Of RPIs and such...Georgia's own RPI rating has varied widely as the season has progressed. It began in the mid-100s and has reached as high as the mid-30s before the current position of 36. > Average RPI of the 16 teams that Georgia has beaten: 173
[high of 12 (Kentucky) and low of 302 (Manhattan)].
> Average RPI of the six teams that have beaten the Bulldogs: 18
[high of 8 (Notre Dame) and low of 35 (Temple)].
The moral of this story? There's a scarcity of two things on Georgia's schedule: so-called "quality wins" and "bad losses." In fact, to date there's a complete absence of bad losses that might cripple a team's post-season candidacy.
• Of overtimes and such...it had been 20 years since Georgia last lost more than one multiple-overtime game in a single season. The 1991 Bulldogs lost in triple OT to Georgia Tech and double OT to Auburn. Hugh Durham's first Georgia squad in 1979 lost in three OTs to Tennessee and, amazingly, four OTs to Auburn at the SEC Tournament.
• This year's Bulldogs became just the third Georgia squad in 30 years to go undefeated in December. The other two? Perhaps the two best teams in UGA history: 1982-83 and 2002-03.
• Another comparison to the 2003 season: Georgia sold out its first four games of the SEC schedule, its most consecutive sellouts since '03. That year, the final nine contests of the home schedule (Pitt + eight SEC games) sold out.
• Just twice in the past 11 years has Georgia used its "bye" date in the SEC schedule to play an out-of-conference game. The 2000 Georgia squad played at Villanova on Jan. 30. The 2007 Bulldogs, with an RPI of 43, defeated Kennesaw State (RPI of 283) on Feb. 14. The next morning Georgia's RPI had dropped to 53.
• Last season, 13 of Georgia's 31 games were considered "close" by either of the following definitions: either an overtime period or a 2-possession game inside the final minute of play. The Bulldogs were 5-8 in those games. This season, 13 of Georgia's 22 games thus far fit those definitions, including the first eight, and the Bulldogs are 10-3 in those contests.
Additionally, eight of Georgia's games thus far have been decided on the final possession. The Tennessee game on Jan. 18 was the only one to NOT go Georgia's way.
• Dustin Ware could make a strong, credible case as Georgia's MVP of the conference schedule. The junior guard averages nearly a full two points per game higher scoring in league games, but the efficiency of his contribution is what stands out. Through the 9-game SEC schedule, Ware ranks 3rd in the league in 3-point percentage (48.6), 2nd in assists (4.6), and 1st by a wide margin in AST/TO ratio (5.1/1). He also is 16 of 17 on free-throw attempts during league play.
• Trey Thompkins recently became one of nine Bulldogs all-time to have amassed 1,200 points and 600 rebounds in a career. Just two of these luminaries, however, have done it in three years' time: Thompkins and career rebounding leader Bob Lienhard, who played before the dawn of freshman eligibility in 1972.
• This year's Georgia team has already won more true road games (5) than Georgia had won in the previous three seasons combined.
The 2010 Bulldogs' road struggles appear to be an anomaly among teams coached by Mark Fox. In his 6+ years as a head coach, his teams have won an impressive 60 percent of their road games (51-34), and that mark includes last year's 0-11 record.
• Georgia is on track to have a positive Assist / Turnover Ratio for the first time since 2003. Leading the way is junior Dustin Ware, who currently ranks 2nd among all NCAA Division I players in this category in the most recent national rankings. Ware is second on the team with 85 assists and has committed just 23 turnovers this season.
• The snow and ice that crippled the Southeast in mid-January also caused Georgia to improvise most of its travel during a 2-game road swing. First, the Bulldogs bused to Nashville on Jan. 11 because no plane could land in Athens. After their game at Vandy, they were stranded for two extra days because a plane still could not land in Athens. By the time they bused to Oxford on Friday, all systems were go on a return flight home. Distance traveled by bus: approx. 550 miles.
• Even more travel troubles: last week Georgia spent over 20 hours traveling to its mid-week game at Arkansas. The Bulldogs first bused to Augusta because fog prevented a plane from landing in Athens. Next, they spent three hours on the tarmac in Augusta while examining their options for landing in a snowstorm-stricken Arkansas. Finally, after spending Tuesday night in Augusta, the Bulldogs arrived in Fayetteville early Wednesday afternoon.
• Georgia leads the SEC in rebounding margin through the 9-game league schedule. The Bulldogs have been outrebounded just once during that span. In their five wins, they have an average margin of +16.4, including +18 and +15 in their past two games.
Thompkins Reaches 1,000
• This season Trey Thompkins has become the 40th player in UGA history to reach 1,000 for his career. The most recent Bulldog to reach that milestone was Terrance Woodbury in 2009. Already, Thompkins has climbed over 17 people on Georgia's career scoring chart with 1,220 points.
Travis Leslie enters the Auburn game needing 60 points to reach 1,000 for his career. His career total of 940 becomes more impressive when you consider that he scored just 165 points (6.3/game) as a freshman and missed the final five games of the season.
Robinson a Difference Maker
• Last season head coach Mark Fox noted that Gerald Robinson, who sat out the 2010 year after transferring from Tennessee State, would have tilted the balance in Georgia's favor in several of its close games. Through December this season, Robinson has delivered clutch plays that directly resulted in three Bulldog victories:
11/20 at St. Louis: Robinson drove the lane, drew three defenders and, in heavy traffic, fed Jeremy Price for a game-winner with :01 left.
12/2 vs. UAB: Robinson scored four points and had a key rebound in the final 14 seconds of perhaps the Bulldogs' best win of the season thus far.
12/7 at Georgia Tech: Robinson scored a key basket and assisted Dustin Ware on the biggest bucket of the game, a 3-pointer that broke a 70-all tie with 18 seconds left.
