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MBB: Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) vs. No. 4/4 Alabama (18-3, 7-1 SEC) This Afternoon in Tuscaloosa

Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025

Time: 4:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Coleman Coliseum (13,474)

Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: ESPN2 (Michael Schumacker, play-by-play; Richard Hendrix, analyst)

Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 121 or 191 (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)

The Starting Five

• Georgia treks to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face No. 4/4 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum, the Bulldogs’ fourth matchup overall – and third on the road – against a top-10 foe in their last six games.

• Georgia flips the calendar from a January, when the Bulldogs played six of eight games against top-25 competition, to find a February, with six of seven opponents included in this week’s polls. Three of those February foes are currently in the top 10.

• After using the same starting five for 20 games, Georgia altered that lineup and sent Dakota Leffew to the floor for the opening tip against South Carolina. He responded with a team-leading “+17” which featured 14 points, a team-high four assists and season-high tallies of three steals and 35 minutes.

• Asa Newell was named to The Athletic’s Freshman All-America team on Wednesday. Among freshmen nationally, Newell ranks No. 11 in scoring, No. 10 in rebounding and No. 3 in FG pct.

• The Bulldogs enter the weekend ranked 37.5 in an average of six popular metrics (NET, KenPom, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR) – an increase of 181.5 spots since Mike White became UGA’s head coach.

The Opening Tip

After playing six of eight games against ranked teams during the month of January, the Georgia Bulldogs christen their February slate with a trip to No. 4/4 Alabama on Saturday, the first of six contests versus teams in this week’s polls over the next four weeks.

The matchup with the Crimson Tide completes a six-game span in which Georgia faced four top-10 squads – No. 6/6 Tennessee, No. 1/1 Auburn, No. 5/6 Florida and No. 4/4 Alabama.

The Bulldogs are 15-6 overall and 3-5 in SEC play.

Georgia’s balanced offense features seven players who have led the Bulldogs in one or more games. Two more players have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those nine Bulldogs have produced 77 double-digit performances. 

Asa Newell, who has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times, leads a trio of Bulldogs averaging double figures at 15.2 ppg. He also paces UGA on the boards at 7.0 rpg. Among league leaders, Newell is ranked No. 14 in scoring and No. 12 rebounding. He also is No. 3 in the SEC and No. 43 nationally in field goal percentage (.559).

Silas Demary Jr. and Dakota Leffew are scoring at double-digit paces of 11.3 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively, for the Bulldogs. Demary Jr. also sports team-high averages of 2.8 apg and 1.8 spg.

Scouting The Tide

Alabama enters Saturday’s game at 18-3 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 4 in both the AP and coaches polls. Alabama began the season ranked No. 2 in both ledgers, dropped outside the top 10 for one week (Dec. 2) before a steady ascent back into the top 5.

The Crimson Tide is 11-1 at Coleman Coliseum this season, with a lone loss coming to No. 21 Ole Miss on Jan. 14.

Mark Sears owns team-high averages of 18.0 ppg and 5.0 apg, tallies that rank fourth and third, respectively, among SEC leaders. The Tide sports a trio of additional active double-digit scorers, with Grant Nelson at 12.7 ppg, Aden Holloway at 11.7 ppg and Labaron Philon at 11.0 ppg.

Series History With Bama

Alabama sports a 100-54 advantage in the all-time series with Georgia.

Alabama rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit en route to an 85-76 win over Georgia last season on Jan. 31 in Athens.

Georgia raced to a 17-2 lead over the game’s first 8:03 and maintained a 41-27 advantage at the intermission.

The Bulldogs led for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Alabama rallied. After trailing 59-47, a bucket at the 9:53 mark ignited a 19-5 surge to give the Tide its first lead of the evening. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Grant Nelson with just under two minutes remaining pushed Bama’s lead from two points to eight in a span of 29 seconds.

Last Time Out

Asa Newell notched his fifth double-double overall – and third in SEC play – lead Georgia in a 71-60 win over South Carolina on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Newell finished with 17 points and 11 boards.

After using the same starting five for the first 20 outings, Dakota Leffew made his initial appearance for the opening tip and responded with 14 points, four assists and season-best efforts of three steals and 35 minutes.

Dylan James, who scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes, played a key role. He scored eight straight points in a span of 68 seconds late in the first half to help Georgia push a five-point lead with 4:55 left in the period to 14 points at the intermission. The Bulldogs then led by double figures for all but 25 seconds of the second stanza.

“We played a really good first half,” Mike White said. “I think it started with our ball security and our decisions. Just having three turnovers at halftime was the biggest difference for us.”

GYM: Georgia Defeats Alabama, Improves to 1-1 in the SEC

TEAM SCORES
    No. 12 Georgia: ​ 196.975
    No. 14 Alabama: 196.575
Georgia’s Season Record: 3-3 (1-1 SEC)

GymDogs Event Scores:
Vault: 49.150 | Bars: 49.075 | Beam: 49.425 | Floor: 49.325

The No. 12 Georgia GymDogs defeated No. 14 Alabama 196.975-196.575 on Friday night at Stegeman Coliseum in front of a crowd of 9,625.

FAST FACTS

• Georgia last beat the Crimson Tide 197.275-197.000 in Feb., 2021 at Stegeman Coliseum.
• The GymDogs captured their highest team score of the season with a 196.975 after scoring a 196.825 for two consecutive weeks.
• The Bulldogs swept all four individual event titles, beginning with Anaya Smith on the vault (9.900), Ady Wahl on bars (9.875), Kara Eaker on beam (9.925), and Lily Smith co-champion of floor (9.900). Ady Wahl’s win on the bars tallies her second title in the event this season.
• The GymDogs captured a 49.425 on beam, a new season high, with three gymnasts adding a score of 9.900 or higher— Anaya Turner – 9.900, Kara Eaker – 9.925, Ja’Free Scott – 9.900. Eaker’s beam routine was her first of the season and the highest score of the meet, earning her the event crown.
• Multiple Bulldogs earned career or season highs on Friday night, including Nicole King with a 9.875 on vault, Anaya Smith winning-9.900 on vault, and Holly Snyder with a 9.850 on floor.

Georgia Co-Head Coach, Ryan Roberts

On the importance of the team’s chemistry. . .

“I just noticed the team taking control of what we’re doing. We always say we want to develop an athlete-driven, coach-guided kind of culture, taking ownership, and that’s what they’re doing. They support one another, they understand how to navigate interpersonal conflicts and any obstacles. One of our core team values is resilience, and they display it.”

On the scores increasing each week. . .

“We had three goals this season. One of them was to be a little bit better each meet. We’ve done that so far. We just want to keep it step by step, one practice at a time, one week at a time… You feel pressure to compete and do well in one thing, but you have to remember the totality of what you do. It’s just another meet in the totality of what we’re doing in the season. So that’s how we approach it. Each meet is practice because we’re practicing for the postseason. So, small errors are not a big deal, as long as you learn from them.”

Kara Eaker, Jr.

On what it meant to be back competing. . .
“After everything, being able to get back out there and just have so much fun with this team. . . it means everything to me. I am just really looking forward to continuing that energy for the rest of season.”

Ady Wahl, So.

On winning the first home SEC meet. . .
“It was just so cool that we were able to do that at home. We came into this meet with a really good feeling, and there was just a higher energy. Alabama was coming in with higher energy, so we were just trying to match that. Having that win under our belt is really good for our confidence.”

UP NEXT:
Georgia Gymnastics will hit the road next week to take on the Auburn Tigers in Neville Arena on Friday, Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m., ET. 

WTEN: Georgia Faces North Carolina Today at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Tennis Facility

The No. 1-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team (3-0) is set to No. 8 North Carolina (5-1) on Saturday, Feb. 1 with first serve at 2 p.m. ET at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Tennis Facility.

Fast Facts

• The Bulldogs trail the all-time series 4-15 against the Tar Heels, with Georgia’s last win coming in the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship match in a 4-3 victory over UNC. 
• Saturday’s meeting will mark the first time the Bulldogs face the Tar Heels as the higher-ranked team since the 2016 ITA National Team Indoor Semifinals (No. 2 vs No. 5).
• Georgia enters Saturday’s matchup with five players listed in the latest ITA player rankings. In singles, Dasha Vidmanova heads the top of the list at No. 1 followed by Anastasiia Lopata at No. 29 and Guillermina Grant at No. 60. In doubles, Guillermina Grant and Aysegul Mert slot in at No. 19 while Mert and Hayden Mulberry come in at No. 43. 
• The Bulldogs currently sit on a five-match winning streak against ITA top 10-ranked opponents dating back to last season. 
• Vidmanova, Mert and Sofia Rojas have each contributed a singles victory in each of the Bulldogs’ first three dual matches this season.

Match 4 – No. 1 Georgia vs No. 8 North Carolina
Date: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Site: Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Tennis Facility
Live Stream/Scoring: https://gado.gs/indoorlive

Last Time Out
Georgia improved to 3-0 on the season with a 5-0 sweep over Princeton to punch its ticket to the 2025 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Opening with doubles, Anastasiia Lopata and Mell Reasco each earned their first dual victory of the season, teaming up to defeat Yichen Zhao and Tsehay Driscoll, 6-3, for the first win of the day. The duo of Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova followed up to secure the doubles point for the Bulldogs, taking a 6-2 win over Pearlie Zhang and Bella Chhiv on court one. Moving ahead to singles, Reasco dominated on court four as she tallied Georgia’s first singles win of the day with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Zhao. Sofia Rojas followed not long after with a victory on court six, cruising past Zhang 6-3, 6-1, to earn her third win in as many matches. No. 1 Vidmanova earned the clinch to secure the sweep for Georgia, taking a 6-2, 6-1 result over Alice Ferlito on court one. Within seconds of Vidmanova’s clinch, Mert secured match point on court three, locking in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Eva Elbaz to cap off the team score at 5-0.

Scouting the Opponent
North Carolina heads into Athens with a 5-1 overall record with four wins coming via sweep while its only loss coming in an early season unofficial conference matchup against No. 9 Virginia, 4-3. Led by head coach Brian Kalbas in his 22^nd season in Chapel Hill and 33^rd season overall, the Tar Heels look to continue success in 2025. UNC enter Saturday’s meeting with five players listed in the latest ITA rankings. In doubles, Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig headline the list at No. 1 followed by Tatum Evans and Theadora Rabman at No. 20 and Maltby and Lindsay Zink at No. 64. In singles, Rabman leads the way at No. 9 followed by Tanguilig at No. 20 and Evans at No. 23. 

Dawgs in the Polls
No. 1 Georgia enters the weekend with five Bulldogs listed in the latest ITA player rankings. In singles, Dasha Vidmanova heads the top of the list at No. 1 followed by Anastasiia Lopata at No. 29 and Guillermina Grant at No. 60. In doubles, Guillermina Grant and Aysegul Mert slot in at No. 19 while Mert and Hayden Mulberry come in at No. 43. 

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