Georgia vs. Belmont NIT Game Notes

 

The Georgia Bulldogs will open post-season play on Wednesday night when they host the Belmont Bruins in a first-round matchup of the National Invitation Tournament at 7 PM ET in the Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia is seeded number three, while Belmont is a six seed.

 

NIT First Round

Georgia (19-13, 10-8 SEC) vs. Belmont (20-11, 12-4 OVC)

Wednesday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.

TV: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming, PBP; Sean Farnham, Color)

Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network by IMG

(Scott Howard, PBP; Chuck Dowdle, Color; Tony Schiavone, Producer)

Flagship: WSB AM 750

 

The Starting Five

• UGA is 2-0 all-time against Belmont, winning matchups in 1979 and 2002.

• UGA is appearing in the NIT for the 12th time, with best finishes of third in both 1982 and 1998.

• UGA leads the SEC and ranks No. 5 nationally in field goal percentage defense at .384.

• UGA is one win shy of posting three straight 20-win campaigns for the second time in 111 seasons of intercollegiate competition.

• Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann have helped UGA to 53 victories at Stegeman Coliseum, the Bulldogs’ most ever home wins covering a four-season stretch.

 

The Bulldogs are making their third-straight post-season appearance. Georgia reached the second round of the 2014 NIT and earned a bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Georgia is 19-13 on the season and has won five of its last six games. The Bulldogs won their final three regular-season contests – all over top-100 RPI foes – and then defeated Mississippi State and South Carolina in the SEC Tournament before falling to Kentucky, 93-80, in the semifinals. FYI, Georgia and Kentucky are the only two schools to reach the semifinals of the last three SEC Tourneys.

Georgia is one victory shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the third consecutive season. The Bulldogs have strung together a trio of 20-win campaigns just once in their 111 seasons of intercollegiate competition – from 1995-96 through 1997-98.

Georgia’s balanced offensive attack features four Bulldogs averaging double figures in the scoring column. All told, that quartet has compiled 93 double-digit scoring outputs and 30 20-point performances this season.

 

Consensus All-SEC picks J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten lead the Bulldogs.

Frazier averages a team-high 17.0 ppg and is ranked among the SEC’s top-10 in a league-high eight stats…basically everything but rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage.

Maten is contributing 16.2 ppg and is the top boarding Bulldog at 8.0 rpg. Maten has compiled team-high tallies of 28 double-figure scoring games, 10 double-digit rebounding performances and nine double-doubles.

Seniors Kenny Gaines (13.3 ppg) and Charles Mann (10.4 ppg) also are averaging double figures. Both Mann and Gaines have ascended into Georgia’s top-20 career scoring leaders. Mann is currently No. 15 (just eight from No. 14) and Gaines is No. 19.

 

Belmont is 20-11 overall and captured the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title with a 12-4 mark.

The Bruins also feature a potent 1-2 scoring punch. Forward Evans Bradds and guard Craig Bradshaw average 17.8 ppg and 16.4 ppg, respectively. Bradds averages a team-best 9.4 rpg. Taylor Barnette provides Belmont a third double-figure scorer at 10.6 ppg.

 

Keeping An Eye On…Entering Today’s Game:

Among UGA’s career Leaders
 

Charles Mann is…

• 8 points from No. 14 Levi Stukes

• 21 points from No. 13 Trey Thompkins

• 4 assists from No. 7 Pertha Robinson

• 5 assists from co-No. 5s Vern Fleming and Dustin Ware

 

Kenny Gaines is…

• 47 points from No. 18 Willie Anderson

• 2 3FGs from No. 4 Ezra Williams

• 4 3FGs from No. 3 Litterial Green

• 23 3FGAs from No. 3 Ezra Williams

 

J.J. Frazier is…

• 41 points from becoming UGA’s 47th 1,000-point scorer

• 2 3FGs from No. 10 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

• 1 3FGA from No. 12 Jody Patton

 

Series History With The Bruins

Georgia won both of its previous meetings with Belmont, matchups at Stegeman Coliseum during the 1979-80 and 2002-03 seasons.

Most recently, Jarvis Hayes scored 18 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures as No. 18 Georgia defeated Belmont, 87-71, on Nov. 23, 2002.

Belmont led as late as the 6:37 mark of the first half, when Adam Mark hit a spinning layup that put the Bruins ahead 27-26. Wayne Arnold countered with a 3-pointer, which triggered a string of nine consecutive points by the Bulldogs.

Chris Daniels scored on a stickback to give Georgia its largest margin of the first half at 40-29; however, Belmont responded with a pair of 3-pointers to cut the margin to 40-35 at the intermission.

Hayes helped the Bulldogs seize control in the second stanza. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the half and scored 11 points in a decisive 22-9 run.

Current Georgia assistant coach Jonas Hayes, Jarvis’ twin brother, scored four points in 24 minutes of action.

In the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bruins on Dec. 22, 1979, freshman Dominique Wilkins scored 18 points to pace the Georgia in a 74-53 victory.

Terry Fair (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Lavon Mercer (13 points, 10 rebounds) both added double-doubles for the Bulldogs, while Jimmy Daughtry chipped in 12.

Derrick Floyd, who currently serves as official scorer for Georgia Basketball and the SEC Tournament, also was a freshman on that team. Floyd started both the game before (12 points vs. Erskine) and after (eight points vs. Lenoir Rhyne) but did not play against the Bruins. Floyd missed the contest due to a slight ankle injury.

 

Last Time Out

Georgia’s run in the SEC Tournament came to a halt in the semifinals against second-seeded Kentucky as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs fell 93-80.

Georgia was paced by Yante Maten who had 20 points. J.J. Frazier added 19 points and five assists, and Kenny Gaines contributed 16 points. Freshman Derek Ogbeide tallied a game-high eight rebounds.

“I love our team,” Mark Fox said. “Our team has great character. We made a lot of plays until about the last eight minutes. I think we thought this was a game that we could and should win, but we just couldn’t close it. Our defense just wasn’t as good in the last seven or eight minutes, and we couldn’t get the stops we needed to get.”

Georgia opened the game on a 15-5 run, spurred by three baskets in the first three minutes by Gaines. The Bulldogs maintained the lead until a Jamal Murray 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 34-32 edge.

The Bulldogs responded with a Frazier floater and a Gaines 3-pointer to reclaim the lead at 37-34 and finished the period up 49-44, the most points in a first half for Georgia and against Kentucky this season.

Georgia led 55-51 with 15:57 remaining when Frazier suffered an ankle injury following a layup. The Bulldogs expanded that margin to eight points at 62-54 with 13:00 before the Wildcats rallied.

Kentucky took the lead 68-67 at the eight-minute mark. The Wildcats extended the lead to nine during a decisive 11-3 run capped by a layup by Murray to make it 81-70.

 

Bulldogs In Search Of 20th Win

Georgia is one win shy of posting its third straight 20-win campaign. The Bulldogs won 21 games last year and recorded 20 victories in 2013-14.

Last season, Mark Fox became the second Georgia coach to lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back 20-win efforts. Tubby Smith is the other, doing so in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

Fox has three 20-win performances in his first six seasons in Athens, second only to Hugh Durham in Georgia Basketball annals. Durham had four 20-win teams during his 17 seasons at Georgia.

 

UGA’s NIT History…A Lot Of Dozens

Georgia has a 12-12 record in 12 all-time appearances in the NIT, including an 8-3 mark in Athens.

The Bulldogs earned their first post-season bid of any kind to the 1981 NIT and also participated in the 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2014 NITs.

Georgia’s best performances came in 1982 and 1998 when UGA advanced to the NIT semifinals. The Bulldogs lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the 1982 semis and to Penn State, 66-60, in the 1998 semis. Georgia bounced back to defeat Fresno State, 95-79, in the 1998 consolation contest.

 

Bulldogs vs. The NIT Field

Georgia compiled a 6-2 record against five of the other schools included in the 32-team NIT bracket. The Bulldogs were: 3-0 vs. South Carolina; 1-0 vs. Alabama; 1-0 vs. Georgia Tech; 1-0 vs. High Point; and 0-2 vs. Florida.

 

Mann Sets “GP” Record…Sort Of

Charles Mann played in his 130th game for the Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinals against Kentucky. That represents the most ever by a four-year Bulldog…and the second-most by any Georgia player.

G.G. Smith and Michael Chadwick both played in 129 games for Georgia from 1995-99, the previous record for four-year players.

However, Marcus Thornton played in 133 contests in his five-season career. Thornton played in nine games in 2012-13 before redshirting due to an injury.

 

Dogs’ “D” Has Been Consistent

Georgia leads the SEC and is No. 5 nationally in field goal defense at 38.4 percent.

The Bulldogs have held 28 of 32 opponents under their season field goal percentage, with three opponents shooting in the 50s, seven shooting in the 40s, 19 shooting in the 30s and three shooting in the 20s.

During the 2015 calendar portion of the schedule, Georgia’s opponents connected on a paltry 36.6 percent (218-of-596) of their shots from the field.

Subtract out those totals and the Bulldogs’ opposition made 45.8 percent (3203-of-6990) of their field goals attempted.

Georgia also held 15 of its 18 SEC foes under their season shooting performance.

In the league opener on Jan. 2, Florida became the first team to shoot a better percentage against the Bulldogs than otherwise. The Gators entered the game shooting 42.2 percent but hit 42.3 – yes, .1 of one percent better – versus Georgia.

Texas A&M was the first team to make half its attempts against UGA at 52.7 percent. Kentucky also did so twice, shooting 51.8 percent in Lexington and 50.0 percent in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

 

Better Boarding Bulldogs

Georgia’s rebounding efforts have improved consistently this season.

The Bulldogs entered league action ranked No. 8 in the league and No. 158 nationally in rebounding margin at +1.6.

Georgia has since ascended to No. 4 in the SEC and No. 71 nationally at +3.3. More impressively, the Bulldogs were No. 2 in rebound margin in SEC play at +5.6.

Much of that improvement can be contributed to Georgia’s youthful frontcourt performers – sophomore Yante Maten and freshmen Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide.

Maten upped his rebounding numbers from 7.5 rpg in games during the 2015 calendar to 8.3 rpg versus SEC foes. Ogbeide was at 3.2 rpg in Georgia’s first 10 games but grabbed 5.9 rpg in SEC play, while Edwards jumped from 2.8 rpg to 3.7 rpg.

 

Bulldogs Hot At The Stripe

Georgia’s 5-1 record over its last six games has been aided by excellent free throw shooting. The Bulldogs have connected on 127-of-159 trips to the line, a stellar 79.9 percent.

J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten have done much of the damage at the line.

Maten is 30-of-33 (.90.9 percent), and Frazier is 46-of-53 (86.8 percent) – including an intentional miss with 2.1 seconds left against South Carolina in the SEC Tournament.

Both players also had streaks of 20 consecutive makes during that stretch.

Frazier was 12-of-12 against Alabama in the regular-season finale and 8-of-8 versus Mississippi State in the SEC Tourney. Maten was 5-of-5 from the line in each of the first four contests in that stretch.

 

UGA In Midst Of Most SEC Success

Georgia has extended its most successful stretch in Southeastern Conference play ever. The Bulldogs finished with a 10-8 league record and in the process:

• Posted their fourth straight .500 or better league record – the first time in 84 seasons of SEC play that Georgia has put together four consecutive .500 or better campaigns;

• Notched their third straight double-figure SEC win total – another program first;

• Improved their best-ever SEC win tallies over three-season (33) and four-season (42) spans.

Georgia was 11-7 and tied for third in the SEC last season. That followed a 12-6 record in 2013-14 when Georgia tied for second in the SEC and a 9-9 effort during 2012-13.

The Bulldogs’ 23 combined SEC wins in 2013-14 and 2014-15 also represent Georgia’s winningest two-year span.

Georgia also reached the semifinals of a third straight SEC Tournament. UGA and Kentucky are the only two teams to advance to the 2014, 2015 and 2016 SEC semis.

 

Winningest Home Duo Ever

Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann will forever be remembered fondly in UGA annals. The Peach State natives chose to attend their state university and help build the stature of Georgia Basketball.

Over the past four years, they’ve done just exactly that.

Gaines and Mann have helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back-to-back postseason bids and 53 victories at Stegeman Coliseum – the winningest four-season home stretch in program history.

 

Accolades For Frazier, Maten

J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten were named All-SEC by both league coaches and the Associated Press. Frazier and Maten were second-team choices of the coaches and third-team honorees by the AP.

In addition, Frazier was named the State of Georgia’s College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and earned a spot on the All-SEC Tournament team after averaging 22.3 ppg in thee outings in Nashville.

 

Gaines, Mann Rewriting Records

Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann are consistently making moves on UGA’s career scoring leaders ledger.

Mann entered the season at No. 36 among the Bulldogs’ all-time points leaders and has ascended to No. 15. Gaines became Georgia’s 46th 1,000-point scorer against Clemson on Dec. 22and is now No. 19.

Mann now has 1,375 points, eight from No. 14 Levi Stukes.

Gaines currently has 1,301 points, 47 shy of No. 18 Willie Anderson.

Mann and Gaines are one of just three sets of classmates included among the Bulldogs’ top-20 career scoring leaders, joining No. 3 Vern Fleming and No. 11 James Banks (1981-84) and No. 7 Shandon Anderson and No. 12 Carlos Strong (1993-96).

 

A Massive Amount of “PT”

Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann have a combined 254 games played, 196 starts and 6,665 minutes played for Georgia.

Much of those numbers have been compiled together.

Gaines and Mann have started together for 88 of Georgia’s 98 contests since the beginning of the their sophomore year of 2013-14. All told, they have played 2,127 minutes and 27 seconds together at Georgia.

 

A Positive Breakout

Not that the media needs any self affirmation but the folks who predicted Yante Maten would be one of the nation’s “breakout” players this season – including those at CBS, NBC and SI – are probably feeling pretty good.

Most expected Maten to up his contributions following the departure of senior frontcourt playing mates Nemanja Djurisic and Marcus Thornton.

Few probably expected those increases to be so dramatic.

As a freshman a year ago, Maten averaged 5.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 18.2 minutes per game for the Bulldogs.

This season, Maten has more than tripled his scoring (16.2 ppg) and also has upped both his rebounding (8.0 rpg) and playing time (29.9 mpg) by massive chunks. 

Maten has posted five career-high scoring outputs this season, including four in the first seven games.

He improved from 13 points entering the year, to 17 points versus Chattanooga in the opener, to 21 points in back-to-back outings against Seton Hall and Oakland, and to 24 points versus Winthrop. Maten topped that mark with 25 points at Mississippi State on Feb. 13.

Maten’s increased production can actually be traced back to last year’s post-season. He notched his first double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against South Carolina in the SEC Tourney.

That opened an active 35-game stretch in which Maten has recorded: 

• 29 of his 33 double-digit scoring outputs;

• All 11 of his 20-point performances;

• All 11 of his career double-figure rebounding efforts; and

• All 10 of his double-doubles.

 

J.J. Almost Everywhere In SEC Stats

J.J. Frazier is ranked among the Southeastern Conference’s top-10 leaders in a league-high eight of 11 major statistical categories.

The 5-10, junior from Glennville, Ga., is currently No. 5 in steals (1.5), No. 5 in assist-to-TO ratio (2.6), No. 7 in scoring (17.0), No. 7 in 3-point percentage (.394), No. 8 in free throw percentage (.813), No. 8 in 3-pointers per game (2.4), No. 10 in assists (4.3) and No. 10 in minutes (32.1).

Trailing Frazier and ranked in seven top-10s is Stefan Moody of Ole Miss, followed by Kevin Punter of Tennessee, Ben Simmons of LSU and Tyler Ulis of Kentucky all with six.

 

Frazier Tabbed Top Peach Player

J.J. Frazier has been named the state of Georgia’s men’s college basketball Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Frazier is the Bulldogs’ eighth recipient of the state’s top hoops honor.

Vern Fleming was chosen in 1984, the initial year the award was given. Additional honorees include Jumaine Jones in 1999, Jarvis Hayes in both 2002 and 2003, Rashad Wright in 2004, Trey Thompkins in 2011 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2013.

 

Frazier Cranks It Up After Half

J.J. Frazier has shown quite the penchant for second-half scoring, with four 20-point second-halves this season.

Frazier poured in 22 of his season-high 35 points against Georgia Tech – the most points ever by a Bulldog against the Yellow Jackets – after the break on Dec. 19. He also scored 21 points in the second stanzas of matchups against Tennessee on Jan. 13 and at LSU on Jan. 26 and popped for 24 following intermission at Auburn on Feb. 24.

 

A Challenging Slate

Georgia’s strength of schedule is ranked No. 19 nationally in the NCAA’s RPI. The Bulldogs’ non-conference SOS is ranked No. 4.

The Bulldogs were 7-4 in non-conference action despite playing six games without a player in their current starting five – Derek Ogbeide (pronounced “Ohwg-Bay-Day”) for five contests and Kenny Gaines for one.

Georgia’s 11 non-conference opponents this season have averaged 20.1 wins, a tally that will continue to rise. Five foes are involved in the post-season – NCAA invitees Baylor, Chattanooga and Seton Hall and NIT participants Georgia Tech and High Point.

 

Frazier 100 Assists, 50 3s Again

J.J. Frazier has 136 assists and 74 made 3-pointers, topping the century and half-century marks for the second consecutive year.

Last season, Frazier posted 104 assists and knocked down 50 3-pointers.

Frazier joins G.G. Smith as the only two Bulldogs to reach those milestones twice. All told, UGA players have accomplished that feat eight times as outlined below.

 

100 Assist, 50 “3” Bulldogs

Season Player Asts. 3FGs

1991-92 Litterial Green 115 62

1995-96 Katu Davis 122 62

1996-97 G.G. Smith 148 52

1997-98 G.G. Smith 148 81

2000-01 D.A. Layne 108 65

2010-11 Dustin Ware 114 57

2014-15 J.J. Frazier 104 50

2015-16 J.J. Frazier 136 74

 

Injuries At An Inopportune Time

After a relatively injury-free preseason, the Bulldogs were bitten hard in the week of the season opener.

Following a Nov. 6 exhibition outing, freshman Derek Ogbeide (pronounced “Ohwg-Bay-Day”) suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for four weeks.

In addition, Juwan Parker, who started the first 14 games last season, has been out since the exhibition due to soreness in his Achilles. Parker missed virtually the entire second half of last season due to that injury, which required offseason surgery.

The lateness of those changes forced Georgia to mix and match rotation combinations for much of the first several games.

 

Ogbeide Back, Making Big Strides

Following an injury-induced detour, freshman Derek Ogbeide (pronounced “Ohwg-Bay-Day”) has progressed steadily this season.

Ogbeide enjoyed an impressive unofficial debut in a Nov. 6 exhibition win over Armstrong State with a game-high 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. He then suffered a right shoulder injury in practice and missed Georgia’s first five games.

Ogbeide finally made his official premiere against Kansas State, checking at the 17:27 mark of the first half versus the Wildcats and playing two minutes in the contest.

“He was just cleared today a little before 2 o’clock,” Mark Fox said. “I just wanted to get him 45 seconds here and there just to get him to relax and so he’d been out there before.”

The day before the Kansas State contest Fox was asked about Ogbeide’s absence.

“He would allow us to impose our size and physicality on people” Fox said.

Ogbeide now is doing just that.

Ogbeide was No. 16 among league leaders in stats for SEC games only at 5.9 rpg…despite being the only player in the top-20 who averaged less than 20.0 mpg.

 

More PT for KPG

Kenny Paul Geno entered the 2015-16 season with a career high of 21 minutes played against Missouri late last season.

This season, Geno is averaging 19.8 minutes of action per game. The Booneville, Miss., native has matched or bettered his previous career-most MP in 13 games, including a career-best of 35 versus Chattanooga.

 

Mann Breaks UGA FT Record

With his successful trip to the line at the 8:22 mark of the second half against South Carolina on Feb. 6, Charles Mann became Georgia’s most prolific free throw shooter.

Mann broke Alec Kessler’s UGA career record for free throw makes. In January, he broke Litterial Green’s career attempts mark. 

Mann also ranks among the SEC’s career in FTs and FTAs as outlined below.

 

SEC Career Free Throw Attempts

Rk. FTA Player Seasons FT

1.1152Pete Maravich, LSU1968-70893

2.892Bailey Howell, MSU1957-59682

3. 878 Charles Mann, UGA 2013-16 605

4.873BJ McKie, SC1996-99672

5.848Carl Widseth, UT1953-56621

6.785Ronnie Williams, UF1982-84546

7.784Jerry Harper, Bama1954-56473

8.773Udonis Haslem, UF1999-02515

9.767Allan Houston, UT1991-93651

10.744Litterial Green, UGA1989-92548

 

SEC Career Free Throw Makes

Rk. FT Player Seasons FTA

1.893Pete Maravich, LSU1968-701152

2.682Bailey Howell, MSU1957-59892

3.672BJ McKie, SC1996-99873

4.651Allan Houston, UT1990-93767

5.621Carl Widseth, UT1953-56848

6. 605 Charles Mann, UGA 2013-16 878

7.550Kenny Walker, UK1983-88733

8. 549Alec Kessler, UGA1987-90720

9.548Litterial Green, UGA1989-92744

10.546Ronnie Williams, UF1982-84785

 

Mann Joins UGA Top-10 Assist List

Charles Mann moved into Georgia’s all-time top-10 assists leaders during the Bulldogs’ Jan. 23 victory over Arkansas.

Mann distributed five buckets-to-be against the Razorbacks to up his career total to 355.That tied Donald Hartry, who was a member of Georgia’s 1983 NCAA Final Four team, for the No. 10 slot.

Mann enters the Belmont game with 395 assists, four shy of the current No. 7, Pertha Robinson and five away from co-No. 5s Vern Fleming and Dustin Ware.
 

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