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MBB: Millender Leads UGA To Win at Missouri

The No. 21-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (16-3, 4-2) held on for a 74-72 win over Missouri (13-6, 3-3) on Tuesday night at the Mizzou Arena. Smurf Millender co-led all scorers with 18 points, including the final and-one lay-up to secure the win.

Fast Facts:

• With the win, Georgia narrows the all-time series lead by the Tigers to just 12-11. More, the Bulldogs have picked up wins in the last two trips to Columbia.
• To go with Millender’s 18 points, Jeremiah Wilkinson, Kanon Catchings and Somto Cyril also scored in double figures, adding 14, 12 and 11 points, respectively. 
• After a Missouri triple to retake the lead at 72-71 with 0:18 remaining in the second half, Millender laid in with the foul with 0:05 left in the game. After knocking down the free throw, the Tigers failed to score on the last attempt of the game as Georgia held on for the two-point road win.
• Cain’s 10 rebounds tie his season-high set against Florida A&M on Nov. 17. The 10 boards also match his conference-best mark set last year against LSU on Feb. 5, 2025.
• Cyril set a career-high in both free throws attempted and free throws made, going 9-11 from the stripe. Millender was also perfect at 5-5 from the free-throw line, and the Bulldogs shot 86% (18-21) from the line.
• Georgia led Missouri in rebounds (44-39), points off turnovers (19-10) and bench points (29-17).

Key Quotes:

Georgia Head Coach Mike White
On the game…
“On the road, we didn’t play great. We didn’t shoot great. Credit them. They were undefeated at home, and what I just reminded our guys, we have a number by our name. Right? It’s great. It’s great for our fans. It’s great for our program, and the trajectory of where we’re headed as a program and all those things. We’ve earned it. We were still the underdog tonight coming into Missouri on the road in the SEC. You just did that when the home team’s worth a bunch more points. They were fantastic defensively. They blew up a lot of stuff. They disrupted timing. They disrupted cutting, and we took some shots that were a little fatigue because it was a dogfight. It’s two teams really battling, and we won a game ugly on the road against a really good Missouri team, especially the way they play at home. A huge win for us.”

On Missouri’s offensive rebounding…
“They killed us on a glass. They did. It was crazy. I felt like we had addressed it, and we had we were better yesterday in practice in the same arena, blocking out and fighting. It’s hard when you’ve got, I don’t know, how many thousand we’re in here today, but it was a raucous crowd. It was it was a great college basketball environment. Sometimes that zaps your energy a little bit. We got to be better than that. We got to defend the glass better in Austin and moving forward. We got some ourselves, and we got some extra possessions by our threes, fours and fives flying into on our offensive glass.”

On winning games in different ways…
“We had a good look about ourselves. I liked our aura throughout the whole game. Honestly, the one time I thought we looked a little bit unsure was that last time out before the baseline out of bounds, and then they called another time out when I thought we were going to get a good look. They went, man, then they went back zone, but boy, the way that our guys executed that play, and obviously Smurf Millinder made a huge individual play at the rim. Then our attention to detail defensively to that last stop. I mean, [Jacob] Crews is hard. He’s hard to defend. He’s a six-eight shooter flying off a stagger and did a good job there defending without fouling.”

Up Next: The No. 21 Bulldogs will remain on the road to take on Texas on Saturday, January 24 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

ICYMI: UGA Announces Coaching Change at Offensive Line

University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart announced today that Stacy Searels, the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach since 2022, will transition into an offensive analyst role for the 2026 season, while assistant offensive line coach Phil Rauscher has been promoted to offensive line coach.

“We’re grateful for everything Coach Searels has poured into our program over the past several seasons,” Smart said. “His knowledge, experience and steady leadership have been instrumental to our offensive production. In his new role, Stacy will continue to impact our offensive strategy and provide mentorship for both our staff and players.”

Searels returned to Georgia as offensive line coach in February 2022 after previously serving in the same role at North Carolina for three seasons. Since coming back to Athens, he has helped develop seven NFL Draft picks, including first-round selections Amarius Mims and Broderick Jones. In his new capacity as an analyst, Searels will focus on opponent scouting, game planning and player evaluation.

Rauscher, who worked alongside Searels as assistant offensive line coach in 2025, will assume primary responsibility for the offensive line unit heading into spring practice.

“Phil has been a tremendous asset to our staff and players,” Smart said. “He has earned this opportunity through his work ethic, technical expertise and his ability to connect with our players. We’re excited about the future of our offensive line under his leadership.”

Rauscher has spent 16 years in the collegiate and NFL coaching ranks, working on the offensive side of the ball at both levels. He most recently served as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator following previous NFL stops with the Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings. A former UCLA offensive lineman from 2003-05, Rauscher began his coaching career with the Bruins before making collegiate stops at Dixie State, Hawaii and Cal Lutheran.

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