Bulldogs Wrap Up Road Stretch Vs. Vanderbilt

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (13-9, 4-6) vs. Vanderbilt (8-15, 2-8)
Wednesday, February 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) in Nashville, Tenn.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. (Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
158-127 in 9th season at UGA
281-170 in 14th season overall
G	4	Tyree Crump	5.6	1.0
6-1; 182; Soph.; Bainbridge, Ga.
G	0	William Jackson II	9.8	2.6
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
G	3	Juwan Parker	8.5	3.4
6-4; 205; R-Sr.; Tulsa, Okla.
F	1	Yante Maten	19.6	9.0
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	7.2	5.7
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Vanderbilt Commodores
Coach: Bryce Drew
27-31 (2nd season at VU)
151-80 (7th season overall)
G	13	Riley Lachance	12.7	3.2
6-2; 185; Sr.; Brookfield, Wash.
G	0	Saben Lee	10.3	2.6
6-2; 174; Fr.; Phoenix, Ariz.
G	10	Maxwell Evans	3.4	1.5
6-2; 186; Fr.; Houston, Texas
F	11	Jeff Roberson	16.5	7.2
6-6; 220; Sr.; Houston, Texas
F	50	Ejike Obinna	3.2	2.3
6-10; 234; Fr.; Enugu, Nigera

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		VANDERBILT
68.9	Points per game	72.2
+2.8	Scoring margin	-1.0
42.7	FG pct.	43.3
39.1	FG defense	45.2
32.2	3FG pct.	33.2
31.1	3FG defense	35.2
6.1	3FGs per game	8.3
71.8	FT pct.	73.2
15.9	FTs per game	15.8
+5.8	Rebound Margin	+0.4
12.7	Assists per game	12.4
0.96	Assists-to-TOs	1.04
4.8	Blocks per game	3.4
4.0	Steals per game	4.8

The Starting 5...

In stats for league games only, UGA is No. 3 nationally in FG defense among Power 5 teams.
UGA's com-bined six "Q1" and "Q2" wins are more than 25 teams ahead of UGA in the RPI.
Yante Maten is 13 points from No. 4 Dom-inique Wilkins among UGA's career leaders.
Yante Maten is the only player in the SEC's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, FG pct. & FT pct.
Juwan Parker, the only DI MBB player with a master's, is 3rd on UGA's career FT pct. leaders list.

Bulldogs Wrap Up Road Stretch

Georgia completes a taxing stretch of five road outings in a seven-game span this evening when the Bulldogs venture to Vanderbilt. Following tonight's contest, Georgia will enjoy four home dates in its next six games.

Georgia arrives at Memorial Gymnasium at 13-9 overall and in a six-way logjam for eighth place in the SEC standings at 4-6. All told, 11 of 14 league teams are within two games of each other - from 6-4 to 4-6.

All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Yante Maten leads the SEC in scoring by more than a half-point per game at 19.3 ppg (Arkansas' Jaylen Barford is second at 18.7 ppg). Maten also is second in the league in rebounding at 9.0 rpg and is the only SEC player ranked among the conference's top-10 in scoring, rebounding, FG pct. (No. 6) and FT pct. (No. 8).

Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs.

In 22 games this season, he has 21 double-figure outings, with nine double-doubles and 11 20-point performances.

Over 85 games since the start of his sophomore year, Maten has 77 double-digit scoring performances, with 33 20-point and five 30-point outings, and 24 double-doubles.

"Turtle" Jackson is the Dogs' second-leading scorer at 9.5 ppg, with 12 double-figure games. Juwan Parker is UGA's second-best point producer in SEC action at 9.0 ppg.

Vanderbilt, which according to NCAA numbers has played the nation's toughest schedule this season, is 8-15 overall and 2-8 in SEC play.

Jeff Roberson paces the Commodores in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.5 and 7.2, respectively. Riley LaChance adds 12.7 ppg, while Saben Lee chips in 10.3 ppg. Vanderbilt lost Matthew Fisher-Davis, another double-digit scorer at 11.9 ppg, to injury seven games ago.

Entering Today's Game Among UGA's Career Leaders

Yante Maten is...

4 points from No. 5 Walter Daniels
13 points from No. 4 Dominique Wilkins
102 points from No. 3 Vern Fleming
35 rebounds from No. 6 Lavon Mercer
89 FTs from No. 3 Litterial Green
115 FTAs from No. 3 Alec Kessler
67 blocks from No. 2 Charles Claxton

Series History With The Dores

The Commodores currently possess a 91-52 lead in the all-time series between UGA and VU, including a 55-14 advantage in games played on Vanderbilt's campus.

In last season's matchup on Jan. 17 in Athens, four Bulldogs scored in double digits as Georgia pulled past Vanderbilt 76-68 at Stegeman Coliseum.

Yante Maten poured in 21 points, his sixth 20-point game of the season, to lead the Bulldogs. Juwan Parker and J.J. Frazier contributed 17 points and 15 points, respectively, while they both reeled in team-high six rebounds. Derek Ogbeide scored 11 points, his fourth double-digit output of the season.

The Bulldogs led 34-25 at the half. On Vanderbilt's opening possession of the second stanza, Frazier stole the ball and went the distance for a layup. Ogbeide followed with jumper in the lane to push the Georgia lead to 13 points at 38-25.

The Commodores brought the game within three points at the 15:50 mark, but a Frazier trey pushed the advantage back to 55-43 with fewer than 10 minutes to go.

Vanderbilt rallied again and cut its deficit to five points with 2:17 to play, but that was the closest the Commodores got. Georgia held Vanderbilt scoreless on a 0-for-7 stretch that lasted over three minutes.

In the Bulldogs' last trip to Memorial Gym on Feb. 20, 2016, Georgia dropped an 80-67 decision to Vanderbilt. The Commodores jumped out to a 10-2 lead, and the Bulldogs spent the rest of the day playing uphill.

J.J. Frazier led UGA with 21 points. Yante Maten added a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Derek Ogbeide totaled a what was then a career-high 11 points.

Early in the second half, Frazier dropped six quick points cutting Vanderbilt's lead to seven. A pair of Charles Mann free throws cut the margin to four midway through the period, but Vanderbilt responded with a 7-0 run to regain control.

Last Time out

Mississippi State started quickly and never looked back en route to a 72-57 win over Georgia last Saturday in Starkville.

The Bulldogs opened the game with a 7-1 surge in the first 2:17. That margin reached double digits midway through the first half, and State answered every Georgia spurt.

A Tyree Crump 3-pointer at the 5:33 mark pulled UGA within 63-52; however, State closed out the rest of the contest on a 9-5 run.

Crump and Yante Maten led Georgia with 13 points apiece, while Pape Diatta added 12 of the bench on 4-of-4 3-point shooting.

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 preseason ledgers. CBSsports.com put him No. 22, ESPN.com listed him No. 23 and NBCsports.com tabbed him 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, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award.

Maten also received a good bit of preseason All-America recognition. Jay Bilas 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).

Maten, Roberson Among Best Bigs

Georgia's Yante Maten and Vanderbilt's Jeff Roberson are among the SEC's most productive power players - both this season and among the league's active career leaders.

Maten and Roberson are the only two player ranked among the SEC's top-10 leaders in both scoring and rebounding. Maten leads the league in scoring at 19.3 ppg and is second in rebounding at 9.0 rpg. Roberson is No. 6 in scoring at 16.5 ppg and No. 5 in rebounding at 7.2 rpg.

In stats for SEC games only, Maten and Roberson at 2-3 in scoring. Maten is averaging 18.9 ppg in league action, while Roberson is scoring at an 18.7 ppg clip.

Among the SEC's active career leaders, Maten leads the league in points (1,675), rebounds (803), blocks (180) and double-doubles (25). Roberson is No. 4 in points (1,211), No. 2 in boards (693) and No. 2 in double-doubles (15).

UGA's 'D' Among the Nation's Best

Georgia has traditionally been one of the SEC's - if not the nation's - most consistent defensive teams under Mark Fox.

The Bulldogs finished in the SEC's top-3 in field goal percentage defense - both overall and in SEC action - during five of Fox's first eight seasons in Athens.

Georgia led the league in FG defense in SEC play during both 2013-14 and 2015-16.

As of Monday, Bulldogs were No. 2 in the SEC and No. 9 nationally in FG defense (.386).

Georgia's defensive performance during conference play has been among the best in the nation among Power 5 conference teams.

In statistics for league games only, the Bulldogs not only pace the SEC in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense but they also rank among the top-5 nationally among Power 5 conference schools.

Through games on Feb. 5, Georgia's FG percentage defense was third-best in the nation among Power 5 schools in league play, while the Bulldogs were fifth in scoring defense as outlined below.

Rk.	Team	PPG
Scoring Defense
1.	Virginia	52.6
2.	Ohio State	63.2
3.	Syracuse	63.5
4.	Purdue	65.4
5.	Georgia	65.5
6.	Alabama	65.6
7.	Ga. Tech	66.0
	Michigan State	66.0
9.	Northwestern	66.1
10.	Nebraska	66.5

Rk.	Team	Pct.
FG Pct. Defense
1.	Michigan State	.372
2.	Virginia	.381
3.	Georgia	.384
	Syracuse	.384
5.	Alabama	.392
6.	Ohio State	.398
7.	Nebraska	.399
8.	Missouri	.407
9.	Duke	.413
10.	Texas A&M	.416

A little More On The Dogs' SEC 'D'

Georgia's defensive performances dominate the "opponent low" information in SEC superlatives for conference games.

Alabama's 46 points are the fewest by any SEC team in league action to date.

Georgia has induced three of the four lowest field goal totals in SEC play - 16 by South Carolina (second fewest) and 17 by both Kentucky and Alabama (third fewest).

Georgia also forced the lowest field goal percentage in SEC play to date - .271 by South Carolina.

Bulldogs' Bench Producing

Last season, Georgia's bench outscored its opponents' just nine times in 34 total games.

This season, the Bulldogs' non-starters have produced more points than their counterparts in 16 of 22 outings.

Georgia's bench finished 2016-17 with a -95 scoring margin.

This year, the Bulldogs are +75, a massive swing of 170 points.

SEC Hoops Moving Forward

This season, the SEC has certainly continued its upwardly trending national reputation.

That increased respect was front and center at the end of the last season.

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

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

What began last March has continued from November through January. The league is extremely well represented in the NCAA's RPI, with 13 of 14 teams in the top 100.

In Monday's edition, 11 teams were in the top 65 - No. 5 Auburn, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 30 Texas A&M, No. 33 Missouri, No. 39 Alabama, No. 41 Arkansas, No. 49 Florida, No. 57 Mississippi State, No. 59 Georgia and No. 63 South Carolina.

Bulldogs Sport Quality "Ws"

Georgia's NCAA resume is bolstered by some solid victories.

The Bulldogs' own four top-50 NCAA RPI wins - No. 24 Saint Mary's, No. 34 Temple, No. 39 Alabama and No. 49 Florida.

Georgia has six wins among the NCAA RPI's new "Q1" (3) and "Q2" (3) victories. That is more than 25 of the 58 teams ranked ahead of the Bulldogs in the RPI.

Diatta A Bright Spot In Starkville

A significant ankle sprain last summer stymied Pape Diatta's senior season. Diatta practiced and played with a brace through the New Year and has spent that past month strengthening the ankle.

After seeing action in just six contests and failing to score in Georgia's first 21 games, Diatta jump started his season last Saturday with 12 points off the bench. He did so in efficient faction, connecting on 4-of-4 attempts from 3-point range.

Hightower Shines In First Start

Freshman Teshaun Hightower made the most of his first career start at LSU, producing career highs for points (8), rebounds (3), steals (2) and minutes played (27).

Eight of the 15 players UGA's roster secured starting spots as freshmen - seniors Yante Maten and Juwan Parker, juniors Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide, sophomores Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris and freshmen Rayshaun Hammonds and Hightower.

Parker Sets Standards High

Juwan Parker has enjoyed an extremely productive five years in Athens.

The redshirt senior from Tulsa is "America's Most Educated college basketball player." He is the only D-I player who has earned a master's degree. He secured his bachelor's degree in two and a half years and received his master's last summer. He is working on a second master's in family financial planning.

Parker produced the best outing of his Georgia career on Jan. 3 against Ole Miss, when career highs of 18 points and 11 boards resulted in his first career double-double.

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 12 of 22 outings during the 2017-18 campaign.

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, he scored first-half 10 points and added three more following the break.

That mark lasted two games until Jackson put up 16 points versus Cal State Fullerton...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 9.5 ppg, Jackson continues to do much of his damage from behind the 3-point arc.

This season, 38 of his 69 field goals (55.1 percent) have been 3-pointers. For his career, 74-of-130 (56.9 percent) 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 decisive victories over Georgia Tech and Temple. 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 for Bulldog Basketball.

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. He has since ascended to No. 6 in points (17 away from No. 5 Walter Daniels and 26 from No. 4 Dominique Wilkins) and No. 7 in boards (42 shy of No. 6).

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 honor was Maten's second. He also was honored on Jan. 2, 2017, after he scored 31 points in the SEC opener at Auburn last season.

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 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.

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

This season, 24 of his 35 makes (68.6 percent) have been 3-pointers, and 43-of-68 field goals (63.2 percent) have come from behind the arc.

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.

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.

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 in his debut vs. Wofford.

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 those 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.

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 Harris (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).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tyree Crump

Pape Diatta

Mike Edwards

J.J. Frazier

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Christian Harrison

Teshaun Hightower

William Jackson II

Yante Maten

Connor O'Neill

Derek Ogbeide

Juwan Parker

University of Georgia Athletics