University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Looking For Second SEC Win, Host Auburn Wednesday
February 17, 2009 | Men's Basketball
GAME 26
Auburn: 16-9 (5-5 SEC)
at Georgia: 10-15 (1-9 SEC)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Athens, Ga.
Tip-off Time: 7:36 p.m. (EST)
TELEVISION
None
GEORGIA RADIO
Georgia Bulldog Radio Network: Scott Howard (Play-by-Play), Jeff Dantzler (Color)
Local stations: In Atlanta: WSB (750 AM) In Athens: WPUP-FM (100.1 FM) & WRFC (960 AM).
SATELLITE RADIO
The majority of Georgia basketball games in 2008-09 can be heard on XM Satellite Radio. Today’s game will appear on XM Channel 200. For up-to-date SEC programming information, see: http://www.xmradio.com/schedule/sport/get_ schedule_servlet.jsp'sub_cat_id=187
ON THE INTERNET
For up-to-date information, log on to: http://www.georgiadogs.com
Online radio broadcasts of Georgia games can be found on the GXtra web site (subscription required).
TICKETS
Reserved Seat Tickets: $15. Available online at www.georgiadogs.com and by phone at 1-877-542-1231. Also, at Stegeman Coliseum Ticket Booths 1, 2, 5 on the day of the game, starting 1.5 hours before tipoff. UGA Student Tickets: $2 with UGA ID.
Bulldogs Play Host to Auburn
Georgia returns to the court for a Wednesday night home game against Western Division foe Auburn. The Bulldogs arrive at this game with a 10-15 record, 1-9 in SEC play. Auburn brings a 16-9 record (5-5 in SEC) into Wednesday’s game.
Most recently, the Bulldogs -- in their fifth game under interim head coach Pete Herrmann -- defeated Florida 88-86 in Athens four days ago. It was a performance by Georgia heretofore unseen this season, and certainly unpredictable given its previous contest, a 31-point loss at Tennessee last Wednesday. In the process, the Bulldogs ended a few streaks of ignominy, including:
Longest losing streak (11) since 1975.
A 5-game losing streak at home, also the longest since 1975.
An 11-game losing streak to the Gators, the past 10 of which came by double digits.
A 10-game losing streak to the SEC Eastern Division.
Wednesday’s game is the 173rd all-time meeting between Georgia and Auburn in basketball. Georgia, having won the past three meetings, leads the series 87-85.
These two teams met in Auburn during the last week of the 2008 regular season. The Bulldogs prevailed 59-54 in their only road victory of the season.
The Bulldogs resume the SEC schedule this Saturday at Ole Miss.
Probable Starting Lineups
GEORGIA BULLDOGS (10-15 overall, 1-9 in SEC games)
Interim Head Coach: Pete Herrmann (1-4 as head coach at Georgia)
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG
F - 30 Terrance Woodbury 6-7 221 Sr. Virginia Beach, Va. 14.2 4.4
F - 33 Trey Thompkins 6-9 247 Fr. Lithonia, Ga. 12.8 7.0
C - 34 Albert Jackson 6-10 265 Jr. Earlington, Ky. 4.5 4.0
G - 23 Corey Butler 6-3 195 Sr. Decatur, Ga. 6.7 4.1
G - 3 Dustin Ware 5-11 182 Fr. Powder Springs, Ga. 6.3 3.0*
Top Reserves
G - 5 Zac Swansey 6-1 175 So. Dunwoody, Ga. 5.2 3.3*
F/C - 4 Chris Barnes 6-8 240 So. College Park, Ga. 4.0 3.8
AUBURN TIGERS (16-9 overall, 5-5 in SEC games)
Head Coach: Jeff Lebo (73-73 in fifth season at Auburn)
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG
F - 1 Korvotney Barber 6-7 225 Sr. Manchester, Ga. 12.7 9.2
G - 12 DeWayne Reed 6-1 175 Jr. Houston, Texas 13.3 3.9*
G - 21 Rasheem Barrett 6-5 220 Sr. Atlanta, Ga. 9.3 3.0
G - 23 Quantez Robertson 6-3 200 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio 6.0 4.2
G - 24 Tay Waller 6-2 180 Jr. Manchester, Ga. 12.1 2.7
Top Reserves
G - 20 Frankie Sullivan 6-1 185 Fr. Uniontown, Ala. 7.1 2.0
F - 4 Lucas Hargrove 6-6 205 Jr. Pontiac, S.C. 8.2 5.3
*Assists Per Game
Georgia vs. Auburn
Wednesday’s game is the 173rd all-time meeting between Georgia and Auburn in basketball. Georgia leads the series, which began in 1908 and has been renewed annually since 1945, by an 87-85 count. The Bulldogs have gained their slim lead by winning the past three meetings.
Auburn is the third most frequent opponent in the history of UGA basketball. Florida ranks first (192 meetings) and Georgia Tech is second (184).
Georgia’s victory at Auburn last season broke a streak of home-court wins in the series that had reached nine years. It was also the Bulldogs’ first win there since 1994. In the 17 years since the SEC expanded and was pared into Divisions, the home team has won all but three times: 1994, 1999 and 2008.
A geographical breakdown of the series follows:
Games in Athens: UGA leads 58-21
Games in Auburn: AU leads 55-22
Neutral-Court Games: AU leads 9-7
SEC Tournament Games: UGA leads 5-3
Georgia Bulldog Minutiae...
Given Georgia’s offensive struggles this season, it’s fair to say that its 88-point outburst Saturday against Florida came from nowhere. Here are a few facts about the Bulldogs’ 88-point spree:
It had been over 18 years since Georgia had scored as many as 54 points in the first half of an SEC game (55 vs. Ole Miss on 1/30/91).
It had been three years since Georgia had scored 88 points in any SEC game (vs. Alabama on 2/1/06)...six years since the Bulldogs had scored that many against an SEC East team (91 vs. Vandy on 1/29/03).
Georgia’s 57.4 field-goal percentage was its best in an SEC game since the 57.9 mark posted vs. Miss. State on 2/24/07.
As he entered Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Wednesday, interim coach Pete Herrmann received a warm greeting from a kindred spirit on multiple levels. Don DeVoe, who coached Tennessee from 1979-89, succeeded Herrmann at the Naval Academy in 92. He also served time as an interim coach, taking over at Florida in time to guide the Gators through the 1990 season. DeVoe, who is retired and living in Knoxville, serves on the NIT Selection Committee.
Trey Thompkins’ 14 rebounds against Alabama on Jan. 31 were the most by a Georgia player since Chris Daniels pulled down 16 boards against South Alabama on Dec. 18, 2003...Thompkins’ total also marked the most rebounds in a game by a UGA freshman since Jumaine Jones had 15 against Penn State in the NIT Final Four in 1998...
On his current scoring pace, Terrance Woodbury will soon become the 39th player in UGA history to score 1,000 career points. He enters the Auburn game needing 21 points to reach that mark. Sundiata Gaines was the last Bulldog to do so.
Still rounding into shape after a high ankle sprain in October, freshman Trey Thompkins has nonetheless managed to emerge as the Bulldogs’ leading offensive threat and their top rebounder. Were he to maintain his team-high pace, Thompkins would be the first UGA freshman to lead the Bulldogs in those two categories since Jumaine Jones in 1998. Thompkins also leads the Bulldogs in blocked shots (21)...
Thompkins has accrued his impressive numbers while playing catch-up with his teammates. A stress fracture and then a knee sprain kept him inactive through the summer and fall.
Corey Butler joined the Georgia program through on-campus tryouts in October of 2005. Academic commitments prevented him from joining the team until the following January, after which he played in one minute of one game. Three years (and an athletic scholarship) later, Butler is now the Bulldogs’ only player to have started all 25 games to date.
Rarely-used walk-on transfer Ricky McPhee has now scored 60 points this season. Forty-five of those came in five games, including 27 over the past four, during which he’s made nine of 15 tries from 3-point range. Scoring ability was never a shortcoming for McPhee, who pumped in 21 points in his collegiate debut at North Carolina, playing for Gardner-Webb in the 2006 season.
Georgia’s improbable run to the SEC Tournament championship last March ranked as the 7th most memorable college hoops story of 2008, according to a recent story by Mike Huguenin of Rivals.com. Kansas’ miraculous rally in the NCAA title game ranked No. 1 on Huguenin’s list.
Georgia ranks 11th in the SEC (and 309th nationally) in free-throw percentage at 61 percent, but it’s not because of Terrance Woodbury or Trey Thompkins, who have made 78 percent of their combined 130 attempts from the line. The 10 other Bulldogs who have tried free throws this season have a combined accuracy rate of 56.7 percent (175x309)...
Small wonder that the Bulldogs are struggling to produce on offense this season. Only two returning players -- Terrance Woodbury and Albert Jackson -- are filling roles that even remotely resemble those from last season. Senior Corey Butler has doubled his playing time from last season, from 13 to 29 minutes per game. In addition, the rookie trio of Thompkins, Leslie and Ware combine to average over 63 minutes of court time...
Is there any greater testament to Georgia’s predominant youth than this tidbit? Terrance Woodbury is the Bulldogs’ top career scorer with 979 points before today’s game. The next highest number is that of Jeremy Price, who has 419 career points before today. Both Zac Swansey (so.) and Corey Butler (sr.) scored their 200th career points Dec. 20 against Wofford.
A few notes about the schedule & RPIs: > Georgia is 2-10 in games against teams with RPIs of 100 or better: wins vs. Va. Tech & Florida, losses vs. Western Ky., Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee (twice), Kentucky, MSU, Florida, LSU & USC.
Georgia’s win over Florida on 2/14 caused its RPI to jump more than 20 places, from the 210s to the 190s.
On Jan. 10, the Bulldogs played their only Top 25 opponent to date (#15 Tennessee).
Just five of Georgia’s 15 non-conference opponents currently have winning records...
What Georgia Has Replaced in 09
Terrance Woodbury is Georgia’s lone returning double-figure scorer from the 2008 SEC Tournament championship team. Its leading rebounder coming back is junior Albert Jackson at just 4.3 boards per game.
The 2009 Dogs have just 13 letters earned between them, counting walk-on Ricky McPhee’s two letters at Gardner-Webb. If all 14 players were 4-yr. seniors, there would be 42 letters among the entire squad.
The Bulldogs lost just three contributors to their 08 squad, but they loomed significantly in their absence as the season began:
Sundiata Gaines, Pt. Guard, 14.8 ppg (1st on team), 6.0 rpg (1st on team), 4.2 apg (1st on team). Finished career as the school’s all-time leader in steals and ranks 9th in scoring, 11th in rebounding and 2nd in steals. Currently playing professionally for the Pallacanestro Cantu team in Italy.
Billy Humphrey, Guard, 12.2 ppg (2nd on team), 37% 3-pt. FG (1st on team), 1.7 apg (2nd on team), 32.3 mpg (2nd on team).
Dave Bliss, Center, 7.6 ppg (5th on team), 5.6 rpg (2nd on team), 34 blks (1st).
Georgia and the SEC
Following are a few tidbits about Georgia’s history in the SEC:
Georgia’s all-time record in SEC games, covering 74 years, is 468-689 (.407). That ranks 10th of the 12 current SEC members.
Georgia can claim one SEC regular-season championship (1990), one regular-season divisional title (2002) and two SEC Tournament crowns (1983, 2008).
Georgia has had just one Associated Press SEC Player of the Year: Dominique Wilkins in 1981 and no POY, as voted by the league’s coaches since 1987.
Wilkins was the first of four Georgia players to lead the SEC in scoring at season’s end. He averaged a league-best 23.6 points per game in 1981. Others to follow him have been Vern Fleming (19.8 ppg in 1984), Jumaine Jones (18.8 ppg in 1999) and Jarvis Hayes (18.6 ppg in 2002).
Georgia has an all-time SEC Tournament record of 36-46. The 2008 tournament marked the first time since 1997 that Georgia has reached the semifinals, and also the finals.
Since the league expanded and was pared into East and West Divisions in 1992, Georgia has a 123-158 (.442) record. Eight times since 92 Georgia has had a league record of .500 or better (1993, 95, 96, 97, 01,’03, 07).
Since the league’s expansion, Georgia has a 66-111 record (.373) record against the Eastern Division, a 57-48 mark (.543) against SEC Western Division teams. Bulldog teams have had winning records against the West in 12 of 16 years. Georgia’s only undefeated season against the West came in 2003.
In the 16-game SEC schedule format, Georgia’s most wins came in 2003, when it compiled an 11-5 mark. The Bulldogs’ timing, however, left much to be desired. That same year, Kentucky won the East with a perfect 16-0 mark and Florida placed second at 12-4. Georgia’s 11-5 mark would’ve won the West by two games.
Woodbury Tapped 2nd-team All-SEC
Senior forward Terrance Woodbury was named to the Coaches’ Pre-Season All-Southeastern Conference 2nd team. The 6-7 swingman was a key figure in Georgia’s run to the SEC Tournament championship last March, averaging 15.8 points over the 4-game weekend, including a career-best 25 points against Ole Miss in the first round.
In other pre-season picks, the Georgia team was predicted to finished 6th in the SEC East by selected media in the league.
Georgia Gets Two Early Signees
In the early national signing period that began Wednesday, Nov. 12 and concluded a week later, Georgia signed a pair of two local prospects:
DeMario Mayfield, Guard, 6-4, 190, Carnesville, Ga. (Franklin County High School) Regarded as a combo guard prospect in the college ranks. Averaged 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game last year for Franklin County. Rated the No. 17 point-guard prospect in the nation by espn.com’s recruiting service.
Daniel Miller, Center, 6-11, 240, Loganville, Ga. (Loganville Christian Academy)...Rated the ninth-best prospect at center in the country, according to Rivals.com...Averaged 28.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.0 blocks per game in leading LCA to the 2008 championship of the Independent Christian Schools of Georgia-Alabama (LCSGA). It was LCA’s second straight title.
