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Kirby Smart Postgame Presser – Georgia vs. Ole Miss 2024
Carson Beck, Nazir Stackhouse and Malaki Starks Postgame Interviews – Georgia vs. Ole Miss 2024
MBB: Georgia will host Texas Southern at 3:30 Today
Date: Sunday, November 10, 2024
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix
Streaming: SEC Network+ (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play, Marcus Thornton, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
The Starting Five
• Georgia will host Texas Southern at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon in the second game of a doubleheader at Stegeman Coliseum also featuring UGA’s Lady Bulldogs vs. Furman.
• The Bulldogs defeated Tennessee Tech, 83-78, on Monday behind 26 points from Asa Newell. That effort tied Dominique Wilkins for the most point ever by a UGA freshman in their collegiate debut.
• Georgia is riding a 19-game non-conference winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs are perfect in home non-SEC games under Mike White – 8-0 in 2022-23, 10-0 in 2023-24 and 1-0 in 2024-25.
• Both Georgia’s freshman and transfer recruiting classes have been ranked among the top 10 nationally. The transfers were dubbed No. 8 by On3.com, while the freshmen were rated No. 10 by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com.
• In Mike White’s two seasons at Georgia, the Bulldogs ascended an average of 136 positions among six of the most popular college hoops metrics – KenPom, KPI, Torvik, BPI, NET and SOR.
The Opening Tip
The Georgia Bulldogs open play in the Peach State Classic on Sunday afternoon when they face Texas Southern’s Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum at 3:30 p.m. The contest is the second of a matinee doubleheader that also includes Georgia’s Lady Bulldogs against Furman at 1:00.
The Peach State Classic is a multi-team event being co-hosted by Georgia and Georgia Tech. In addition to today’s game, the Bulldogs will face North Florida on Tuesday as part of the event. Conversely, the Yellow Jackets will play UNF and TSU on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
Georgia opened the season on Monday with an 83-78 victory over Tennessee Tech. Asa Newell scored 26 points to lead the Bulldogs and also equal Dominique Wilkins for the most points ever by a UGA freshman in their debut. Also in their first game as Bulldogs, Dakota Leffew added 18 points and RJ Godfrey notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgia’s 2024-25 roster features 15 Bulldogs – six returnees, including a trio of starters, and nine newcomers, four freshmen and five transfers.
Series History With TSU
Georgia won its only previous matchup with Texas Southern, a 92-75 decision during the early portion of the 2018-19 season.
Those Tigers arrived in Athens with road wins over Baylor and No. 16 Oregon.
Tyree Crump scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Bulldogs in the 17-point win.
Nicolas Claxton added 15 points and nine rebounds, Derek Ogbeide chipped in a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and Rayshaun Hammonds finished with 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Crump’s straightaway 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 20-point lead midway through the second half and his career-best fifth trey of the evening made it 81-66 at the 4:56 mark.
Scouting The Tigers
Texas Southern is 1-1 on the young season after dropping a 78-69 decision at Xavier on Monday and defeating Texas A&M-San Antonio 100-66 on Wednesday.
Head coach Johnny Jones is 107-91 in his seventh season with the Tigers and 403-325 in his 23rd campaign overall, including a five-year stint at LSU from 2012-17. Jones has led TSU to postseason bids in five of his first six seasons with the Tigers, including three consecutive NCAA bids in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Kavion McClain, a senior transfer from Abilene Christian, has averaged 21.5 points per game in the Tigers’ first two outings. Kolby Granger adds a second double-digit scoring average at 11.0 ppg, while Kenny Hunter is chipping in 9.5 ppg and a team-high 6.5 rpg.
Last Time Out
Asa Newell exploded for 26 points in his collegiate debut to lead Georgia in an 83-78 win over Tennessee Tech in the Bulldogs’ season opener on Monday night.
Newell’s performance tied Dominique Wilkins’ school record for most points by a Bulldog freshman in their first contest in Red and Black.
Two Georgia natives playing in their first game at UGA also made major contributions. Dakota Leffew, a graduate from Hampton who played the last four seasons at Mount St. Mary’s, came off the bench to add 18 points, and RJ Godfrey, a junior from Suwanee who played his first two seasons at Clemson, posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards..
“This team has got a ways to go,” head coach Mike White said. “It’s easy when you’re at Charlotte and you’re up big late and there’s no game pressure on you and the things fall in and we’re getting tip dunks and what have you. Then you play Central Florida, who we all knew was a lot better than that. We probably weren’t that good. I hope to be that good in a couple months. Now it’s equal opportunity, a lot of stuff we were doing today, but that’s another area where we’ve got to grow and learn who we are. Who’s getting the ball and what spots at what time of the game and how we’re going to execute, what we can really hang our hat on. So, we’ll be able to learn a lot from this game.”
Asa Equals Dominique For Most Points By UGA Freshman In Debut
Asa Newell’s 26-point outburst against Tennessee Tech tied Dominique Wilkins for the highest offensive output ever by a Bulldog freshman in their collegiate debut as outlined to the right.
Wilkins also put up 26 points in his initial outing against Troy State on Nov. 30, 1979.
Newell started quickly, scoring his first 10 points over the opening 7:10 of the contest. He reached 20 points with 15:09 left and then garnered his first double-double with a rebound at the 14:13 mark of the second half. Newell matched Wilkins’ tally with an offensive rebound and putback with 2:20 remaining in the contest.
When asked by media postgame if he knew of Wilkins’ legacy at UGA and in the NBA, Newell quickly replied: “Yes, for sure. The human highlight reel. I’ve got a jersey of Dominique back at the crib.”
Since NCAA rules changed to allow freshmen to compete in basketball beginning with the 1972-73 season, 25 Bulldogs have scored in double figures during their first collegiate contest at UGA. That ledger includes sophomore Blue Cain, who put up 12 points against Oregon last season.
Top Debuts By Bulldog Freshmen
Pts. Player Opponent Date
26 Asa Newell Tennessee Tech 11/4/24
26 Dominique Wilkins Troy State 11/30/79
24 Anthony Edwards W. Carolina 11/5/19
19 Sahvir Wheeler W. Carolina 11/5/19
19 Terry Fair Troy State 11/30/79
18 Jeremy Price Jacksonville St. 11/9/07
18 D.A. Layne Mercer 11/13/98
17 Rayshaun Hammonds Bryant 11/10/17
17 Sundiata Gaines W. Kentucky 11/23/04
15 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Woffford 11/11/11
Bulldogs’ Home Non-Conference Winning Streak Reaches 19 Games
Georgia’s victory over Tennessee Tech in the season opener extended the Bulldogs’ non-conference winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum to 19 games.
Georgia is perfect against non-conference opposition at home during Mike White’s tenure, previously compiling an 8-0 record in 2022-23 and a 10-0 mark in 2023-24. The Bulldogs’ last loss at Stegeman to a non-conference foe was a 77-60 setback to Gardner-Webb on Dec. 29, 2022.
Leffew Strong At Stegeman…Once Again
Graduate transfer Dakota Leffew enjoyed his second excellent performance at Stegeman Coliseum during his first outing at the venue in a Georgia uniform.
The Hampton, Ga., native scored 18 points, dished out three assists and collected three steals in his Dog debut against the Golden Eagles.
Last season, Leffew put up a game-high 26 points for Mount St. Mary’s in the Mountaineers’ 94-82 setback to Georgia on Dec. 20.
Combining the two games, Leffew is averaging 22.0 points in Stegeman while shooting .607 from the field (17-of-28), including .500 (6-of-12) from 3-point range, and .800 (4-of-5) from the free throw line. He also is averaging 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in his Stegeman outings.
Godfrey Posts First Double-Double In First Game as A Bulldog
Junior RJ Godfrey recorded 10 double-figure scoring outputs and one double-digit rebounding count during his 69 games played at Clemson as a freshman and a sophomore.
On Monday, the Suwanee native and North Gwinnett High School alum notched the first double-double of his collegiate career, posting 10 points and equaling his career-high with 10 rebounds against the Golden Eagles.
Bulldogs Own Strong Records In Season Openers
With the victory over Tennessee Tech, Georgia improved to 86-34 record in opening contests of the Bulldogs’ 120 seasons of basketball. That includes an even more impressive 39-5 mark in openers at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs’ most significant win in a season opener at Stegeman also was their first. Georgia bested No. 13 North Carolina, 64-61, in the Bulldogs initial season opener in their current arena on Dec. 3 1964.
Stegeman, originally named the Georgia Coliseum, was christened late in the 1963-64 season when the Bulldogs bested Georgia Tech, 81-68, on Feb. 22.
The Bulldogs are now 56-6 in the home openers in the arena.
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