Georgia (7-4, 0-4 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (6-4, 1-2 SEC)

Saturday, January 16, at 12:00 p.m. ET

The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) in Oxford, Miss.

Series History: UGA leads, 74-45

Last Meeting: UGA, 81-63, on March 11, 2020

Watch: SEC Network (Tom Hart play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)

Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; XM: 381; Internet: 971 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)

The Starting Five

• Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler enter the week tied for the SEC lead with four double-doubles. Camara’s are point-board. Wheeler’s are point-assist.

• K.D. Johnson’s 21 points against Auburn was the third-most ever by a UGA freshman in his debut…trailing only D. Wilkins (26) and A. Edwards (24).

• Sahvir Wheeler’s four point-assist double-doubles in the first nine games equaled the second-best single-season total by any SEC player in the 2000s.

• Eight different Bulldogs have scored in double figures during the 2020-21 season, combining to produce 44 double-digit performances in just 11 games.

• UGA’s roster features eight newcomers with representative in every class – two freshmen, a sophomore, two juniors and a trio of senior graduate transfers.

The Opening Tip

Georgia travels to Oxford, Miss., this Saturday for the Bulldogs’ third SEC road outing in a four-game span. Georgia and Ole Miss will meet for a matinee matchup at The Pavilion.

The Bulldogs are 7-4 overall. Georgia began the 2020-21 campaign with a 7-0 start that was the program’s best beginning in 38 years…since Georgia’s 1982-83 Final Four season.

The Bulldogs entered this week as the only D-I men’s hoops program with six players sporting double-figure scoring averages. Through last Sunday, 345 men’s basketball teams had played games during the 2020-21 season. 

Five Georgia players are now averaging double digits, but there’s a twist to that list. Freshman K.D. Johnson, who played his first game of the season, joined the fold with a 21-point outburst against Auburn on Wednesday. However, Andrew Garcia and Tye Fagan slipped under the 10.0 per game. Garcia is literally a single point shy (109 points in 11 games is 9.9 ppg), while Fagan has scored 104 points (9.5 ppg).

Keeping An Eye On . . . Entering Todayt’s Game: 

Justin Kier is…

• 5 assists from 250 for his career

• 12 rebounds from 600 for his career

Andrew Garcia is…

• 107 points from 1,000 for his career

• 32 rebounds for 500 for his career

Series History With Ole Miss

Georgia is 74-45 all-time versus Ole Miss; however, the Rebels own a 28-25 advantage in games played in Oxford. 

Georgia and Ole Miss met twice last season, with the Rebels winning a regular-season matchup in Athens but the Bulldogs exacting revenge in the opening round of the SEC Tournament…hours before the sports world came to a screeching halt for the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the March 11 matchup at Bridgestone Arena, Georgia never trailed and led for 39:10 of the contest en route to an 81-63 win.

Georgia built a 24-10 advantage at the 6:18 mark of the opening half. After the Rebels trimmed that margin to 35-30, a Rayshaun Hammonds jumper and a half-court, buzzer beater from Sahvir Wheeler put the Bulldogs back up by 11 (41-30) at the intermission.

Georgia scored the first five points of the second stanza and only allowed Ole Miss to pull within single digits once thereafter.

Earlier last season on Jan. 25, the Rebels defeated the Bulldogs, 70-60, before a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum. 

Jordan Harris notched what were then season-high efforts of 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks to lead Georgia.

The Rebels quickly stretched a six-point halftime advantage to 11 before the Bulldogs countered with a 14-2 run to go up 43-42 on an Anthony Edwards 3-pointer with 12:31 left.

Ole Miss regained the lead just 27 seconds later and never trailed the rest of the evening.

Scouting The Rebels

Ole Miss is 6-4 overall and 1-2 in SEC play entering Saturday’s game. Due to COVID-19 issues, the Rebels were the final Power 5 team to start their 2020-21 season. Ole Miss tipped off its campaign on Dec. 10 and wasted no time in getting games in, playing six games were over 13 days.

Devontae Shuler leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Rebels at 12.6 ppg, while Romello White and KJ Buffen are chipping in 11.6 ppg and 10.1 ppg, respectively.

Last Time out

Despite a 21-point outing by K.D. Johnson in his collegiate debut, the Bulldogs dropped a 95-77 decision to Auburn at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday.

Georgia scored the first seven points of the second half to pull within 45-41 with 18:36 remaining the game; however, the Tigers responded with a 22-3 surge to gain control.

Johnson Wows In His UGA Debut

Freshman K.D. Johnson made quite a splash in his first collegiate outing against Auburn on Wednesday. The Atlanta native poured in 21 points – the third-most ever by a Bulldog in their first outing for UGA as outlined below.

Johnson missed the first 10 games of the season while the NCAA reviewed his academic certification. On Monday, Jan. 11, Johnson announced on social media that he was immediately eligible to play. Two days later, he took the court and produced an extremely impressive linescore. Not only did he score 21 points, Johnson had seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks.