Bulldogs Play Host to Texas Southern Monday Night

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (4-3) vs. Texas Southern (3-5)
Monday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; XM: 382; Internet: 973. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
TV: None
Video: SEC Network + (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play; Dean Keener, analyst)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
4-3 in 1st season at UGA
360-234 in 19th season overall
G	0	William Jackson	3.4	1.7
6-4; 185; Sr.; Athens, Ga.
G	1	Teshaun Hightower	6.9	2.9
6-5; 180; So.; Lithonia, Ga.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	14.4	6.1
6-8; 235; So.; Norcross, Ga.
F	33	Nicolas Claxton	12.1	9.0
6-11; 220; So.; Greenville, S.C.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	10.0	5.7
6-9; 250; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Texas Southern Tigers
Coach: Johnny Jones
3-5 1st season at TSU
298-239 in 18th season overall
G	3	Jayln Patterson	15.0	4.6
6-1; 191; Gr.; Atlanta, Ga.
G	4	Derrick Bruce	10.1	2.0
6-3; 165; Sr.; Moreno, Valley, Calif.
F	0	Defocio Butler	9.0	3.1
6-5; 210; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.
F	1	Jeremy Combs	10.9	6.8
6-7; 215; Gr.; Dallas, Texas
C	5	Trayvon Reed	13.0	9.4
7-2; 240; Sr.; Mobile, Ala.

TEAM COMPARISON

STATISTIC	GEORGIA	TEXAS SOUTHERN
Points Per Game	77.4	72.5
Opp. Point Per Game	70.7	86.1
Scoring Margin	+6.7	-13.6
Field Goal Pct.	.488	.381
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.384	.493
3-Point Pct.	.315	.280
3-Pointers Per Game	5.7	7.3
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.319	.353
Free Throw Pct.	.683	.690
Free Throws Per Game	15.7	15.0
Rebounds Per Game	43.3	36.9
Opp. Rebound Per Game	35.7	43.6
Rebound Margin	+7.6	-6.7
Assists Per Game	15.9	13.4
Turnovers Per Game	17.1	14.4
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.93	0.93
Turnover Margin	-4.6	+1.9
Steals Per Game	5.9	7.0
Blocks Per Game	6.1	1.9

The Starting 5...

Nicolas Claxton became the first SEC player this season to lead his team in points, boards, assists, blocks & steals vs. Kennesaw State.
Rayshaun Hammonds became the first SEC player this season with 30 points and 0 TOs when he had 31 points versus Illinois State.
Derek Ogbeide enters the Texas Southern game 10 rebounds shy of catching No. 14 Marcus Thornton among UGA's career leaders.
The crowd of 9,018 against Savannah State was UGA's largest for a home opener since Dominique Wilkins' sopho-more year in Athens.
UGA's coaching staff sports a combined 80 seasons of D-I experience (Crean-28, Scott-27, Dollar-23, Abdur-Rahim-12) with 38 postseason bids

The Opening Tip

Georgia hosts Texas Southern, which has emerged as a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs are 4-3 and looking to stay perfect at home. Georgia is 3-0 at Stegeman, most recently dispatching Kennesaw State last Tuesday behind Nicolas Claxton's extremely impressive linescore of 16 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. All of those were team-best tallies for the Bulldogs, making Claxton the first SEC player to lead his team in all five major stats in a game this season...and he did so with zero turnovers.

Texas Southern, which has earned invites to four of the last five editions of "March Madness" is 3-5 to date. The Tigers already own a pair of road wins over Power 5 teams, defeating Baylor in the season opener and besting No. 16 Oregon last Monday.

Series History

Monday's matchup will be the first-ever between Georgia and Texas Southern.

Up Next: Finals, Then Some Devils

Following the Texas Southern game, the Bulldogs will have a dozen-day break between games while Final Exams are administered on the UGA campus.

Georgia will return to action a week from Saturday when the Bulldogs host undefeated Arizona State at 6:00 p.m.

The Dogs Are Drawing

A combined 22,160 members of the Bulldog Nation have attended Georgia's first three home dates of the 2018-29 campaign.

That is the third-largest three-game tally for the initial trio outings of the season at Stegeman Coliseum during the 2000s.

In 2002-03, Georgia welcomed a total of 25,156 spectators for their first three home dates of that season. The following year, the Bulldogs entertained 22,945 fans for their initial three outings of the 2003-04 campaign at Stegeman Coliseum.

A Historic Opener

Georgia christened both the 2018-19 campaign and the Tom Crean era on Nov. 9 with an impressive evening on and off the court.

The Bulldogs secured a 110-76 victory over Savannah State, Georgia's most points in a game in the 2000s.

The last time the Bulldogs scored more than 110 points was in a 113-74 victory over Grambling on Nov. 27, 1999, at the Great Alaska Shootout.

A crowd of 9,018 fans turned out at Stegeman Coliseum for the opener.

The last time the Bulldogs drew a larger crowd for their initial home outing was in 37 years ago in 1981, which was Dominique Wilkins' sophomore year. A then-capacity crowd of 11,200 turned out for a 62-61 win over Georgia Tech on Dec. 5, 1981.

That also represented the most fans for a home opener since the Stegeman Coliseum's capacity became 10,523 in 1994.

"First things first, I want to say thank you to everybody who was here for this," Crean said. "This is largest crowd on an opening night since they redid Stegeman Coliseum, and it was fun. It was fun to see the enthusiasm that people have had turn into bodies and live energy and loud fans tonight. That was tremendous. I want to say that first and foremost."

Also on the scoreboard front, Georgia's 59 first-half points were its most in a half since putting up 60 in the second period against Jacksonville State 11 years earlier to the day...on Nov. 9, 2007.

Bulldogs Set Sellout Record

The Tom Crean regime established an attendance record before the season began, selling out three regular-season games.

On Oct. 24, Georgia announced sellouts for both the Florida and Kentucky games. That represented the earliest sellout in UGA Basketball history. Two days later, the Bulldogs' matchup with Texas also became a sellout.

Prior to this year, Georgia had never sold out more than one home game prior to the season opener.

Bulldogs Begin With Busy Stretch

Georgia played six games in the first 13 days of the 2018-19 campaign.

The season began with the Nov. 9 opener against Savannah State, a trip to Temple on Nov. 13 and a matchup with Sam Houston State on Nov. 16. The Bulldogs then played three games in three days on Nov. 19-21 in the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Bulldogs Who Are Back

Georgia returns three starters – seniors William "Turtle" Jackson and Derek Ogbeide and sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds – and 11 total letterwinners from last season's team.

Of those 11 returnees, nine have starting experience within SEC play.

Georgia's Four Puppies

The Bulldogs' 15-player roster features a quartet of freshmen.

Three of those are Peach State prep products – Tye Fagan from Thomaston, Amanze Ngumezi from Savannah and JoJo Toppin from Norcross. The fourth, Ignas Sargiunas, hails from Kaunas, Lithuania.

Hammonds Accomplishes Rare Stat Line against Illinois State

Rayshaun Hammonds poured in a career-high 31 points while not turning the ball over once versus Illinois State.

Hammonds became the first SEC player this season to put up 30 points with no turnovers. Only two SEC players did so last season – Vanderbilt's Jeff Roberson and Terence Davis from Ole Miss.

Hammonds, Yante Maten and Jumaine Jones are the only Bulldogs to do so in the last 20 seasons as outlined below. 30 Points, 0 Turnovers Player Pts. Opponent (date) R. Hammonds 31 Illinois State (11/19/18) Y. Maten 30 Charleston Southern (12/17/16) Y. Maten 30 Kansas (11/22/16) J. Jones 34 Kentucky (1/26/99)

Bulldogs Host NCAA Tourney Regular Texas Southern Tigers

Georgia will entertain Texas Southern, a regular participant in the NCAA Tournament over the past half decade, on Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 at home this season with a dominant 81-54 victory over Kennesaw State last Tuesday. Georgia broke the game open midway through the first half and 20 points for the final 10:11 and by 30 over the final 4:34.

Nicolas Claxton paced the Bulldogs in every major stat, with 16 points, 15 boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals. He did so without a single turnover.

Texas Southern arrives in Athens with a 3-5 record. The Tigers have earned NCAA Tournament bids in four the past five seasons, missing out only in 2016. Last spring, Texas Southern secured its first-ever "March Madness" victory, topping North Carolina Central in the "First Four" before falling to Xavier in the round of 64.

The Tigers already have displayed a penchant for knocking off Power 5 teams on the road this season. They opened the year with a victory at Baylor and knocked off No. 16 Oregon in Eugene last Monday.

Johnny Jones, the former LSU head coach, is in his first season as head coach at TSU.

Appropriately enough, the Tigers are led by a trio of former SEC Tigers. Jayln Patterson, a graduated transfer from LSU, is Texas Southern's top scorer at 15.0 ppg. Trayvon Reed, who began his career at Auburn, contributes 13.0 ppg and a team-high 9.4 rpg. Jeremy Combs, who also has an LSU diploma in hand, is chipping in 10.9 ppg. Derrick Bruce is a fourth double-digit scorer at 10.1 ppg.

Series History With the Tigers

Tonight's matchup will be the first ever between the Bulldogs and Tigers in basketball.

Georgia has compiled a 9-0 record against teams currently competing with Texas Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The Bulldogs are 2-0 vs. Alabama A&M, 1-0 vs. Alabama State, 2-0 vs. Grambling State, 2-0 vs. Mississippi Valley State and 2-0 vs. Southern.]

Last Time Out...

Georgia routed Kennesaw State, 84-51, in Stegeman Coliseum last Tuesday night.

Nicolas Claxton led the Bulldogs in points with 16, in addition to snagging a career-high 15 rebounds, en route to his SEC-leading his third double-double of the season.

Rayshaun Hammonds and Jordan Harris also registered double-figure point tallies, contributing 14 and 10 points, respectively.

"I'm really proud of how the guys played tonight," head coach Tom Crean said. "Especially because we have had long, hard days since we've been home getting ourselves better. There's a lot of room to get better, and we do have much more room in that capacity right now in this short time. To come out here tonight and play like that and play with better efficiency was important."

Freshman Ignas Sargiunas grabbed his first career steal and scored on a breakaway layup to ignite a 10-0 run that put the Bulldogs up 24-11 with 7:23 left in the first half. Next, four Bulldogs contributed to a 15-0 surge, started by a 3-pointer from Tyree Crump, that provided the game's first 20-point margin at 39-17.

Early in the second half, the Bulldogs went on a 14-0 run at the 12:26 mark, initiated by a Claxton dunk followed by points from Tye Fagan, Harris and Hammonds.

Georgia posted a 52 percent clip from the field while holding the Owls to 28 percent on field goals and 7 percent on 3-pointers. The Bulldogs also won the rebound battle, 53-35. Georgia scored 57 points in the paint and received 40 points from it's bench.

Dogs Among Top Swatters

Through games of Nov. 30, Georgia ranked second in SEC and No. 9 nationally in blocks, averaging 6.1 rejections per game.

Nicolas Claxton is the Bulldogs' top shot swatter at 2.6 bpg, which ranked No. 3 in the SEC and No. 23 nationally.

Claxton Paces SEC On The Glass

Nicolas Claxton is averaging an SEC-high 9.0 rebounds per game.

The sophomore from Greenville, S.C., is the only player included among the league's top-10 in both defensive and offensive boards. Claxton is collecting 6.4 of UGA's opponents misses, which is tops in the SEC. He is grabbing 2.6 of UGA's non-makes each game, which is No. 9 among league leaders.

Harris Producing Off the Bench

Jordan Harris equaled his career high with 12 points against Georgia State and followed that with 10 points versus Kennesaw State. That represented the first time the junior Iron City, Ga., has produced back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts at UGA.

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3" Crump

Tyree Crump has scored nearly two-thirds of his career points at Georgia on shots from at least 20-feet, 9-inches from the basket.

With a 13 3-pointers this season, Crump has now knocked down 76 3s during his career with the Bulldogs, directly accounting for 228 of his points 361 (63.2 percent) during his collegiate career.

Those 73 trifectas also account for 67.9 percent (76-of-112) of his made shots from the floor at Georgia.

Georgia's Deflection Objective

"I was told a long time ago and I don't think you can say it any better – deflections are barometer of active defense. It's any type of activity on the ball. It's a finger tip, a hand, blocked shots, chargers, a steal. That's what we're aiming for. I want our team at a deflection-to-turnover ratio of 3.5-to-1. To me, that is an optimal number."

The deflection is extremely key statistic for Georgia. Head coach Tom Crean regularly disscusses the deflection and its significance.

"You will hear me talk a lot about it," Crean said in his press conference following the Sam Houston State game. "Some of you will get tired of it and some of you will buy into it."

The quote above gives a defintion of the stat. The Bulldogs' season totals to date are below. Nicolas Claxton leads the team, including 18 deflections against Sam Houston State.

"I have only coached four other guys, and all four of them played in the NBA, that ever had more than 18 in a game," Crean said.

UGA Deflections

Player	Number
Nicolas Claxton	68
Tye Fagan	27
Rayshaun Hammonds	26
Tyree Crump	22
E'Torrion Wilridge	22
Derek Ogbeide	21
Jordan Harris	20
Turtle Jackson	20
Teshaun Hightower	15
Amanze Ngumezi	4
Ignas Sargiunas	4
JoJo Toppin	4
Mike Edwards	1

Fagan Gets First Nod

Freshman Tye Fagan secured his first career start against Illinois State and went on to play 36 minutes – the most PT any Bulldog has seen this season.

The Thomaston, Ga., native scored eight points and also grabbed a season-most five rebounds versus the Redbirds.

Career-high Outings Against ISU

Sophomores Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton exploded for career-high offensive outputs of 31 and 22 points, respectively, against Illinois State.

Hammonds scored 31 points in 31 minutes of playing time. He topped his previous best effort of 21 points against LSU last season. In fact, Hammonds almost reached that mark in the first half alone. He scored 18 points in the opening period and eventually moved to 22 with an emphatic slam dunk at the 14:20 mark of the second half.

Claxton did much of his damage after the intermission. He scored 14 second-half points and also hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Not to be lost in the box score, Claxton also dished out a career-high four assists.

Excitement Surrounds Bulldogs

Tom Crean was hired as the Bulldogs' head coach on March 15 and has created an off-season buzz surrounding Georgia Basketball that it hasn't been seen since Dominique Wilkins' days in Athens during the early-80s.

Before this season, Georgia had never sold out more than one game before its opener.

This fall, the Bulldogs had three sellouts – Florida, Kentucky and Texas – in October.

In addition, the number of contributors and the amount donated to UGA's Basketball Enhancement Fund (BEF) set records by considerable margins. The BEF tally topped $1 million for the first time ever and as of Nov. 7 had bettered the previous watermark by just shy of 25 percent.

"I'm just looking forward to this enthusiasm that is being generated around the program being live, screaming bodies in the seats," Crean said prior to the season opener. "We want bodies that are there early, that are there during, that are loud at the beginning, that are helping us through it and that coming to have some fun."

Ogbeide Already Ranks Among Bulldogs' Best Boarders Ever

Derek Ogbeide began his senior season with 614 rebounds and ranked No. 17 among the Georgia's career leaders. Ogbeide ascended to the No. 15 position during the Kennesaw State victory and is now 10 boards shy of the current No. 14 tally of Marcus Thornton.

Claxton Goes International

Nicolas Claxton spent a portion of his summer playing for the U.S. Virgin Islands national team in qualifying contests for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He is eligible to do so since his father, Charles, an All-SEC center for UGA in the early-90s, was born on the U.S.V.I.

Claxton helped ignite a closing 13-0 surge in an 84-74 victory over the Bahamas on June 28. He was fouled and converted a free throw to start the run and then made a stickback with 3:15 left to put the U.S.V.I up for good. With 2:51 remaining, Claxton stole a Buddy Hield pass that resulted in a bucket on the other end.

In a loss to Canada on July 2 on Ottawa, Claxton scored seven points and had a team-high six rebounds.

Workouts Feature Belted "Dawg Of The Week" Accolade

Georgia's summer and fall workouts have included the naming of a "Dawg of the Week," an award accompanied by an extremely authentic wrestling-style championship belt.

"That was (strength & conditioning director) Sean Hayes' idea," Tom Crean said. "He showed me the design and I liked it and he got it done. It's something that Sean really spearheads, and he's really basing it not only on who had the best week themselves but most importantly who's helping others the best. It's about who's not only pushing themselves to a very high level but through the fatigue, through the frustration that comes through the adversity that comes. Are they really helping their teammates, especially the young guys?"

Inaugural StegMania A Success

Tom Crean arrived in Athens with a distinct vision. One of the first things he wanted to create was an preseason event to display the new energy and enthusiasm surrounding Georgia Basketball.

On Friday, Oct. 5, the first-ever StegMania drew a crowd of more than 5,000. It was, by all measures, a significant success.

UGA students lined up around the Coliseum to receive commemorative "StegMania" t-shirts. A lengthy autograph session with a distinct family feel wrapped up the festivities.

StegMania itself was packed with pyrotechnic player introductions, a high-flying dunk contest, a dance battle with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, a impromptu performance of the hit song "Rolex" by hip-hop artists Ayo & Teo and a scrimmage with Crean "mic'd up" for the crowd.

"When you're brand new coming into something like this, you really don't have an expectation," said Crean, who donned a "Georgia vs. All Y'all" t-shirt for the evening. "But if I would've had one, it would have exceeded it. When I saw people in line to get into the Coliseum, I got a lump in my throat. It was awesome because you never take it for granted. Hopefully, everyone walks out of here knowing that they matter."

Bulldogs in Openers

With the victory over Savannah State, Georgia improved to 81-33 record in season-opening contests during the Bulldogs' 114 campaigns of basketball.

That tally includes a 35-6 mark when the Bulldogs have opened the season at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia's biggest victory in an opener at the Coliseum also was its first. In the Bulldogs' first-ever season opener in the Coliseum on Dec. 3 1964, UGA bested No. 13 North Carolina, 64-61.

Crean's Opening Outings

Tom Crean improved to 18-1 in season openers as a head coach. Crean was 8-1 to begin his nine seasons at Marquette from 1999-2008. He was a perfect 9-0 at Indiana from 2008-17.

The biggest season-opening victory for a Crean-coached team was two years ago when the No. 11-ranked Hoosiers defeated No. 3 Kansas, 103-99, in overtime at the Armed Forces Challenge in Honolulu.

The Hoosiers raced to an 8-1 start that season – including a second signature victory in November over eventual 2017 NCAA Champion North Carolina – before injuries decimated Indiana's roster.

Some Early-Season Birthdays

Three Bulldogs celebrated their birthdays during November.

Jake Thelen, Georgia's Director of Basketball Operations, enjoyed his birthday on Thursday, Nov. 8. Thelen, who turned 26, is the youngest "DOBO" at a Power 5 Conference program.

Teshaun Hightower celebrated his 21st birthday on Wednesday, Nov. 21 in the Cayman Islands.

On Saturday, Nov. 10, Rayshaun Hammonds turned 20.

Bulldogs Win Exhibitions

Georgia won both of its preseason exhibition outings. The Bulldogs bested UAB in Birmingham, 56-54, on Oct. 18 and the topped Division II West Georgia, 98-59 on Nov. 1.

Against UAB, Rayshaun Hammonds led Georgia with 13 points and nine rebounds. Nicolas Claxton and JoJo Toppin added eight points each for the Bulldogs.

Hammonds scored on a three-point play that ignited a 9-3 run over the final 3:58 for the Bulldogs. Georgia held UAB without a field goal for the final 5:41 of the contest.

Tyree Crump led a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures against West Georgia. Crump knocked down 6-of-10 3-point attempts en route to 18 points.

Nicolas Claxton added 14 points, while Rayshaun Hammonds and Teshaun Hightower chipped in 10 apiece. Claxton and Hammonds each grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

The Bulldogs raced to a 12-1 lead and held the Wolves without a field goal for the first 6:37 of the game.

The Leftiest Lads In The Land

The Bulldogs' roster features six – count 'em on two hands – left-handed players. Georgia's southpaws include Nicolas Claxton, Tye Fagan, Rayshaun Hammonds, Jordan Harris, Derek Ogbeide and JoJo Toppin.

We're relatively confident that tally is the most any NCAA Division I basketball team will suit up during 2018-19.

During the summer months, J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA sends out a laundry list of questions to the nation's Division I men's basketball SIDs. The inquiries can range from statistical – what school has the most 2,000-point scorers – to staff – who has the nation's most experienced coaching staff – to roster related – who has the most newcomers.

Round 1 of the email on September 5 including the following offering from Athens: "Georgia has six left-handed players. Does any other team in the country have as many or more players who are left-handed?"

Not that SIDs are bound to answer every request, but that question received no replies. So, the ask was modified for a second email correspondence sent out by Hamilton on September 26 to read: "Georgia has six left-handed players. Does any other team in the country have as four or more players who are left-handed?"

That led to Tennessee (D.J. Burns, John Fulkerson, Jalen Johnson and Yves Pons), Washington (David Crisp, Elijah Hardy, Bryan Penn-Johnson and Nate Roberts) and Winthrop (Adam Pickett, Jermaine Ukaegbu, Kyle Zunic and Raivis Scerbinskis) supplying lists of four.

While nothing is official, Georgia will claim the unofficial title of the leftiest team in America until proven otherwise.

And for full effect, the above headline should be read in a voice immitating Dan Magill, the greatest Bulldog of all time. If you're not familiar with Coach Magill, ask.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nicolas Claxton

Tyree Crump

Mike Edwards

Tye Fagan

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Teshaun Hightower

Yante Maten

Amanze Ngumezi

Derek Ogbeide

Ignas Sargiunas

JoJo Toppin

E'Torrion Wilridge