Georgia Hosts Florida in a CBS Televised Matinée

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (9-7, 1-3 SEC) vs. Florida (9-7, 1-3)
Saturday, January 19 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Sirius: 134; XM: 190; Internet: 961. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
TV: CBS (Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Clark Kellogg, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
9-6 in 1st season at UGA
365-237 in 19th season overall
G	0	William Jackson	4.8	1.3
6-4; 185; Sr.; Athens, Ga.
G	1	Teshaun Hightower	8.1	2.4
6-5; 180; So.; Lithonia, Ga.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	13.7	6.5
6-8; 235; So.; Norcross, Ga.
F	33	Nicolas Claxton	12.6	9.4
6-11; 220; So.; Greenville, S.C.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	9.7	6.1
6-9; 250; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Florida Gators
Coach: Mike White
78-44 in 4th season at UF
179-84 in 8th season overall
G	2	Andrew Nembhard	7.4	2.6
6-5; 191; Fr.; Aurora, Ontario
G	5	Kevaughn Allen	11.7	2.6
6-2; 193; Sr.; Little Rock, Ark.
G	10	Noah Locke	10.5	2.3
6-3; 205; Fr; Baltimore, Md.
G	3	Jalen Hudson	6.3	2.8
6-6; 195; Sr.; Richmond, Va.
C	13	Kevarrius Hayes	6.7	6.1
6-9; 227; Sr.; Live Oak, Fla.

TEAM COMPARISON

STATISTIC	GEORGIA	FLORIDA
Points Per Game	75.6	69.6
Opp. Point Per Game	72.9	61.8
Scoring Margin	+2.6	+17.8
Field Goal Pct.	.455	.426
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.397	.407
3-Point Pct.	.316	.342
3-Pointers Per Game	6.7	8.8
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.311	.317
Free Throw Pct.	.723	.679
Free Throws Per Game	17.0	11.9
Rebounds Per Game	41.1	35.2
Opp. Rebound Per Game	36.7	24.4
Rebound Margin	+4.4	+0.8
Assists Per Game	14.4	13.3
Turnovers Per Game	16.0	11.9
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.90	1.12
Turnover Margin	-4.4	+4.4
Steals Per Game	5.8	7.9
Blocks Per Game	6.3	4.2

The Starting 5...

Georgia has already sold out 7 games this season, the most sellouts for the Bulldogs since they had 8 during the 2002-03 season.
Nicolas Claxton is the only SEC player to lead his team in points, boards, assists, blocks & steals in a game this season...and he's done it twice.
Derek Ogbeide joined UGA's top-10 career rebounding leaders during the Vanderbilt game. He's now 27 from the No. 9 mark.
UGA's bench has outscored it counterparts in 11 games, with nine of those being by +10 or more. UGA's bench has a +156 scoring margin.
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 Florida in a CBS televised matinée at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday at noon. The contest is the second of six-consecutive sellouts for the Bulldogs at the friendly – and increasingly crowded – confines of Stegeman Coliseum.

The next Georgia home outing with tickets available is more than a month away on Feb. 20 against Mississippi State.

Georgia is 7-2 at home this season, with both losses coming to ranked opponents (No. 20 Arizona State and No. 14/12 Kentucky). The Bulldogs are averaging 8,442 fans per game at home this season, their highest average since hosting 8,619 fans during the 2003-04 season.

Series History With The Gators

Florida currently sports a 113-104 lead in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Gators; however, Georgia does own a 63-39 advantage in games contested in Athens.

Georgia won both its home and road matchups with Florida last season, supplying the Bulldogs first win in Gainesville since 2002 and their first season sweep of the Gators since the 1996-97 campaign.

Up Next: A Trip To The Bayou

Georgia will travel to Baton Rouge next Wednesday to face LSU, the first of two dates with the Tigers this season. LSU is one of just three SEC teams entering this weekend undefeated in league play.

Welcome To The League, Coach

Tom Crean's initiation into the Southeastern Conference would probably be considered hazing by some.

Georgia begins league play with six consecutive outings against teams that entered SEC competition ranked in the top-50 of the new NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings.

In the Jan. 5 edition of NET ledger, the Bulldogs' first half-dozen SEC opponents were ranked, in succession, as No. 7 Tennessee, No. 45 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Auburn, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 33 Florida and No. 27 LSU.

For good measure, Georgia's seventh outing of the 2019 calendar also will be against a top-50 NET foe when the Bulldogs host Texas, which was No. 49 in the Jan. 5 NET, as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Dogs' Sellout Count Climbs To 7

The Tom Crean regime has established impressive attendance records with seven sellouts already on the books.

On Oct. 24, Georgia announced sellouts for the Florida and Kentucky games, the earliest sellout(s) in the Bulldogs' history.

Two days later, the Texas contest also sold out. Prior to this year, Georgia never had more than one preseason sellout.

In early December, dates with LSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss also sold out.

The Bulldogs then wrapped up the 2018 calendar with a capacity crowd against UMass on Dec. 30.

The last time the Bulldogs had seven sellouts was in 2002-03 when they hosted nine capacity crowds.

It should be noted that the 2,000 free seats reserved for UGA's student body must be filled at those games for capacity crowds of 10,523 to be in attendance at the "sellouts."

A Historic Opener

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

The Bulldogs secured a 110-76 victory over Savannah State on Nov. 9, Georgia's most points 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 flocked to the Savannah State game, the biggest turnout for a home opener since Stegeman's capacity became 10,523 in 1994.

To find a larger crowd for the Bulldogs' home opener you have to go back 37 seasons...all the way to Dominique Wilkins' sophomore year in Athens. That season, a capacity crowd of 11,200 was on hand as Georgia topped arch rival Georgia Tech, 62-61, on Dec. 5, 1981.

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

Bulldogs Entertain Gators In Rare CBS Regular-Season Date

The Georgia Bulldogs will entertain the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon at noon in a rare regular-season outing on CBS.

The Bulldogs' last non-"March Madness" appearance on CBS was six seasons ago when Georgia defeated South Carolina, 62-54 in overtime, on Feb. 23, 2013. Current L.A. Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a game-high 18 points to pace the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs enter Saturday's game at 9-7 overall and 1-3 in the SEC.

Sophomores Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton lead the Bulldogs.

Hammonds averages a team-high 13.7 ppg, which is No. 15 among SEC statistical leaders. He also is No. 10 in free throw percentage (.839) and No. 11 in rebounds (6.5 rpg).

Claxton has been a "do-it-all" contributor for the Bulldogs. He is scoring 12.6 ppg and leads the league in both rebounding (9.4 rpg) and blocks (3.3 bpg). Claxton also paces Georgia in both assists (34) and steals (21).

Tyree Crump comes off the bench to provide another double-digit scorer at 10.3 ppg.

Florida also is sports records of 9-7 overall and 1-3 in league play.

KeVaughn Allen and Noah Lock headline a balanced offensive attack for the Gators by averaging 11.7 and 10.5 ppg, respectively.

Series History With The Gators

Florida is Georgia's most frequent foe on the hardwood. The Bulldogs and the Gators have met 217 times in basketball, with Florida owning a 113-104 advantage in the series. Georgia does sport a relatively healthy 63-39 edge in games played in Athens.

Trailing Florida on the list of most matchups for Georgia is Georgia Tech with 195 and Auburn with 188.

Last season, the Bulldogs swept both the home and road dates with the Gators, the first time Georgia has done so since 1996-97.

In the most recent matchup, Yante Maten ripped out the Gators' hearts last Feb. 14 while leading the Bulldogs to a 72-69 overtime victory in Gainesville.

A pair of Maten 3-pointers in the final 16 seconds helped Georgia rally from a six-point deficit and force the extra period.

Florida led by seven at the halftime intermission and pushed that margin to 50-39 on a KeVaughn Allen jumper with 10:03 remaining.

Georgia chipped away at the margin, but still trailed by six following a pair of Egor Koulechov free throws with 25 seconds left.

Maten canned his first 3-pointer from the right wing with 15.8 seconds on the clock. Following a timeout, Florida was whistled for traveling on an inbounds pass to give the ball back to the Bulldogs. Maten then drained a 25-foot jumper from straightaway to knot the score and force OT.

Georgia jumped out to a 66-60 lead in the extra session and held on to secure the Bulldogs' first victory in Gainesville since 2002.

In Florida's last trip to Stegeman Coliseum on Jan. 30 last season, Maten poured in 20 points to lead Georgia in a 72-60 upset over the No. 23-ranked Gators.

The Bulldogs led 37-32 at halftime before Florida opened the second period on a 12-2 run. Georgia regained the lead and gradually expanded it to 60-53 with 1:35 remaining. The Bulldogs then knocked down 12-consecutive free throws, including both ends of three one-and-one situations.

Last Time Out...

Kentucky broke open a tight contest early in the second half en route to a 69-49 victory over Georgia before a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Derek Ogbeide and Nicolas Claxton scored the Bulldogs first five baskets on dunks in the first 5:46 of the game to supply Georgia with an early 11-6 edge.

Kentucky took the lead for good late in the first half and entered the half up 35-31. The Wildcats nine points of the second half and never allowed the Bulldogs closer than eight points thereafter.

Bulldogs Are Shot Swatters

Georgia ranks among the nation's top shot-blocking teams.

Following midweek SEC play, Georgia led the league and ranked No. 3 nationally by averaging 6.3 rejections per game.

Individually, Nicolas Claxton led the SEC and ranked No. 4 nationally at 3.3 bpg through games of Jan. 16. In fact, Claxton's per game average was more than 163 Division I teams as a whole, which is almost half of the nation's 351 D-I programs.

Harris Cleaning Up The Glass

Jordan Harris has produced career-high rebounding numbers in each of Georgia's last two games.

The junior from Iron City, Ga., collected six boards at No. 11 Auburn last Saturday, matching his previous best effort against Alabama on Jan. 6 last season.

Harris then secured seven rebounds against No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday evening.

The Deflection Objective

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

"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."

"You will hear me talk a lot about it," Crean said in his press session 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 definition 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	156
Rayshaun Hammonds	56
Teshaun Hightower	51
E'Torrion Wilridge	42
Jordan Harris	41
Turtle Jackson	40
Derek Ogbeide	37
Tye Fagan	35
Tyree Crump	33
Ignas Sargiunas	14
Amanze Ngumezi	12
JoJo Toppin	9
Christian Harrison	6
Connor O'Neill	2
Mike Edwards	1

Dogs' Depth Paying Dividends

Georgia's bench has outscored its counterparts 11 times...usually by a significant amount. The Bulldogs' reserves have been +10 or more in nine outings, helping Georgia to a +156 scoring margin on bench points.

Claxton Doing It All For Dogs

Nicolas Claxton is the only player in the SEC this season to – in the same game – lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals...and he's done so twice.

Claxton did so Nov. 27 against Kennesaw State with 16 points, 15 boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals. He repeated the feat Dec. 18 versus Oakland with 17 points, 13 boards, three assists, three blocks and a steal.

The last SEC player to lead his team in all five stats in multiple games was LSU's Ben Simmons, who did so three times during the 2015-16 campaign.

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3" Crump

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

With a 33 3-pointers this season and 96 for his career, 3-point field goals directly account for 61.8 percent (288 of 466) points at UGA.

Overall, 67.1 percent (96-of-143) of Crump's made shots from the floor as a Bulldog have been from behind the arc.

Ogbeide Among Best Boarders

Derek Ogbeide began his senior season with 614 rebounds and ranked No. 17 among the Georgia's career leaders.

Ogbeide joined the Bulldogs' top-10 career leaders with nine boards during the Vanderbilt victory. He is 27 rebounds away from the current No. 9 tally.

Claxton Joins Top-10 Swatters

Nicolas Claxton's 52 blocks this season already ranks among the top-10 single-season efforts in Georgia history.

Claxton is chasing a familiar name on that list...his father Charles as outlined below.

UGA Season Blocks Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	GP
1.	94	Charles Claxton	1995	28
2.	91	Richard Corhen	1984	30
3.	88	Lavon Mercer	1977	27
4.	83	Terrell Bell	1996	31
5.	76	Lavon Mercer	1980	27
6.	61	Yante Maten	2016	34
7.	60	Antonio Harvey	1991	29
8.	58	Charles Claxton	1994	30
9.	56	Lavon Mercer	1979	25
10.	52	Nicolas Claxton	2019	16

Hammonds Bounces Back

Rayshaun Hammonds rebounded from a scoreless outing at No. 3 Tennessee in the SEC opener to put up a game-high 19 points against Vanderbilt.

It took Hammonds a while to get going, though. He was held scoreless in the first half, missing all four of his shots from the floor including three 3-point attempts.

Hammonds hit a 3-pointer 14 seconds in to the second half and eventually scored a dozen points in the first 7:24 of the period.

Tom Crean asked for more from Hammonds at the half.

"It was quick," Crean said. "It wasn't bad. It wasn't in my top-100 challenges. I've had a few. It was mild, but again, it's like, 'We need more. This isn't good enough.' He comes out in the second half and bangs that first shot, looks good doing it. It's important. He has another gear in him. It's our job to keep pulling it out of him."

Hammonds showed the ability to bounce back from rough outings last season. He went scoreless nine times as a freshman but then followed five of those games with a double-digit performance.

Ogbeide Enjoys Fruitful Stretch

Derek Ogbeide enjoyed most productive offensive three-game stretch of his career against UMass, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Ogbeide put up 12 points against the Minutemen, a season-high 17 in Knoxville and 15 versus Vanderbilt...an average of 14.7 ppg while shooting 62.4 percent from the floor.

That marked the second time Ogbeide has had three-straight double-digit outings. He averaged 11.3 ppg while connecting on 58.3 percent of his field goal attempts against LSU, Auburn and Arkansas in the final three regular-season games of 2016-17.

Claxton Named SEC POTW

Nicolas Claxton was tabbed the SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 31, a day after his game-high tallies of 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against UMass.

Claxton recorded his sixth double-double of the season while connecting on 8-of-13 shots from the field and converting on 3-of-3 trips to the line versus the Minutemen. He grabbed 10 defensive rebounds, one less than the UMass entire roster grabbed as a whole on that end of the floor.

Maten Earns G League Honor

Yante Maten, the 2018 AP SEC Player of the Year for Georgia, enjoyed a very productive month of December.

Maten, a two-way player with the Miami Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, was named NBA G League Player of the Month. In nine games, he averaged 29.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 59.0 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from 3-point range and 80.3 percent from the line. Maten's month was highlighted by a 42-point, 14-rebound performance against Stockton, one of his seven December double-doubles.

"I'm definitely enjoying my time in Sioux Falls," Maten said. "I'm being used a lot. I'm trying to make the best out of every opportunity and every game. I'm just exited to come out and prove a point every night."

Perfect Against "The Enemy"

With its 70-59 win over Georgia Tech on Dec. 22 at McCamish Pavilion, Georgia's Class of 2019 secured a unique spot in the Bulldogs' history.

In the first 113 seasons of Georgia Basketball, only four, four-year Bulldogs finished their careers undefeated against the Yellow Jackets – the tandems of James Banks and Vern Fleming (1980-84) and Richard Corhen and Gerald Crosby (1981-85).

That number more than doubled with this year's victory as Mike Edwards, Turtle Jackson, Connor O'Neill, Derek Ogbeide and E'Torrion Wilridge joined that quartet. Christian Harrison also went undefeated against Tech, but only played two seasons in Athens after transferring from Troy. Those Bulldogs not only won each game, the did so by double figures. The last time Georgia posted four-consecutive double-digit wins over the Jackets was a stretch covering the 1908-09 through 1913-14 seasons

To adhere to "truth in advertising" principles...it should be noted that UGA and GT played at least twice each season from the beginning of the series through 1981-82.

Hammonds Puts Up Rare Stat Line

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

Hammonds is the only 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	Points	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)

Career-High Outings Against ISU

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

Hammonds scored 31 points in 31 minutes. He scored 18 first-half points, almost topped his previous best effort of 21 points before intermission. Claxton did much of his damage after the break with 14 second-half points.

Excitement Surrounds Bulldogs

Tom Crean was hired as the Bulldogs' head coach on March 15 and 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.

UGA Loaded With Peach Products

Nearly three-fourths of Georgia's roster played high school hoops in the Peach State. Eleven of 15 Bulldogs – that's 73.3 percent to be exact – did so.

The list includes: seniors Christian Harrison (Woodward Academy), William "Turtle" Jackson (Athens Christian School), Connor O'Neill (Blessed Trinity Catholic High) and Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook High); juniors Tyree Crump (Bainbridge High) and Jordan Harris (Seminole County High); sophomores Rayshaun Hammonds (Norcross High) and Teshaun Hightower (Collins Hills High); and freshmen Tye Fagan (Upson-Lee High); Amanze Ngumezi (Johnson High) and JoJo Toppin (Norcross High).

Fagan Owns Unique Record

The first recruit to commit to Tom Crean at Georgia certainly brought a winning résumé.

Spring signee Tye Fagan helped Upson-Lee High School to back-to-back state titles and 63 consecutive victories as a junior and senior. The Knights' effort represents the third-longest winning streak in Georgia boys' high school hoops history.

"Any time you add a championship-winning player and person to your program, it's great," Crean said. "But I can't recall ever signing anyone that was 63-0. That's unique."

Georgia's loss at Temple on Nov. 13 represented Fagan's first setback representing his school since an Upson-Lee setback to New Hampstead on Feb. 17, 2016 in the first round of the 2016 state tournament...providing a span of exactly 1000 days between those losses.

Inaugural StegMania A Success

Tom Crean arrived in Athens with a distinct vision. One thing he wanted to create was an preseason event to display the new energy and enthusiasm around 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 intros, a high-flying dunk contest, a dance battle with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, an impromptu performance of the hit song "Rolex" by hip-hop artists Ayo & Teo and a scrimmage with Crean "mic'd up."

"When you're brand new coming into something like this, you really don't have an expectation," said Crean after the event. "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."

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.

Players Mentioned

Nicolas Claxton

Tyree Crump

Mike Edwards

Tye Fagan

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Christian Harrison

Teshaun Hightower

Yante Maten

Amanze Ngumezi

Connor O'Neill

Derek Ogbeide

Ignas Sargiunas

JoJo Toppin

E'Torrion Wilridge

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