The Georgia men’s basketball team went head to head against USC Upstate Tuesday night and narrowly escaped an upset. The Bulldogs won 74-65, but the bigger question is what Mark Fox wants to do with his lineup.
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Fox started the game with Turtle Jackson, Yante Maten, E’Torrion Wilridge, Rayshaun Hammonds, and Derek Ogbeide. However, throughout the game, Fox went small, large and in between when it came to the lineup. When Fox had the starting five in, they scored and did well on both sides of the ball. It was when he changed things up when things went awry.
Georgia performed well on offense in the first half, but in the second half, the Bulldogs struggled to get any kind of offense going. Fox changed the lineup often if guys didn’t perform well. These games are for Georgia to decide on the final lineup, but it showed that besides the starting five, the Bulldogs don’t have much of an offense. Georgia did come out hot in the second half but then went dry for over five minutes as Fox tried various things.
The Bulldogs ended up depending on Yante Maten to win the game, which is something they shouldn’t do if it wants to be successful this season. Fox must find a lineup that can shoot from the perimeter and more than one person to be counted on as a scorer. Georgia had three people score over 10 points, which is good but in reality, need at least four or five to do that. Teams have stopped Georgia in the past because opponents have been able to game plan and contain the leaders like Maten, and it is what happened tonight, especially during the second-half of the game.
Georgia’s offense couldn’t find any real momentum, which could cost them some games the further it gets into the season, especially in conference play. It’s still early in the season, but Georgia must decide on a lineup. After narrowly escaping an upset against USC Upstate it shows that Georgia hasn’t found the right mix just yet, and Fox hasn’t done that yet. The Head Coach depended upon Maten, Rayshaun Hammonds, and Turtle Jackson to score, but when USC Upstate was able to contain those three, the Bulldogs couldn’t do anything on offense.
It will be interesting to see what Coach Fox decides to do next as Georgia faces Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Sunday. If the team wants to be successful, Georgia must find more of a rhythm on offense and be more consistent throughout the game. If Georgia is not able to do so, it could be a long season for the Bulldog men.
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