Bulldogs Wrap Up Pre-League Slate By Entertaining Temple

Friday, December 22

Athens, Ga

1:00 PM

University of Georgia

Temple

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Bulldogs Wrap Up Pre-League Slate By Entertaining Temple

December 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (8-2) vs. Temple (7-3)
Friday, December 22, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. (Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer)
TV: SEC Network (Dari Nowkhah, play-by-play; Mark Wise, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
153-120 in 9th season at UGA
276-163 in 14th season overall
G	0	William Jackson II	12.3	2.3
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
G	3	Juwan Parker	7.5	2.9
6-4; 205; R-Sr.; Tulsa, Okla.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	8.3	5.3
6-8; 227; Fr.; Norcross, Ga.
F	1	Yante Maten	19.2	9.0
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	6.3	5.2
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Temple Owls
Coach: Josh Pastner
237-139 in 12th season at Temple
544-302 in 29th season overall
G	1	Josh Brown	9.0	3.6
6-3; 195; R-Sr.; Newark, N.J.
G	3	Shizz Alston Jr.	16.0	4.0
6-4; 180; Jr.; Philadelphia, Pa.
G	13	Quinton Rose	7.0	5.8
6-8; 185; So.; Rochester, N.Y.
F	0	Obi Enechionyia	11.2	6.4
6-10; 220; Sr.; Springfield, Va.
C	24	Ernest Aflakpui	4.7	2.6
6-10; 240; Jr.; Accra, Ghana

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		TEMPLE
73.1	Points per game	65.6
+4.6	Scoring margin	+4.3
44.6	FG pct.	43.1
40.0	FG defense	38.3
34.0	3FG pct.	34.0
32.2	3FG defense	5.6
6.1	3FGs per game	5.3
71.0	FT pct.	69.6
17.4	FTs per game	16.0
+7.1	Rebound Margin	+2.2
14.2	Assists per game	14.4
1.03	Assists-to-TOs	1.05
4.8	Blocks per game	5.7
4.8	Steals per game	7.0

The Starting 5...

UGA's 8-2 start matches the Dogs' best beginning during Mark Fox's tenure in Athens.
Yante Maten is 27 pts. from joining UGA's top-10 scoring leaders. He joined UGA's top-10 career rebounders vs. GT.
Turtle Jackson had four career-best scoring outputs in the first five games - 11, 13, 16 & 17 points.
Juwan Parker, the only DI MBB player with a master's, is 4th on UGA's career FT pct. leaders list.
Yante Maten was ranked as one of the nation's top-25 players by CBS (22), ESPN (23) and NBC (24).

Bulldogs Wrap Up Pre-League Slate By Entertaining Temple

Georgia completes the pre-SEC portion of its 2017-18 schedule on Friday when the Bulldogs host Temple at the renewed Stegeman Coliseum for a 1:00 p.m. matinee.

Georgia is 8-2 on the year, which equals the Bulldogs' 2010-11 NCAA Tournament team for the best 10-game start during Mark Fox's tenure in Athens. The Bulldogs' win tally includes victories against a trio of 2017 NCAA Tournament teams - No. 21 Saint Mary's on Nov. 26, Marquette on Dec. 2 and Winthrop on Dec. 4 - and a decisive 21-point decision over Georgia Tech three days ago.

Yante Maten, a National Player of the Year candidate and preseason SEC Player of the Year honoree, leads Georgia with averages of 19.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Those efforts ranks second and first in the SEC.

Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs since the beginning of his sophomore year. Over the 73 games during that span, Maten has produced 66 double-digit scoring performances, with 27 20-point and four 30-point outings and 19 double-doubles.

In Georgia's two outings since an 11-day break for Final Exams, Maten is averaging 22.0 points while shooting 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the floor and 100 percent (7-of-7) at the line.

Turtle Jackson provides a second a double-figure scoring average at 12.3 ppg. Jackson entered the season with two double-digit productions in 66 games but has scored 10-plus points in eight of Georgia's first 10 outings. He also upped his career high four times in the first five games, from 10 points beginning the year to 11 to 13 to 15 to 17 points against San Diego State.

Temple arrives in Athens with a 7-3 record but an eye-catching RPI. Through games of Tuesday night, the Owls were ranked No. 12 in the NCAA's edition of the RPI.

Temple's record included a 3-2 mark within the new "Q1" of the RPI, which includes contests at home against teams ranked No. 1-30, at neutral sites versus No. 1-50 and on the road against No. 1-75.

Quinton Rose paces a trio of double-digit scorers for the Owls at 17.0 ppg. Shizz Alston, Jr., adds 16.0 ppg, and Obi Enechionyia contributes 11.2 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rpg.

Entering Today's Game Among UGA's Career Leaders

Yante Maten is...

9 points from No. 11 D.A. Layne
27 points from No. 10 Sundiata Gaines
50 points from No. 9 Terry Fair
9 rebounds from No. 9 Tim Bassett
43 rebounds from No. 8 Carlos Strong
72 FTs from No. 4 J.J. Frazier
31 FTAs from co-No. 6 Vern Fleming and J.J. Frazier
8 blocks from No. 3 Terrell Bell
87 blocks from No. 2 Charles Claxton

Series History With The Owls Temple owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Owls. Georgia won the only previous matchup in Athens 36 seasons ago.

That first-ever meeting came in the opening round of the 1982 NIT. Dominique Wilkins' double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds paced Georgia in a 73-60 victory. Eric Marbury and Gerald Crosby chipped in 14 points apiece for the Dogs.

That win was the first in a run that led Georgia to Madison Square Garden and the NIT semifinals. After the win over Temple, the Bulldogs bested Maryland, 83-69, and Virginia Tech, 90-73, in Athens to earn their trip to New York.

There Georgia dropped a 61-60 decision to Purdue in the semifinals.

Temple's wins are relatively recent neutral-site contests. The Owls defeated Georgia, 65-58, as part of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando on Nov. 26, 2010. Temple also earned an 83-81 victory on Nov. 22, 2013 as part of the Charleston Classic.

In the last matchup, in Charleston, Georgia controlled the game early, racing to a 15-5 lead. Temple countered with a 20-point swing that put the Owls up 31-21 less than 10 minutes later. Temple pushed that margin to 15 points early in the second stanza before the Bulldogs began chipping away.

Georgia knotted the game at 71-71 on a Nemi Djurisic 3-pointer and eventually went up 81-80 on a Mann layup with 18 ticks on the scoreboard clock.

Will Cummings knocked down a 3-pointer with seven seconds left before Donte' Williams 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

Last Time out

Yante Maten's fifth 20-point performance of the season lifted Georgia to an 80-59 victory over arch rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

The lead then changed three times in the first seven minutes, until the Bulldogs obtained the 11-9 edge at the 15 minute-mark with a dunk from Derek Ogbeide.

Georgia exploded on a 15-4 run, ignited by a jumper and dunk from Maten, for a 26-17 edge. The Bulldogs never trailed thereafter.

After leading by two at the half, the Bulldogs kept the momentum going in the second stanza with an 8-2 surge in the first four minutes. Georgia maintained a 10-plus point margin for the majority of the half. A layup by Turtle Jackson brought the lead to 21 with two minutes remaining.

Maten's 24 points also represented his 10th double-digit scoring output in as many games played season. Also, his six rebounds put him at 696 total boards, sliding past Trey Thompkins in Georgia history and into the No. 10 spot among the Bulldogs' career leaders.

#TechWrecked...Again

Georgia has won the last three editions of basketball's version of "Clean Old-Fashioned Hate" by an average of 17.3 points per game.

This year's 21-point margin topped last season's 17-point win - the most decisive road victory over the Jackets since 1909 - and a 14-point "W" two years ago.

The last time the Bulldogs had three-consecutive double-digit wins in a row over Tech was in 1912-14.

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. CBSsports.com put him at No. 22, ESPN.com listed him at No. 23 (info below) and NBCsports.com tabbed him at No. 24.

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

Maten was included on watch lists for the Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy. In addition, he 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).

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 around 2:00 a.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 24 following the win over Cal State Fullerton. About half the team, including multiple starters, were among the original group. Even more became ill after the San Diego State game.

Georgia entered its matchup with Saint Mary's with five unaffected players; however, 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."

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 eight of the Bulldogs' first 10 outings of 2017-18.

Jackson produced a quartet of career-high scoring outputs in the first five games of the season (from 11 to 13 to 16 to 17 points). In fact, he reached double figures in the scoring column in the first half alone of the first two games.

Jackson had 11 points - all in the first half - against Bryant. That bettered his previous best performances of 10 points versus Oakland and Belmont last year.

Against USC Upstate, Jackson scored first-half 10 points and added three more following 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 from 2.8 ppg entering the season to 12.3 ppg, Jackson continues to do much of his damage from behind the 3-point arc.

This season, 22 of his 40 makes (55.0 percent) from the floor have been 3-pointers. For his career, 57.4 percent (58-of-101) 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.

Crump knocked down back-to-back 3s 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 following the win over the Gaels. "He struggled at the start last season. But when it starts going in, it goes in often."

Much like Turtle Jackson, Crump does most of his damage from 3-point range.

This season, 15 of his 21 makes (71.4 percent) from the floor have been 3s. In his career at Georgia, 34-of-54 field goals (63.0 percent) are trifectas.

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 E'Torrion Wilridge was hindered by a stomach ailment.

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 seven of 10 outings.

Georgia's bench finished the 2016-17 season with a -95 scoring margin. This year, the Bulldogs are at +39, including a massive 18-1 advantage against Georgia Tech.

Hammonds Gets Nod For Opener Rayshaun Hammonds became the first freshman to start the opener for Georgia since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 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, had 15 points to lead Georgia to victory over Wofford in his debut on Nov. 11, 2011.

While Hammonds became the first freshman to start an opener in six years, freshman starters is nothing new under Mark Fox.

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

SEC Hoops Moving Forward

The SEC has certainly continued its upwardly trending reputation. That increased respect was front and center last March.

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.

In the Dec. 20 edition of the NCAA RPI, five SEC teams were featured in the top 12 and 11 were included in the top 80. Three SEC teams were ranked this week's polls and five more received votes in one or both ledgers.

Foxes Donate Almost $20K

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).

Mark Fox announced their effort in an Oct. 12 tweet (to the left) 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 if you want my honest opinion."

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 utilized a four-forward starting quintet for the first five games of the season.

Turtle Jackson was the only starter in that span with a "G" by his name on the 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.'

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

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 statistics from the contest did nit count, that point tally would have equaled Maten's 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 collegiate career.

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

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 High School), Rayshaun Hammonds (Norcross High School), Jordan Harriss (Seminole County High School), Christian Harrison (Woodward Academy), Teshaun Hightower (Collins Hill High School), "Turtle" Jackson (Athens Christian), Connor O'Neill (Blessed Trinity High School) and Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook High School).

More In-State Dogs On The Way 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.

Homecoming With A Cause

Georgia's October 29 exhibition game against No. 2-ranked Michigan State was a homecoming for Yante Maten and Mike Edwards. Maten and Edwards are from Pontiac and Westland, respectively.

The Spartans topped the Bulldogs 80-68, a Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., but the real winner was the Red Cross. While Michigan State hosted the game, the two teams split the proceeds evenly to donate to their charities of choice - Georgia to the American Red Cross of Georgia and Michigan to the Red Cross - International Services.

A pregame presentation included a check for $339,447 for Hurricane Irma relief efforts by the Red Cross in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,699. That amount eventual grew slightly to $368,111.61, and Georgia held a second presentation for its proceeds at the season opener against Bryant.

The contest came together in less than a week when the NCAA approved a waiver to allow teams to play an extra exhibition game for a charitable cause.

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