University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Visits SEC's Other Bulldogs on Saturday
January 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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About the Game
- Georgia resumes its SEC schedule with a weekend afternoon contest at Mississippi State. Saturday's game will be the only regular-season meeting between these two teams.
- The visiting Bulldogs arrive at this game with a 12-5 overall record, 3-2 in SEC play, having posted three consecutive wins after their 0-2 start in league action. Most recently, they took a 69-64 decision over Ole Miss in Athens last Tuesday, a game in which they trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, by six at intermission.
- Fifth-year senior Marcus Thornton continues to lead Georgia in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (7.4), as he has throughout this season. The team's current 3-game win streak reflects his contributions. Thorton scored 16 points in each game, leading Georgia in the past two, and shooting 58 percent during that stretch.
- Georgia's recent surge has solidifed its place in the computer metrics that define and rank all collegiate teams. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with an official RPI of 27, second-best among all SEC teams. Additionally, Georgia received votes (13) in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week for the first time since Jan. 17, 2011.
- Saturday's game is the 108th all-time meeting between Georgia and Mississippi State in basketball. Because of Georgia's recent success in the series (wins in three of the past four), it now leads 54-53. The red & black Bulldogs took both regular-season matchups last season: 75-55 in Starkville on Feb. 12 and 66-45 in Athens on Mar. 5.
- The Bulldogs will complete their regular-season series with Vanderbilt next Tuesday in Athens. Georgia defeated the Commodores 70-67 on Jan. 14.
Probable Starters
| GEORGIA BULLDOGS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| F | 42 | Nemanja Djurisic*** | 6-8 | 230 | Sr. | Podgorica, Montenegro | 11.3 | 5.1 |
| F | 2 | Marcus Thornton*** | 6-8 | 235 | Sr. | Atlanta, Ga. | 13.8 | 7.6 |
| G | 4 | Charles Mann** | 6-5 | 210 | Jr. | Alpharetta, Ga. | 11.8 | 3.7# |
| G | 12 | Kenny Gaines | 6-3 | 195 | Jr. | Atlanta, Ga. | 12.1 | 3.4 |
| G | 30 | J.J. Frazier* | 5-10 | 150 | So. | Glennville, Ga. | 8.9 | 3.9 |
#Assists Per Game
Head Coach: Mark Fox
Record at Georgia / Years: 97-82 / 6th season
Overall Record/Years: 220-125 / 11th season
Assistant Coaches: Philip Pearson, Jonas Hayes, Yasir Rosemond
| MISSISSIPPI STATE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| F | 25 | Roquez Johnson | 6-7 | 210 | Sr. | Montgomery, Ala. | 10.2 | 5.3 |
| F | 20 | Gavin Ware | 6-9 | 255 | Jr. | Starkville, Miss. | 9.9 | 7.1 |
| G | 15 | I.J. Ready | 5-11 | 170 | So. | N. Little Rock, Ark. | 8.2 | 1.8 |
| G | 23 | Travis Daniels | 6-8 | 219 | Jr. | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 7.4 | 4.9 |
| G | 32 | Craig Sword | 6-3 | 196 | Jr. | Montgomery, Ala. | 5.1 | 1.7 |
Head Coach: Rick Ray
Record at Miss. State / Years: 33-50 / 3rd season
Overall Record / Years: Same
Assistant Coaches: George Brooks, Wes Flanigan, Chris Hollender
Georgia vs. Mississippi State
• Saturday's game is the 108th all-time meeting between Georgia and Mississippi State in basketball. Because of Georgia's recent success in the series, it now leads 54-53.
• Indeed, red & black Bulldog teams have won three of the past four meetings in this series, including both of the past two in Starkville. Georgia hasn't won three straight games in Starkville since the 1989-91 seasons, when all 10 SEC teams played home-and-home series against each other every year.
• These two programs seem to be frequent opponents in SEC Tournament play. In fact, they've met there three times in the past seven seasons, most recently in 2012, when Georgia defeated State 71-61 in the first round in New Orleans.
• A geographical breakdown of the series follows:
Games in Athens: Georgia leads 27-19
Games in Starkville: State leads 31-17
Neutral-Court Games: Georgia leads 10-3
Noteworthy...
Some leftovers from the Ole Miss game: 1) Georgia's 8-point deficit (23-31) to the Rebels matched its largest deficit overcome in a win this season (other was vs. Stony Brook)...2) Two key players for Georgia in this win, Charles Mann (12 pts.) and J.J. Frazier (11 pts.), scored all of their points in the second half...3) Reserve Cameron Forte continued to flourish in his newly expanded role, with nine points in 20 minutes, well above his seasonal and career averages.
Four-fifths of Georgia's starting unit comprise one of the most experienced groups in the SEC. The seniors (Thornton & Djurisic) and juniors (Mann & Gaines) enter Saturday's game with a combined 395 career games played, 221 starts and over 9100 minutes played.
Sophomore guard J.J. Frazier has emerged this season as one of the Bulldogs' most indispensible players. This, after a fairly inconspicuous freshman year in 2014. His 18 minutes-per-game jump from last season is the largest among returnees on the current squad. Frazier has established career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and minutes in Georgia's seven most recent games, highlighted by a 20-point effort Jan. 3 vs. Norfolk State.
Kenny Gaines was perhaps Georgia's best player during the SEC schedule in 2014. He led the Bulldogs in scoring in those 18 games (14.8 ppg) and was the league's top 3-point shooter (45.1%). The 2015 season thus far, however, has been an upstream swim for the junior from Atlanta. He missed all but four days of the pre-season period because of illness. He then sprained his right shoulder while diving for a loose ball Dec. 7 against Colorado and was inactive for another 10 days. Despite his health issues, Gaines has still managed to be Georgia's third-leading scorer.
Two ties that bind together Georgia's past three SEC games, all victories: 1) through the second halves of all three, Georgia has combined to shoot 52 percent from the field (36x69), highlighted by 64 percent shooting against Florida last Saturday. 2) the Bulldogs have made 16 of 18 free throws in the last minute of all three (88.9%), well above their seasonal percentage of 66.6.
Georgia's current official RPI of 27 represents rarified air for a Bulldog squad. Not only is it helped by three road wins, but it's also gotten recent boosts from teams that the Bulldogs have beaten, namely Stony Brook, which won at Washington in December; Seton Hall, which opened Big East play with wins over St. John's and Villanova and is ranked 24th in the current AP Top 25; and Kansas State, which won at #19 Oklahoma last weekend.
The Bulldogs received a total of 13 votes this week in the AP Top 25, good enough for 35th place. Seven voters placed Georgia in their Top 25 ballots: two Southerners, three Northeastern media types and one each from the Midwest and Northwest. Curiously, the only AP voter who witnessed Georgia's last win before the balloting deadline -- Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun -- did not include the Bulldogs in his Top 25...Thus far, Georgia has continued one of its trademarks from last season: getting to the FT line. The Bulldogs have attempted more free throws (467) than any other SEC team, despite 10 of the league's 14 teams having played one more game than Georgia...In 110 years of basketball, Georgia has played more than one multiple-OT game in a season just twice before this year: in 1978-79 (a 3OT and 4OT game) and 2011 (two 2OT games)...Georgia's 3OT win over Mercer on Dec. 27 was the longest game in Stegeman Coliseum history (building opened in 1964) and the program's first 3OT game since December of 1990...Georgia's win at Chattanooga on Dec. 2 represented the program's largest victory margin in a road game since Hugh Durham's final UGA squad won at Central Florida 83-52 on Dec. 8, 1994...Georgia's win over Florida marked the first time in over seven years that a Bulldog team won despite allowing 50 percent shooting (1st since 11/14/07 vs. Grambling State).
About the Schedule...
Highlights of Georgia's 2014-15 schedule include:
- According to KenPom.com, Georgia's schedule is currently the 10th most difficult in the country. Missouri (12th) is the only SEC team whose schedule difficulty ranks among the nation's top 20.
- A season-opening renewal of the Bulldogs' annual rivalry with Georgia Tech. Their Nov. 14 date in Atlanta, in fact,was the earliest meeting ever the two schools, who have played each other a total of 191 times.
- Participation in the NIT Season Tip-Off, which guarantees that the Bulldogs will face perennial power Gonzaga and another top-flight opponent in New York in late November.
- The return to Athens of traditional SEC foes Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee. In a rare quirk of scheduling, none of these three visited Athens last season, the first time it had happened since 1944.
- Regular-season series against SEC opponents Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
- Long a staple of the SEC schedule, the Wednesday night game has nearly vanished from the Bulldogs' 2015 slate. Of their nine mid-week contests, just three will be played on Wednesday, all on the road: 1/14 at Vandy; 2/11 at Texas A&M; and 2/25 at Ole Miss.
- Four non-conference games against teams which played in the NCAA Tournament last season.
- Additional opponents that played post-season games last season include Kentucky (NCAA), Florida (NCAA), Tennessee (NCAA), LSU (NIT), Arkansas (NIT), Missouri (NIT), St. John's (NIT), Minnesota (NIT), Stony Brook (CBI), Texas A&M (CBI), UTC (Co
- Among the conferences represented in Georgia's non-conference schedule include:
> ACC (Ga. Tech)
> Big Ten (Minnesota)
> Pac-12 (Colorado)
> Big 12 (Kansas State)
> Big East (St. John's, Seton Hall)
> America East (Stony Brook)
> West Coast (Gonzaga)
- When Georgia played at Kansas State on New Year's Eve afternoon, it was a red-letter date for head coach Mark Fox. The Garden City, Kan., native returned to home territory, back to a school where he worked as a young assistant 20 years ago. Fox served seven seasons (1994-2000) under Tom Asbury on the Wildcats coaching staff.
The Dec. 31 game was also Georgia's first-ever trip to Manhattan. The two teams will return the game in Athens next season at a date to be determined.
The NIT Season Tipoff -- created in 1985 as the Big Apple Pre-Season NIT -- will get underway with on-campus games in mid-November. Georgia will play host to Stony Brook on Nov. 18 in its only campus game before heading to New York for games on Nov. 26-28.
This will be the Bulldogs' fourth all-time appearance in the early-season tournament. Their previous three times came in 10-year increments: 1988, 1998 and 2008. Georgia never advanced to New York among the final four teams, when teams reached NYC by winning preliminary rounds.
When Georgia plays Gonzaga on Nov. 26 in New York, it will mark the program's eighth trip to the metro area for competition. Bulldog teams have played six previous games in Madison Square Garden:
vs. NYU on Dec. 20, 1948
vs. Purdue on Mar. 22, 1982
vs. Penn State on Mar. 24, 1998
vs. Fresno State on Mar. 26, 1998
vs. Texas on Nov. 15, 2002
vs. St. John's on Dec. 9, 2009
Georgia has made the post-season NIT Final Four twice: in 1982 (lost to Purdue) and again in 1998 (lost to Penn State before defeating Fresno State in the long since defunct consolation game).
Georgia has also played games in 1997 at the Izod Center (known then as Continental Airlines arena) in East Rutherford, N.J., and also at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.
Mann Named Coaches' All-SEC
No question that junior guard Charles Mann has earned the favor of all 14 SEC head basketball coaches. For the third straight year, he has received some kind of all-star recognition from this group.
As the season commences, Mann was named to the 9-man Coaches' Pre-Season All-SEC First Team. This group also named him in 2013 to its SEC All-Freshman team, and last year the coaches annointed him to their post-season All-SEC second team.
Mann led Georgia in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played last season. He also ranked among the top 20 nationally in free throws made and attempted.
The 9-man Coaches All-SEC team follows:
> Mann
> Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida
> Michael Frazier II, Florida
> Aaron Harrison, Kentucky
> Andrew Harrison, Kentucky
> Damian Jones, Vanderbilt
> Jordan Mickey, LSU
> Bobby Portis, Arkansas
> Jarvis Summers, Ole Miss
Landmarks to Look for in 2015
With veterans playing key roles for the Bulldogs in 2015, it's nearing time for several to approach individual landmarks in their respective careers.
Leading active career scorers:
Nemi Djurisic: 949 points (115 games)
Charles Mann: 872 points (82 games)
Kenny Gaines: 730 points (79 games)
Leading active career rebounders:
Marcus Thornton: 563 rebs. (119 games)
Nemi Djurisic: 491 rebs. (115 games)
*Note: UGA's No. 10 career rebounder, Trey Thompkins, has 693 rebounds.
Leading active career assists:
Charles Mann: 250 assists (82 games)
*Note: UGA's No. 10 career assist leader, Donald Hartry, has 355 assists.
*One additional note: if he completes the season in sound health, Marcus Thornton will likely set the UGA career record for most games played. The current mark, owned by G.G. Smith and Michael Chadwick (1995-99) is 129. Thorton began this season having played in 102 games.
Free Throws a Key in 2014
A vital element in Georgia's ability to win 20 games last season was its advantage at the free-throw line. The Bulldogs ranked 17th nationally in FT attempts (941 or 27.7/game) and 30th in FTs made (642 or 18.9/game). Each figure was signficantly better than their opponents' average. They also shattered single-season school records in the respective categories and tied the school single-game record for attempts (50 vs. South Carolina).
Leading the way was point guard Charles Mann, who attempted nearly 30 percent of the team's foul shots, was second in the SEC and 10th nationally in that category.
Big Opportunity for Thornton
Marcus Thornton returns for his senior season, capping a career the started back in the summer of 2010. The Atlanta native was awarded an extra year of eligibility through a medical redshirt after he played in nine games of the 2013 season.
The fifth year has given Thornton an opportunity to join a very short list of UGA basketball alumni: those who have played on at least three Bulldog teams to win 20 games.
Of the hundreds of UGA hoops alums that span the past 110 years, only five can say that they played on three 20-game-winning squads: those that were underclassmen on the 1996 Georgia team. Larry Brown, Michael Chadwick, Ray Harrison, Jon Nordin and G.G. Smith played on three consecutive teams that won at least 20 games. If Georgia is fortunate enough to reach that landmark this season, Thornton would join that list.
Dogs Projected 5th in SEC
by blue ribbon
Georgia which tied for second in the SEC race a season ago, has been projected to finish fifth in 2015, according to Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook, which enjoys a biblical reputation among the world of college hoops. Chattanooga-based writer Chris Dortch edits the Blue Ribbon book each year and covers the SEC material himself.
Here's how the SEC will shake down in 2015, according to Blue Ribbon:
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. LSU
4. Arkansas
5. Georgia
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Vanderbilt
9. Missouri
10. Tennessee
11. Auburn
12. Alabama
13. South Carolina
14. Mississippi State
Staff Changes for 2015
For the second consecutive year, head coach Mark Fox has introduced a new member of his full-time assistant coaching staff. This year, Atlanta native Yasir Rosemond joined the staff in May of 2014. He came to Athens after two seasons at Samford in Birmingham, Ala. Rosemond is a 2003 graduate of Oregon and spent five seasons on the Ducks' staff under former head coach Ernie Kent.
Rosemond, like fellow UGA assistant coach Jonas Hayes, is also an alumnus of Douglass High School in Atlanta. He was four years ahead of Hayes and his twin brother Jarvis at the home of the Astros.
Additionally, Matt Bucklin was promoted to Operations Coordinator, after two years as a graduate assistant on the staff. Bucklin, a 2012 UGA graduate and a 4-year letterman, is also the nephew of longtime Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. To replace Bucklin in the graduate assistant's position, Fox promoted 2014 graduate Lainn Wilson, who served as a student manager in the program the previous four years.
Trio of Prospects Sign Early
Georgia signed three high school seniors during the week-long early national signing period, which ended on Wednesday of last week: forward E'Torrion Wilridge of Beaumont, Texas; guard Will "Turtle" Jackson of Athens; and forward Derek Ogbeide of Mableton, Ga.
Wilridge is currently a senior at Central High School in Beaumont. As a junior last year, he led the Jaguars to a 31-5 record and a berth in the semifinal round of the Texas Class 4A state tournament. He averaged 22.3 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game in 2014.
Jackson, meanwhile, is in his senior year at Athens Christian School, which has played for the Class A Private school state semifinals each of the past three years. In his junior season, he averaged 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists for the Eagles.
Jackson becomes the first UGA signee from Athens since Carlos Strong and Terrell Bell, a pair of Cedar Shoals High School teammates, signed with the Bulldogs as part of the Class of 1992.
Ogbeide, a native Nigerian who is from Toronto, Ont., is a senior this season at Pebblebrook, which went 24-6 in 2014 and reached the Georgia 6A state semifinals. He averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 blocks as a junior for the Falcons.
