Georgia Takes On Ole Miss In SEC Home Opener

Wednesday, January 3

Athens, Ga.

6:30 PM

University of Georgia

Ole Miss

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January 02, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (9-3, 0-1) vs. Ole Miss (8-5, 1-0)
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. (Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta, Sirius: 145; XM, 190); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer)
TV: SEC Network (Mike Morgan, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, analyst)
Video: secn+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
154-121 in 9th season at UGA
277-164 in 14th season overall
G	0	William Jackson II	11.5	2.3
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
F	13	E'Torrion Wilridge	1.6	1.4
6-6; 220; Jr.; Beaumont, Texas
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	8.2	5.1
6-8; 227; Fr.; Norcross, Ga.
F	1	Yante Maten	19.9	9.5
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	7.0	5.5
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Ole Miss Rebels
Coach: Andy Kennedy
242-145 in 12th season at Ole Miss
263-158 in 13th season overall
G	1	Deandre Burnett	14.7	1.8
6-2; 192; Sr.; Miami Gardens, Fla.
G	0	Devontae Shuler	8.8	2.5
6-2; 192; Fr.; Irmo, S.C.
G	5	Markel Crawford	11.0	3.5
6-4; 210; Gr.; Memphis, Tenn.
F	50	Justas Furmanavisius	4.4	3.4
6-7; 201; Sr.; Kaunas, Lithuania
C	13	Dominik Olejniczak	3.8	1.8
7-0; 255; So.; Torun, Poland

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		OLE MISS
73.6	Points per game	81.8
+6.3	Scoring margin	+5.8
45.4	FG pct.	46.1
39.1	FG defense	42.2
32.3	3FG pct.	35.2
32.7	3FG defense	37.4
5.8	3FGs per game	9.1
70.6	FT pct.	71.2
17.6	FTs per game	16.8
+7.1	Rebound Margin	-0.8
14.1	Assists per game	17.6
1.03	Assists-to-TOs	1.47
4.7	Blocks per game	5.7
4.8	Steals per game	7.2

The Starting 5...

UGA is 6-0 at home this season and has 72 wins at Stegeman since the start of the '12-13 season.
Yante Maten joined UGA's career top-10 rebounders vs. GT and career top-10 scorers vs. Temple.
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).

Georgia Takes On Ole Miss In SEC Home Opener

Georgia will host Ole Miss on Wednesday in its initial SEC home outing of the 2017-18 campaign. The Bulldogs and Rebels will face off at 6:30 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.

The contest will feature two of the league's deeper playing rotations. Ten Bulldogs are logging double-digit minutes per game; however, Yante Maten is the only Bulldogs seeing more than 30 MP. Nine Rebels are averaging double-figure minutes, including six in the 20s. Markel Crawford is the only Ole Miss player averaging more than 30 minutes.

Georgia is 9-3 on the year and 0-1 in the SEC following a 66-61 setback at No. 16 last Sunday in which the Bulldogs led by eight points on multiple occasions in the second half. UGA's 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.

Maten, a National Player of the Year candidate, preseason SEC Player of the Year honoree and the Dec. 26 SEC Player of the Week, leads Georgia with averages of 19.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Those efforts ranks second and first, respectively, among league leaders.

Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs since the beginning of his sophomore year. Over the 75 games during that span, Maten has produced 68 double-digit scoring performances, with 28 20-point and five 30-point outings and 21 double-doubles.

Turtle Jackson provides a second a double-figure scoring average at 11.5 ppg. Jackson entered the season with two double-digit productions in 66 games but has scored 10-plus points in nine of Georgia's first 12 outings. He also upped his career high four times in the first five games, from 10 points entering the season to 11 to 13 to 15 to 17 points against San Diego State.

Ole Miss is currently 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the SEC after besting South Carolina in the Rebels' league opener. That mark includes a trio of overtime setbacks.

Terence Davis and Marcanvis Hymon, who have been coming off the bench of late, lead Ole Miss in scoring and rebounding. Davis is averaging a team-high 15.2 ppg, and Hymon is hauling down a team-best 6.3 rpg. Deandre Burnett and Markel Crawford also are contributing at double-digit point paces of 14.7 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively, for the Rebels.

Entering Today's Game Among UGA's Career Leaders

Yante Maten is...

3 points from No. 9 Terry Fair
28 points from No. 8 Shandon Anderson
39 points from No. 7 J.J. Frazier
19 rebounds from No. 8 Carlos Strong
54 FTs from No. 4 J.J. Frazier
6 FTAs from co-No. 6 Vern Fleming and J.J. Frazier
29 FTAs from No. 5 Charles Claxton
5 blocks from No. 3 Terrell Bell
84 blocks from No. 2 Charles Claxton

Series History With The Rebels

Georgia leads the all-time series with Ole Miss 72-42, including a 40-12 advantage here in Athens.

In the most recent meeting last Jan. 11 in Oxford, Georgia out-battled Ole Miss, 69-47, limiting the Rebels to their lowest scoring output since 2008. J.J. Frazier scored 17 points, while Yante Maten recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

A stifling effort on the defensive end helped Georgia build a 30-18 advantage at the halftime intermission.

The Rebels cut the lead to single digits several times in the second half but did not get closer than seven at any point. Georgia went on an 8-0 run at the 5:13 mark of the second half to extend the lead to 17 points at 61-44.

After an Ole Miss basket, the Bulldogs rattled off another eight uncontested points to further enhance their advantage to 23 points.

In the last matchup at Stegeman on Feb. 27, 2016, Frazier paced all scorers with 26 and Kenny Gaines finished with 23 in an 80-66 Georgia win.

After trailing by as many as eight early in the second half, Georgia used a 7-0 run to build a 67-58 lead with 6:20 left and held off the Rebels the rest of the way.

Last Time out

No. 16 Kentucky rallied for a 66-61 win over Georgia at Rupp Arena on New Year's Eve.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as eight multiple times during the second half before surging ahead in the waning moments.

Yante Maten had 17 points and 12 boards, his sixth double-double this season. Derek Ogbeide added a season-high 13 points, and Rayshaun Hammonds chipped in 12.

Georgia held Kentucky to a season-low 31.5 percent shooting from the floor. The Wildcats scored 40 percent of their points from the line, connecting on 27-of-38 trips to the stripe.

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 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).

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 nine of the Bulldogs' first 12 outings of 2017-18.

Jackson produced a quartet of career-high scoring outputs in the first five games (from 10 points entering the season to 11 to 13 to 16 to 17). 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.

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 11.5 ppg, Jackson continues to do much of his damage from behind the 3-point arc.

This season, 25 of his 45 made field goals (55.6 percent) have been 3-pointers. For his career, 57.5 percent (61-of-106) of Jackson's makes from the floor have been 3s.

Maten Earns SEC Accolade

Yante Maten was named the SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 26, after leading Georgia to a pair of decisive victories over Georgia Tech and Temple the previous week.

The senior forward from Pontiac, Mich., averaged 27.0 points and 9.0 rebounds while connecting on 56.7 percent of his shots from the floor in those contests.

Those performances had historic implications. Maten joined Georgia's top-10 career rebounding leaders in the outing against Tech and then ascended into the Bulldogs' top-10 career scoring leaders versus the Owls. Maten is one of only four Bulldogs included on both of UGA's career top-10 ledgers for points and rebounds.

The performance against Temple represented Maten's third 30-point, 10+ rebound outing of his career. Since 1996-97, Bulldogs have posted six such performances - three by Maten and one each by Trey Thompkins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jumaine Jones.

The SEC Player of the Week recognition is Maten's second of his career. He also was honored on Jan. 2 last season.

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 eight of 12 outings.

Georgia's bench finished 2016-17 with a -95 point margin. This year, the Bulldogs are +42.

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 22 makes (68.2 percent) from the floor have been 3s. In his career at Georgia, 34-of-55 field goals (61.8 percent) are trifectas.

#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 1913-14.

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."

Parker Heats Up In Cali

Redshirt senior Juwan Parker put together three solid outings over the Thanksgiving holiday 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 and remained there for five games until Wilridge was on the floor for the opening tip against Temple.

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 seven games to date this season...the first five and the last two.

William "Turtle" Jackson was the only starter in those outings labeled as a "G" 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.'

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" round of the tournament, including an All-SEC East Regional final between South Carolina and Florida.

In the Jan. 1 edition of the NCAA RPI, five SEC teams were featured in the top 15 and 11 were included in the top 87.

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.

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.

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

Mark 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."

Bulldogs Are HomeGrown

More than half of Georgia's roster played high school hoops in the Peach State - 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).