Georgia (13-9, 4-6) vs. Vanderbilt (8-15, 2-8)
Wednesday, February 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) in Nashville, Tenn.
Watch: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, analyst)
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer); Flagship:WSB AM 750 Atlanta
The Starting 5…
• In stats for league games only, UGA is No. 3 nationally in FG defense among Power 5 teams.
• UGA’s com-bined six “Q1” and “Q2” wins are more than 25 teams ahead of UGA in the RPI.
• Yante Maten is 13 points from No. 4 Dominique Wilkins among UGA’s career scoring leaders.
• Yante Maten is the only player in the SEC’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, FG pct. & FT pct.
• Juwan Parker, the only DI MBB player with a master’s, is 3rd on UGA’s career FT pct. leaders list.
Bulldogs Wrap Up Road Stretch
Georgia completes a taxing stretch of five road outings in a seven-game span this evening when the Bulldogs venture to Vanderbilt. Following tonight’s contest, Georgia will enjoy four home dates in its next six games.
Georgia arrives at Memorial Gymnasium at 13-9 overall and in a six-way logjam for eighth place in the SEC standings at 4-6. All told, 11 of 14 league teams are within two games of each other – from 6-4 to 4-6.
All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Yante Maten leads the SEC in scoring by more than a half-point per game at 19.3 ppg (Arkansas’ Jaylen Barford is second at 18.7 ppg). Maten also is second in the league in rebounding at 9.0 rpg and is the only SEC player ranked among the conference’s top-10 in scoring, rebounding, FG pct. (No. 6) and FT pct. (No. 8).
Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs.
In 22 games this season, he has 21 double-figure outings, with nine double-doubles and 11 20-point performances.
Over 85 games since the start of his sophomore year, Maten has 77 double-digit scoring performances, with 33 20-point and five 30-point outings, and 24 double-doubles.
“Turtle” Jackson is the Dogs’ second-leading scorer at 9.5 ppg, with 12 double-figure games. Juwan Parker is UGA’s second-best point producer in SEC action at 9.0 ppg.
Vanderbilt, which according to NCAA numbers has played the nation’s toughest schedule this season, is 8-15 overall and 2-8 in SEC play.
Jeff Roberson paces the Commodores in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.5 and 7.2, respectively. Riley LaChance adds 12.7 ppg, while Saben Lee chips in 10.3 ppg. Vanderbilt lost Matthew Fisher-Davis, another double-digit scorer at 11.9 ppg, to injury seven games ago.
Keeping An Eye On…Entering Today’s Game Among UGA’s Career Leaders
Yante Maten is…
• 4 points from No. 5 Walter Daniels
• 13 points from No. 4 Dominique Wilkins
• 102 points from No. 3 Vern Fleming
• 35 rebounds from No. 6 Lavon Mercer
• 89 FTs from No. 3 Litterial Green
• 115 FTAs from No. 3 Alec Kessler
• 67 blocks from No. 2 Charles Claxton
Series History With The Dores
The Commodores currently possess a 91-52 lead in the all-time series between UGA and VU, including a 55-14 advantage in games played on Vanderbilt’s campus.
In last season’s matchup on Jan. 17 in Athens, four Bulldogs scored in double digits as Georgia pulled past Vanderbilt 76-68 at Stegeman Coliseum.
Yante Maten poured in 21 points, his sixth 20-point game of the season, to lead the Bulldogs. Juwan Parker and J.J. Frazier contributed 17 points and 15 points, respectively, while they both reeled in team-high six rebounds. Derek Ogbeide scored 11 points, his fourth double-digit output of the season.
The Bulldogs led 34-25 at the half. On Vanderbilt’s opening possession of the second stanza, Frazier stole the ball and went the distance for a layup. Ogbeide followed with jumper in the lane to push the Georgia lead to 13 points at 38-25.
The Commodores brought the game within three points at the 15:50 mark, but a Frazier trey pushed the advantage back to 55-43 with fewer than 10 minutes to go.
Vanderbilt rallied again and cut its deficit to five points with 2:17 to play, but that was the closest the Commodores got. Georgia held Vanderbilt scoreless on a 0-for-7 stretch that lasted over three minutes.
In the Bulldogs’ last trip to Memorial Gym on Feb. 20, 2016, Georgia dropped an 80-67 decision to Vanderbilt. The Commodores jumped out to a 10-2 lead, and the Bulldogs spent the rest of the day playing uphill.
J.J. Frazier led UGA with 21 points. Yante Maten added a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Derek Ogbeide totaled a what was then a career-high 11 points.
Early in the second half, Frazier dropped six quick points cutting Vanderbilt’s lead to seven. A pair of Charles Mann free throws cut the margin to four midway through the period, but Vanderbilt responded with a 7-0 run to regain control.