Dogs Face Missouri In SEC Tourney

Thursday, March 8

St. Louis, Mo.

Appx. 3:30 PM

University of Georgia

Missouri

March 08, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
SEC Tournament Second-Round
Georgia (16-14, 7-11) vs. Vanderbilt (12-19, 6-12)
Thursday, March 8 at 3:150 p.m. ET
Scottrade Center (20,948) in St. Louis, Mo.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. (Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer
TV: SEC Network (Joe Tessitore, play-by-play; Sean Farnham, analyst; Laura Rutledge, reporter)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
162-132 in 9th season at UGA
285-175 in 14th season overall
G	0	William Jackson II	8.5	2.2
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
G	3	Juwan Parker	8.5	3.6
6-4; 205; R-Sr.; Tulsa, Okla.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	6.7	5.1
6-8; 227; Fr.; Norcross, Ga.
F	1	Yante Maten	19.5	8.7
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	7.3	6.1
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Missouri Tigers
Coach: Cuonzo Martin
20-11 (1st season at UM)
206-132 (10th season overall)
G	3	Kassius Robertson	16.5	2.9
6-3; 180; Gr.; Toronto, Ontario
G	33	Cullen VanLeer	2.4	1.4
6-4; 206; Jr.; Pacific, Mo.
F	21	Jordan Barnett	14.1	6.0
6-7; 215; Sr.; St. Louis, Mo.
F	24	Kevin Puryear	8.8	4.4
6-7; 215; Sr.; St. Louis, Mo.
F	23	Jeremiah Tilmon	8.4	4.2
6-10; 252; Fr.; East St. Louis, Mo.

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		MISSOURI
68.9	Points per game	73.7
+1.8	Scoring margin	+5.4
42.6	FG pct.	45.8
39.5	FG defense	40.8
32.1	3FG pct.	38.7
33.4	3FG defense	32.5
6.1	3FGs per game	9.4
70.3	FT pct.	73.7
15.7	FTs per game	15.6
+5.6	Rebound Margin	+4.6
12.6	Assists per game	13.7
0.98	Assists-to-TOs	0.96
4.7	Blocks per game	4.3
3.9	Steals per game	5.2

The Starting 5...

Yante Maten is UGA's first 3-time All-SEC pick in more than 25 years (since Litterial Green '90-92).
UGA leads the SEC and is ranked No. 8 nationally in FG percentage defense at .394.
UGA has 8 combined "Q1" & "Q2" wins, more than 43 teams ahead of UGA in the RPI.
Juwan Parker, the only DI MBB player with a master's, is now 3rd on UGA's career FT pct. leaders list.
Nicolas Claxton started at Vandy, becoming the 9th current Bulldog to start as a freshman.

Dogs Face Tigers In SEC Tourney

The Georgia Bulldogs will face the Missouri Tigers in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday. Technically, the contest, which will tip at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET, is a neutral site affair; however, Scottrade Center is expected to feature a decidedly pro-Mizzou crowd.

Georgia is coming off an impressive 78-62 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday evening that improved the Bulldogs to 17-14 overall.

Yante Maten, the AP SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-SEC pick, led the Bulldogs with 25 points against Vandy. Maten paces the league in scoring at 19.5 ppg, more than a full point per game higher than any other SEC player (Alabama's Collin Sexton, who is second at 18.3 ppg).

Maten also leads the league in double-doubles (13) and entered the SEC Tourney ranked among the SEC's top 10 in rebounding (No. 2), minutes played (No. 2), field goal percentage (No. 7), free throw percentage (No. 8) and blocked shots (No. 10).

Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs. In 31 games this season, he has 30 double-figure outings, with 16 20-point performances and 13 double-doubles.

Over 94 games since the start of his sophomore year, Maten has 86 double-digit scoring performances, with 38 20-point and five 30-point outings, and 28 double-doubles.

Juwan Parker and Turtle Jackson are the Bulldogs' second-leading scorers at 8.5 ppg each. Parker averaged 9.3 ppg in SEC action, a considerable jump from the 7.4 ppg he put up prior to league play. Jackson is second on the team with 15 double-digit outings.

Missouri finished the regular season at 20-11 overall and 10-8 in the SEC.

Kassius Robertson and Jordan Barnett average 16.5 ppg and 14.1 ppg, respectively, to pace a balanced offense for the Tigers. Four more players average between 9.8-7.5 ppg.

Entering Today's Game Among UGA's Career Leaders

Yante Maten is...

255 points from No. 1 Litterial Green
18 rebounds from No. 3 Alec Kessler
16 FGs from No. 5 Bob Leinhard
35 FGAs from No. 4 Dominque Wilkins
42 FTs from No. 3 Litterial Green
52 FTAs from No. 3 Alec Kessler
53 blocks from No. 2 Charles Claxton

Derek Ogbeide is...

32 rebounds from No. 16 Ray Jeffords

Among UGA's Season Leaders

Yante Maten is...

2 points from No. 6 Alec Kessler ('90)
5 points from No. 5 Walter Daniels ('79)
32 points from No. 4 J.J. Frazier ('17)
38 points from No. 3 Jacky Dorsey ('75)
2 rebounds from No. 13 Terry Fair ('80)
4 rebounds from No. 12 Yante Maten ('16)
15 rebounds from No. 11 Jumaine Jones ('99)
27 rebounds from No. 10 Jacky Dorsey ('75)
6 FTs from No. 4 J.J. Frazier ('17)
14 FTs from No. 3 Charles Mann ('14)
18 FTs from No. 2 Alec Kessler ('90)
29 FTs from No. 1 Zippy Morocco ('53)
5 FTAs from No. 5 Charles Mann ('15)
17 FTAs from No. 4 Murphy McManus ('55)

Series History With The Tigers

Georgia sports a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri. Today's game will be first meeting in SEC Tournament play.

Earlier this season two hours down the road in Columbia, Missouri rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Georgia, 68-56, on Jan. 10. That snapped the Bulldogs' six-game winning streak in the series.

The Bulldogs was on top for much of first half. Georgia led by seven on three occasions, lastly at 23-16 with 1:23 remaining in the half.

The Tigers scored the final four points of the first half and then opened the second period with an 18-4 surge to go up 38-27 at the 13:26 mark.

The Bulldogs answered quickly, using a 13-5 run covering just 3:04 to close the gap to a bucket. Kassius Robertson thwarted the comeback with a 3-pointer followed by a steal and a breakaway layup to put Missouri up 47-40. The Tigers led by double figures for the final 6:43 of the contest.

Georgia and Missouri have met in the postseason. The ninth-seeded Tigers bested the eighth-seeded Bulldogs, 70-68, in the opening round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

Rob Dryden scored 18 points off the bench and Shon Coleman added a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Georgia. Five Tigers scored in double digits, topped by 15 points from Arthur Johnson.

Clarence Gilbert knocked down a baseline jumper with less than a second left to lift the Tigers to victory.

Last Time out

Georgia scored the game's first 10 points and then kept a comfortable lead the rest of the evening in defeating Vanderbilt, 78-62, in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday evening.

The Bulldogs led 24-13 with 8:00 left in the first half and then exploded on a 14-0 run to blow the game open.

Yante Maten led Georgia with 25 points, his 16th 20-point outing of the season. A trio of Bulldog freshmen also were key to the performance. Teshaun Hightower and Rayshaun Hammonds added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Nicolas Claxton chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Georgia's SEC Tourney History

Georgia sports a 46-55 all-time record in 58 editions of the SEC Tournament.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 37-36 record in SEC Tournament action since the event resumed competition in 1979 following a 27-year hiatus from 1953-79.

The Bulldogs won the 1983 and 2008 SEC Tournaments and finished as runners-up in 1940, 1981, 1988 and 1997. Georgia has reached the semifinals 15 times, including three straight seasons from 2014-16.

Maten Moves Up On Season List

Yante Maten ascended from No. 14 to No. 7 on Georgia single-season scoring leaders ledger during the Vandy victory.

Maten's 25-point outburst upped his 2017-18 tally from 583 points to 608. He enters the Missouri game well with climbing a couple of most spots on that list as outlined below.

UGA's Single-Season Scoring Leaders

Rk.	No.	Player	Season	G
1.	732	Dominique Wilkins	1981	31
2.	659	Dominique Wilkins	1982	31
3.	646	Jacky Dorsey	1975	25
4.	640	J.J. Frazier	2017	34
5.	613	Walter Daniels	1979	28
6.	610	Alec Kessler	1990	29
7.	606	Yante Maten	2018	31
8.	596	Alec Kessler	1989	31
9.	594	Bob Lienhard	1969	25
	594	Vern Fleming	1984	30
11.	591	K. Caldwell-Pope	2013	32
12.	590	Zippy Morocco	1953	25
13.	588	Jacky Dorsey	1976	27
14.	583	Willie Anderson	1988	35
	583	Yante Maten before Vanderbilt

Hightower's Production Way Up

Freshman Teshaun Hightower's contributions have increased considerably over the last four games.

Hightower has scored 35.6 percent of his season points total (32 of 90) beginning with the LSU game on Feb. 24.

Hightower also has distributed 36.1 percent of his season assists (13 of 36) in that span.

Those four contests include both of Hightower's double-digit scoring outputs on the year - 11 points against Texas A&M and 13 versus Vanderbilt. He also has upped his season-high assist effort three times - with three against LSU to four versus the Aggies to six (with zero turnovers) against Vanderbilt.

Ogbeide Boarding Like Last Year

Derek Ogbeide finished 2016-17 at No. 5 among league rebounding leaders at 7.6 rpg. He was even more impressive in SEC action, upping those contributions to 8.3 rpg.

This season, Ogbeide averaged just 5.3 rpg with one double-figure effort in Georgia's first 24 games.

Over the last seven games, Ogbeide has pulled down 9.0 rpg, with a quartet of double-digit tallies.

Maten, Parker Earn SEC Honors

Tuesday was a productive day from an award-winning standpoint for Yante Maten and Juwan Parker.

Maten was named SEC Player of the Year by the Associated Press, tabbed District Player of the Year by the USBWA and voted consensus first-team All-SEC.

Parker was tabbed as the SEC's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in balloting by the league's coaches.

Maten is Georgia's third SEC Player of the Year honoree, following Dominique Wilkins in 1981 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2013.

Maten also was voted All-SEC for the third-straight season. He is Georgia's first three-time All-SEC honoree in more than 25 years (since Litterial Green from 1990-92) and just the sixth in program history. Maten also was a first-team choice of coaches and a second-team pick by the AP a year ago, after earning second-team coaches and third-team AP honors as a sophomore.

Maten was selected as the District IV Player of the Year by the USBWA, which covers all Division I players in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. He also was named to the 10-player All-District team for the second-consecutive year.

Maten is the Bulldogs' first District Player of the Year since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2013 and first two-time All-District honoree since Trey Thompkins in 2010 and 2011.

Parker, a fifth-year senior, is the only active Division I men's basketball player who has already earned a master's degree. He secured his bachelor's in Management from UGA in two and a half years in Dec. 2015 and received his master's in Sport Management in August 2017. Parker is currently pursuing a second master's in Family Financial Planning.

On the court, Parker has 14 double-figure games, 10 of those coming against conference foes. He also ranks No. 3 among Georgia's career free throw percentage leaders, converting on 82.7 percent of his trips to the line. He also owns two of the top-10 single-season free throw percentage efforts in school history, No. 6 (85.6) last season and No. 7 (85.5 to date) this season.

Parker is Georgia's second Scholar-Athlete of the Year since the award's inception in 2004, following Dave Bliss in 2008.

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 players who entered the SEC Tourney ranked among the SEC's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. In fact, only eight players - including Maten doing so in 2015-16 - have ranked among the league's top 10 in those stats in the last 10 seasons as outlined below

SEC top-10 in PPG, RPG, FG Pct. & FT Pct.

Player, season	PPG	RPG	FG	FT
Y. Maten (UGA), '17-18	1	2	7	8
J. Roberson (VU), '17-18	5	5	4	2
Y. Maten (UGA), '15-16	9	6	5	10
K. Caldwell-Pope (UGA), '12-13	2	7	6	6
A. Moultrie (MSU), '11-12	2	1	2	9
T. Thompkins (UGA), '09-10	2	4	7	8
P. Patterson (UK), '08-09	5	3	1	7
A.J. Ogilvy (VU), '07-08	8	9	4	4
P. Patterson (UK), '01-08	9	7	5	8

Bulldogs' 'D' Reappears

For much of the season, Georgia has been one of the nation's best defensive teams.

Entering their Feb. 3 game at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs led the SEC and ranked No. 6 nationally in field goal percentage defense at .386. UGA was holding league opponents to an even more impressive .373.

At that point, only three opponents had shot 50.0 percent or better against Georgia in 21 games.

Over the next three outings, State, Vanderbilt and Auburn all shot better than 50 percent....a combined 83-of-159 (.522).

The Bulldogs' defense was much more solid in the last seven outings. During that stretch, Georgia has held its opposition to a combined 161-of-433 shooting performance from the floor, .372.

After slipping to No. 19 nationally in FG defense following those games, the last seven outings have lifted the Bulldogs back to the top of the SEC and No. 6 in Monday's edition of NCAA statistics at .394.

Maten 5th Bulldog To Lead SEC

Yante Maten is well on his way to becoming the fifth Georgia Bulldog to earn the SEC scoring title.

Maten tops the league in scoring by more than a full point per game at 19.5 ppg. Alabama's Collin Sexton is second in the league stats at 18.3 ppg. Even if Maten went scoreless against Missouri, Sexton would need to score 39 points to match his scoring average.

Georgia's previous scoring champions during the SEC's 86 years or basketball competition were Dominique Wilkins in 1980-81 (23.6 ppg), Vern Fleming in 1983-84 (19.8 ppg), Jumaine Jones in 1998-99 (18.8 ppg) and Jarvis Hayes in 2001-02 (18.6 ppg).

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 20 of 31 outings.

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

This year, the Bulldogs are +77, a relatively massive swing of 172 points from a year ago. Bulldogs Shuffle Starters

Georgia has used 10 Bulldogs to comprise nine different starting fives during the 2017-18 campaign. Yante Maten and Turtle Jackson are the only Bulldogs who have started every game to date.

Claxton Joins Freshman Starters

Nicolas Claxton earned his first career start at Vanderbilt on Feb. 7.

Claxton, the son of former Bulldog and All-SEC center Charles Claxton, became the ninth of Georgia's 13 scholarship players on the 2017-18 roster to start at least one game as a freshman.

Claxton joined seniors Yante Maten and Juwan Parker, juniors Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide, sophomores Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris and freshmen Rayshaun Hammonds and Teshaun Hightower as the Bulldogs' freshman starters.

Georgia Sports "Q"uality Wins

Georgia was No. 83 in Wednesday's NCAA RPI. The Bulldogs own a combined eight "Q1" and "Q2" victories. That's more than 43 of the teams ahead of UGA. The Bulldogs also are 3-4 against ranked opponents, with wins over No. 21 Saint Mary's, No. 23 Florida (in Athens) and No. 18 Tennessee (in Athens).

He Leads Now & Historically

Yante Maten's status as the SEC's most statistically productive player - both this season and during his career - can not be debated.

Maten currently leads the SEC in scoring, both overall and in league games only, and also has produced an SEC-high 13 double-doubles this season.

Among stats for active career leaders, Maten is the league's leading scorer by 380 points, leading rebounding by 120 boards, leading shot blocker by 22 swats and leader in double-doubles by 12 such outings.

Dogs Draw At Home

Georgia hosted five sellout crowds at Stegeman Coliseum during 2017-18.

The Bulldogs averaged 8,214 fans over 15 games, their highest since averaging 8,250 during the 2010-11 campaign.

Georgia topped an average of 8,000 fans for the ninth time in program history and the sixth occasion in the 2000s.

Hammonds High Most By A UGA Freshman In Six Years Rayshaun Hammonds' 21-point outburst against LSU on Feb. 24 represented the most productive performance by a Georgia freshman in more than six years, since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's 25 points against Ole Miss on Jan. 21, 2012.

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).