Bulldogs Return To Action Against Marquette

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (5-1) vs. Marquette (5-2)
Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Bradley Center (18,600) in Milwaukee, Wis.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. Flagship: AM 1340; 98.7 FM Athens); (Cabell Philpott, play-by-play; Mark Slonaker, analyst)
TV: CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, play-by-play; Jordan Cornette, analyst) - Channel Finder
Video: CBSSports.com

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
150-119 in 9th season at UGA
273-162 in 14th season overall
G	0	William Jackson II	12.5	2.3
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
G	3	Juwan Parker	6.5	2.5
6-4; 205; R-Sr.; Tulsa, Okla.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	9.0	5.8
6-8; 227; Fr.; Norcross, Ga.
F	1	Yante Maten	18.3	9.5
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	5.7	6.5
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Marquette Golden Eagles
Coach: Steve Wojciechowski
57-47 in 4th season at Marquette
57-47 in 4th season overall
G	0	Markus Howar	19.9	3.4
5-11; 175; Soph.; Chandler, Ariz.
G	30	Andrew Rowsey	23.7	2.9
5-11; 180; R-Sr.; Lexington, Va.
G	2	Sacar Anim	7.0	4.0
6-5; 210; R-Soph.; Minneapolis, Minn.
F	10	Sam Hauser	13.0	5.6
6-8; 225; Soph.; Stevens Point, Wis.
C	12	Matt Heldt	5.7	4.7
6-10; 245; Jr.; Neenah, Wis.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		MARQUETTE
72.7	Points per game	83.7
+6.5	Scoring margin	+6.0
44.5	FG pct.	48.0
37.8	FG defense	48.5
31.9	3FG pct.	38.2
26.7	3FG defense	31.8
6.2	3FGs per game	11.3
70.1	FT pct.	78.2
16.8	FTs per game	16.4
+9.2	Rebound Margin	-0.7
13.0	Assists per game	15.0
0.85	Assists-to-TOs	3.11
5.8	Blocks per game	4.0
4.7	Steals per game	6.6

The Starting 5...

Yante Maten was ranked as one of the nation's top-25 players by CBS (22), ESPN (23) and NBC (24).
Rayshaun Hammonds became the first UGA freshman to start an opener since KCP in '11-12.
Yante Maten is the first Bulldog to open the year with three double-doubles since 1987.
Turtle Jackson had four career-best scoring outputs in the first five games – 11, 13, 16 & 17 points.
Mark & Cindy Fox donated $18,976 to Athens charities, $1 for each fan at UGA's Nov. home games

Radio Broadcast Change

Please note, due to Georgia's participation in the SEC Championship football game on Saturday, the game against Marquette will air on the radio in Athens on AM 1340 and 98.7 FM. The game will re-air on WSB AM 750 following the conclusion of the football game.

Dogs Back In Action At Marquette

Georgia returns to the court on Saturday afternoon following a six-day hiatus from competition. The Bulldogs will venture to Milwaukee to face Marquette at 2:00 p.m. ET at the Bradley Center.

Georgia is 5-1 overall and coming off a 2-1 showing in the Wooden Legacy in L.A., a performance even more impressive considering 11 members of the roster fell victim to a stomach bug while in California.

Most recently, the Bulldogs knocked off No. 21 Saint Mary's 83-81 in overtime.

Saturday's game will be Georgia's second true road contest of the season. The Bulldogs bested tourney host Cal State Fullerton, 64-57, in the opening round of the Wooden event.

Georgia was a relatively solid road team last season when the Bulldogs won at Georgia Tech, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama and also played overtime outings at both Kentucky and Florida.

Yante Maten, a National Player of the Year candidate and preseason SEC Player of the Year honoree, leads Georgia with averages of 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Over his last 63 games (dating back to the beginning of his sophomore year), Maten has produced 56 double-digit scoring performances, with 24 20-point and four 30-point outings.

Turtle Jackson also is providing the Bulldogs with a double-figure scoring average. Jackson entered the season with two double-digit productions in 66 games but has scored 10+ points in five of Georgia's first six outings. In the process, he has raised his career high four times, from 10 points entering the season to 11 to 13 to 15 to 17 points against San Diego State.

Marquette's schedule this week has been a stark contrast to the Bulldogs'. The Eagles, are 5-2 on the year, are playing their third game since Monday.

Andrew Rowsey paces a trio of double-digit scorers for the Eagles at 23.7 points per game, followed by Markus Howard and Sam Hauser at 19.9 and 13.0, respectively.

Entering Today's Game Among UGA's Career Leaders

Yante Maten is...

7 points from No. 17 Ronnie Hogue
23 points from No. 16 Levi Stukes
36 points from No. 15 Trey Thompkins
1 rebound from No. 13 Marcus Thornton
11 rebounds from No. 12 Sundiata Gaines
21 rebounds from No. 11 John Johnson
13 FTs from No. 5 Vern Fleming
2 FTAs from No. 10 Bob Lienhard
3 FTAs from No. 9 Carlos Strong
9 FTAs from No. 11 Bill Ensley
50 FTAs from co-No. 6 Vern Fleming and J.J. Frazier
12 blocks from No. 3 Terrell Bell

Series History Vs. Marquette

Marquette has won both of the previous meetings between the Bulldog and the Golden Eagles. One was played 363 days ago, while the other happened just under 43 years back on the calendar.

Last Dec. 4 in Athens, Georgia could not tame the hot-shooting Marquette squad in an 89-79 loss at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles knocked down their first seven 3-point attempts on the day and eventually finished with 13 makes from behind the arc.

The Bulldogs were as close as two points with a little more than seven minutes left in the game, but the Golden Eagles went on an 11-0 run to gain control and secure the win.

Marquette pulled ahead as far as 10 points, 27-17, at the 10:22 mark of the first, but the Bulldogs exploded on a 13-3 run to notch it up at 30-all. J.J. Frazier closed the first half with a floater in the waning seconds to take Georgia into the break trailing 46-43.

Marquette opened the second stanza with its ninth 3-pointer (on 11 attempts at that point) and built a 63-49 lead. However, Frazier jumpstarted a run with a trey followed by two free throws and an assist to Mike Edwards for an emphatic dunk that made it 68-63.

A pair of free throws by Turtle Jackson later cut the deficit to two, but Marquette continued to answer. Sam Hauser made his fourth 3-pointer at the 5:35 mark to extend the Golden Eagles' lead back to 78-70.

The only other meeting was on Dec. 27, 1974, with the Golden Eagles notching a 100-70 victory on Dec. 27, 1974 in the opening game of the Milwaukee Classic.

Dogs Go Viral...In A Bad Way

Georgia played through a stomach ailment that plagued 11 of 15 players on the Bulldogs' roster during the Wooden Legacy.

The illness originally hit a couple of players around 2:00 a.m. PT on Friday following the Bulldogs' win over Cal State Fullerton.

More than half the team, including multiple starters, were among the original group. Even more players became ill after the San Diego State game.

Georgia entered Sunday's matchup with No. 21 Saint Mary's with five unaffected players; however, point guard Turtle Jackson, one of those, became ill in the first half and was forced to the locker room.

Still, the Bulldogs battled to force overtime against the Gaels and eventually win.

"It was a team win," Mark Fox said. "We've had a tough couple of days. We had 10 guys get the stomach flu up until tip time today, and we turn around in the first half and our point guard, who hadn't had it, gets sick. To battle through that the last couple of days and to compete tonight like a unit like we did and beat a very good Saint Mary's team, I'm extremely proud of our players."

Ratin' Maten A Popular Task

Preseason recognition was consistent and plentiful for Yante Maten.

Maten was ranked as one of the nation's top-25 players by three different online ledgers the week before the season opener. CBSsports.com put him at No. 22, ESPN.com listed him at No. 23 and NBCsports.com tabbed him at No. 24.

Maten was selected as the preseason SEC Player of the Year by the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and a panel of SEC and national media. The media poll named Maten, Texas A&M's Robert Williams and Missouri's Michael Porter, Jr. as co-presason players of the year.

Maten was included on various watch lists. Most notably, he was featured on ledgers for the Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy as National Player of the Year. In addition, Maten was on the list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and the Lute Olson Award, which is awarded to the top Division I player who has played at least two seasons.

He also received preseason All-America recognition. Jay Bilas, in an obvious plot to prove he's the wisest college hoops analyst in the nation, included Maten on his first-team All-America ledger. Among others, Maten also earned All-America props from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook (third team), www.collegesportsmadness.com (fourth team) and NBCsports.com (honorable mention).

This Turtle Starting Quickly

William "Turtle" Jackson entered the season with two double-digit scoring performances in 66 games played at Georgia.

He has done so in five of the Bulldogs' first six outings of 2017-18, producing a quartet of career-high scoring outputs in the process (from 11 to 13 to 16 to 17 points).

In fact, Jackson reached double figures in the scoring column in the first half alone of the first two games.

Jackson scored 11 points – all in the first half – against Bryant. That bettered his previous best performances of 10 points versus both Oakland and Belmont last year. Against USC Upstate, Jackson scored first-half 10 points and added three more after the break.

That mark lasted two games until Jackson knocked down 16 points versus Cal State Fullerton in the Wooden Legacy...and then topped that with 17 points less than 24 hours later against San Diego State.

While his scoring has increased dramatically, from 2.8 ppg entering the season to 12.5 ppg, Jackson continues to do much of his damage from behind the 3-point arc. To date, 14 of his 25 makes from the floor have been 3-pointers. For his career, 58.1 percent (50-of-86) of Jackson's made FGs have been 3s.

Crump's Career Night Lifts Dogs

Tyree Crump's career-high 17 points against No. 21 Saint Mary's all came during the second half and overtime.

Crump had struggled mightily up until that point, connecting on just 8-of-32 (.250) shots from the floor and 5-of-24 (.208) from 3-point range through the first five and a half games.

The sophomore from Bainbridge knocked down back-to-back threes in a 37-second span early in the second half and went on to connect on 6-of-10 shots overall and 4-of-6 3-pointers the rest of the way.

"Tyree had been struggling," Mark Fox said. "He struggled at the start last season. But when it starts going in, it goes in often."

Parker Heats Up In Cali

Redshirt senior Juwan Parker put together three solid outings at the Wooden Legacy.

In Georgia's first three games of the season, Parker averaged just 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 12.0 minutes while shooting 20.0 percent from the floor.

In California, Parker averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 boards and 20.3 minutes and connected on 52.6 percent of his field goal attempts.

Parker, who started 31 of 32 games played last season, moved back into Georgia's starting five against No. 21 Saint Mary's. He got the nod at the '2' after starting all of the aforementioned games last season at '3.'

Bulldogs' Bench Producing Last season, Georgia's bench outscored its opponents' reserves nine times in 34 games. This season, the Bulldogs' non-starters have produced more points than their counterparts in five of six outings.

Georgia's bench finished the 2016-17 season with a -95 scoring margin. This year, the Bulldogs are at +41.

Hammonds Gets Nod For Opener

Rayshaun Hammonds became the first Bulldog freshman to start a season opener since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did so in 2011-12.

Hammonds was expected to do so after he got the nod for both of the Bulldogs' exhibitions, including a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds versus Valdosta State.

Hammonds also enjoyed an impressive "official" debut versus Bryant, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds.

That was the highest output by a UGA freshman in an opener in a decade and a day – since Jeremy Price scored 18 points against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9, 2007.

FYI, Caldwell-Pope, who signed an $18-million contract to play for the Lakers this season, put up a game-high 15 points to lead Georgia in a 62-49 win over Wofford on Nov. 11, 2011, in his debut.

While Hammonds became the first freshman to start an opener in six years, freshman starters is nothing new for Georgia during Mark Fox's tenure.

Six members of the Bulldogs' 10 returning letterwinners this season also started as freshmen – seniors Yante Maten and Juwan Parker; juniors Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide; and sophomores Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris.

Foxes Donate From Nov. Games

Head coach Mark Fox and his wife Cindy donated $1 to charity for every fan who attended the Bulldogs' three November home games. The amount was split equally between the Boys and Girls Club of Athens and the Clarke County Mentor Program.

Georgia drew 7,387 fans for the opener against Bryant – UGA's biggest crowd for a season opener in a decade – as well as 5,369 for the Upstate date and 6,220 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Foxes contributed $18,976 to the aforementioned groups ($9,488 to each).

Fox announced their effort in an Oct. 12 tweet and was later asked about his decision to make the donations.

"I just think that no matter where you turn somebody's complaining about something," he said. "I meant what I said. People in positions like I have, we have an obligation to try and make things better. We're fortunate to have great opportunities to impact the world and we should do that, we should try to do that. I think we have too many people complaining and not enough people trying to make a difference."

Cindy Fox is on the board for Clarke Mentors, which recruits community volunteers to mentor children who attend the Clarke County School District. Derrick Floyd, director of operations for the Athens Boys and Girls Club, was a letterwinner for the Bulldogs from 1980-83 and today serves as the official scorer for Georgia basketball games and the SEC Tourney.

"Those groups are working to try and make the next generation better and to make society better," Mark Fox said. "If we can give them a little help, that's great."

Dogs Flip Script With Starting 5

Four-guard lineups are a relatively common fixture in college basketball. Georgia has utilized a four-forward starting quintet for the first five games of the season.

Point guard William "Turtle" Jackson was the only starter during that span with a "G" featured by his name on the Bulldogs' roster.

In addition, Georgia started 6-6 E'Torrion Wilridge at the '2,' 6-8 Rayshaun Hammonds at the '3,' 6-8 Yante Maten at the '4' and 6-8 Derek Ogbeide at the '5.'

The athleticism of Wilridge and Hammonds allows them to handle the defensive challenges of guarding guards – not to mention their shooting range and passing abilities.

Juwan Parker supplanted Wilridge in the starting lineup against No. 21 Saint Mary's.

Freshman Birthday Bonanza

Three-fourths of Georgia's freshman class will celebrate birthdays during the first dozen days of the season. On Nov. 10, Rayshaun Hammonds not only played in his collegiate debut, he also celebrated his birthday. Isaac Kante's birthday was Nov. 15, while Teshaun Hightower's was Nov. 21.

Hopefully, all four of Georgia's freshmen will enjoy in-season birthdays. Nicolas Claxton, the fourth member of Georgia's freshman quartet, has a March 17 birthday.

Maten Big-Time Vs. Top-10 Foes

Yante Maten poured in 33 points in an Oct. 29 exhibition game against No. 2 Michigan State. While those numbers won't count, that would have equaled his career-high scoring output established against Belmont in the opening round of the 2016 NIT.

Maten has displayed a knack for playing extremely well against top-ranked opponents throughout his career in Athens.

Maten has averaged 17.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg in five "games" versus top-10 opponents while making 61.2 percent of his shots from the floor and 76.5 percent from the line.

A year ago, he poured in 30 points and grabbed 13 boards against No. 5 Kansas in the championship game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.

In three outings against top-10 foes as a freshman - one versus No. 10 Gonzaga and two against No. 1 Kentucky - Maten was a combined 10-of-17 (58.8) from the field and 6-of-9 (66.7) at the charity stripe.

Bulldogs Are HomeGrown

More than half of Georgia's roster - eight of 15 to be exact - played high school hoops in the Peach State. That list features Tyree Crump (Bainbridge HS), Rayshaun Hammonds (Norcross HS), Jordan Harriss (Seminole County HS), Christian Harrison (Woodward Academy), Teshaun Hightower (Collins Hills HS), "Turtle" Jackson (Athens Christian), Connor O'Neill (Blessed Trinity School) and Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook HS).

SEC Hoops Moving Forward

SEC Basketball enters the season looking to continue its upwardly trending reputation.

The SEC received five bids to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the fifth-most of any conference. The league then proceeded to tie the ACC (which received nine bids) for the most wins during "March Madness" with 11.

Three league schools reached the "Elite Eight," including an All-SEC East Regional final between South Carolina and Florida.

Dogs Sign In-State Duo

Amanze Ngumezi and JoJo Toppin, a pair of premier in-state prospects, signed letters-of-intent to play for Georgia, Mark Fox announced on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Ngumezi (whose name is pronounced "Uh-mahn-zay In-goo-meh-zay), a 6-9, 235-pound power forward from Savannah, averaged a double-double of 12.8 points and 11.6 rebounds last season. He led Johnson High School to a 19-10 finish and the second round of the Georgia 3A State Tournament. The Atom Smashers, who finished the season ranked No. 9 in the state, lost to eventual state champion Pace Academy, 49-41, in the tourney's round of 16.

Toppin, a 6-6, 180-pound small forward from Norcross, posted averages of 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a junior at Norcross High School. Toppin - and current Bulldog freshman Rayshaun Hammonds - helped lead the Blue Devils to a runner-up showing in the 7A State Tournament and a final record of 26-6.

Dogs Debut Renewed Stegeman

Stegeman has undergone thorough renovations in the last few years, receiving a 21st Century face lift of at a cost of more than $20-million.

This summer, the arena received a massive center-hung scoreboard, new black seats, an improved LED lighting system, a state-of-the-art sound system and graphics above the horseshoe end celebrating past teams and retired jerseys. All told, the Coliseum went from having roughly 1,000-square feet of HD/LED signage to more than 4,000-square feet as broken out below.

The renovations in 2017 followed work in the summer of 2016 which provided a dramatic mural covering the Coliseum's distinctive end wall.

"Obviously, we're extremely excited about Stegeman not only for our fans, but also for our players," head coach Mark Fox said. "This is going to have a tremendous impact on our program and our university. It's beautiful inside. It's very well done. I have to compliment the architects and the construction companies. They did a terrific job. I think it will change the energy in the building because we have more tools to create atmosphere. I was in there with Dominique Wilkins and his statement was pretty good. This is now an arena, and it feels like an arena."

In 2010, Stegeman's concourses received a similar makeover, upgrading the graphics, enhancing spectator access to concessions and restrooms and adding 5,000-square feet of concourse space on each side of the arena. That work won awards from the American Institute of Architects and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Center-hung scoreboard

1008 square feet of HD video
1054 square feet of LED sections

Additional LED features

800 square feet on 3 ribbon boards
500 square feet over the 12 entry portals
50 square feet over 2 tunnels
375 square feet on 1 auxiliary board

Additional HD video

275 square feet on pre-existing board

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nicolas Claxton

Tyree Crump

Mike Edwards

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Teshaun Hightower

William Jackson II

Isaac Kante

Yante Maten

Connor O'Neill

Derek Ogbeide

Juwan Parker

E'Torrion Wilridge

University of Georgia Athletics