 13.2 rpg) and No. 4 in rejections (6.1 bpg).

Georgia’s balanced office features five players who have led the Bulldogs offensively in one or more games this season. Three more have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those eight Bulldogs have combined to produce 38 double-digit performances in nine games. 

Asa Newell, who on Monday was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time in five weeks this season, leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). Among league leaders, Newell ranks No. 14 in both scoring and rebounding, as well as No. 4 in field goal percentage and No. 12 in blocks (1.2 bpg).

Three more Bulldogs are scoring at a double-digit pace for Georgia – Silas Demary Jr. at 13.7 ppg, Dakota Leffew at 13.6 ppg and Tyrin Lawrence at 11.4 ppg.

Scouting The Antelopes

Grand Canyon, which has earned NCAA Touranment bids during three of the last four seasons, is currently 6-4 on the season. 

The Antelopes are riding a four-game winning streak and defeated Life Pacific, 100-52, in their last action last Saturday to give fifth-year head coach Bryce Drew his 100th victory at GCU.

Tyon Grant-Foster and JaKobe Coles provide Grand Canyon with a potent 1-2 scoring punch, putting up 16.0 ppg and 15.9 ppg, respectively. Ray Harrison adds 12.9 ppg, while Collin Moore chips in 10.6 ppg. Duke Brennan, who missed the first four games of the season due to an injury, leads the Antelopes on the boards at 8.0 rpg and is litterally one point shy of averaging double figures at 9.8 ppg.

Bulldogs Face Grand Canyon For First Time 

Saturday’s game will be the first ever between Georgia and Grand Canyon on the hardwood. 

In fact, the Bulldogs have only played one game against the nine teams that currently comprise the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Georgia defeated Seattle, 103-58, on Nov. 28, 1986 in the opening game of an NCAA Tournament campaign for the Bulldogs. Toney Mack scored 25 points and Eric Burdette added a double-double of 22 points and 13 boards to lead Georgia that night. Those Bulldogs earned an NCAA bid but fell to Kansas State, 82-79, in overtime in the opening round. That matchup was a scoring duel among future NBA stars Willie Anderson (35 points) from UGA and Mitch Richmond (34 points) from KSU.

Georgia does have some history with Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who was 1-3 against the Bulldogs during three seasons as Vanderbilt’s head coach from 2016-19.

Last Time Out

Asa Newell’s double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds led Georgia in a 69-48 win over Notre Dame last Tuesday at Stegeman Coliseum as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Bulldogs helped the SEC secure a 14-2 edge in matchups between the two leagues.

Dakota Leffew added 16 points, Silas Demary Jr. chipped in 11 points in an efficient 5-of-7 shooting night and Tyrin Lawrence dished out a career-high seven assists with no turnovers.

Newell scored 11 points in the final 5:45 of the first half as Georgia pushed a five-point lead to 12 at the break. Notre Dame closed within 47-41 before the Bulldogs ended the night on a 22-7 surge.

The Bulldogs committed only five turnovers, their fewest since a 78-62 SEC Tournament win over Vanderbilt on March 7, 2018 when the Commodores were coached by…Bryce Drew.

“I love how we shared it,” head coach Mike White said. “We had 19 assists to five turnovers. That’s two games in a row where we’ve completely flip-flopped our turnover-assist ratio (43-to-17) to what it had been up until that point (99-to-107). So we’re getting better in that category. We defended the three at a really high rate. I like the way we moved it. It wasn’t perfect but, man, I’m very, very proud of the effort.”

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