Georgia Hosts Texas in SEC/Big 12 Challenge

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (9-9, 1-5 SEC) vs. Texas (11-8, 3-4)
Saturday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Sirius: 113; XM: 191; Internet: 962. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
TV: ESPN2 (Roy Philpott, play-by-play; Jon Sunvold, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
9-9 in 1st season at UGA
365-220 in 19th season overall
G	1	Teshaun Hightower	7.7	2.3
6-5; 180; So.; Lithonia, Ga.
G	2	Jordan Harris	4.8	2.6
6-4; 190; Jr.; Iron City, Ga.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	13.2	6.3
6-8; 235; So.; Norcross, Ga.
F	13	E'Torrion Wilridge	3.5	2.3
6-6; 220; Sr.; Beaumont, Texas
F	33	Nicolas Claxton	12.5	9.6
6-11; 220; So.; Greenville, S.C.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Texas Longhorns
Coach: Shaka Smart
61-58 in 4th season at UT
224-114 in 10th season overall
G	2	Matt Coleman III	10.3	1.8
6-2; 180; So.; Norfolk, Va.
G	3	Courtney Ramey	5.7	2.7
6-3; 185; Fr.; St. Louis, Mo.
F	12	Kerwin Roach II	14.2	4.9
6-4; 180; Sr.; Houston, Texas
F	21	Dylan Osetkowski	9.8	8.3
6-9; 250; Sr.; San Diego, Calif.
F	10	Jaxson Hayes	10.3	5.2
6-11; 220; Fr.; Loveland, Ohio

TEAM COMPARISON

STATISTIC	GEORGIA	TEXAS
Points Per Game	74.6	71.1
Opp. Point Per Game	73.4	65.2
Scoring Margin	+1.2	+5.9
Field Goal Pct.	.457	.430
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.403	.405
3-Point Pct.	.324	.325
3-Pointers Per Game	6.7	8.4
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.312	.336
Free Throw Pct.	.724	.688
Free Throws Per Game	16.6	11.9
Rebounds Per Game	40.4	36.2
Opp. Rebound Per Game	35.9	35.4
Rebound Margin	+4.5	+07
Assists Per Game	14.1	13.5
Turnovers Per Game	16.3	11.4
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.87	1.19
Turnover Margin	-5.0	+1.8
Steals Per Game	5.6	6.0
Blocks Per Game	5.8	4.6

Promotional Giveaway

The first 1250 students in lower bowl receive free Tom Crean/Hairy Dawg t-shirt.

The Starting 5...

Georgia is averaging 8,605 fans over its 10 home dates, the Bulldogs' highest tally since averaging 8,619 fans during the 2003-04 season.
Nicolas Claxton leads the SEC and ranks No. 6 nationally in blocked shots at 3.0 bpg. His 54 blocks is the No. 10 season total in UGA history.
Derek Ogbeide joined UGA's top-10 career rebounding leaders during the Vanderbilt game. He's now 16 from the No. 9 mark.
UGA's bench has outscored it counterparts in 13 games, with 10 of those being by +10 or more. UGA's bench has a +175 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 steps out of SEC play on Saturday afternoon to host Texas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup at Stegeman Coliseum.

For the sixth consecutive year, the two leagues are pitted in 10 games against each other as part of the "Challenge." The first two events, in which Georgia did not participate, took place in December. The last three have been held on a Saturday in January.

After the Big 12 compiled a 20-10 record in the first three Challenges, the league's split the matchups in 2017 and the SEC secured a 6-4 edge a year ago.

Series History With Texas

Georgia owns a 7-5 advantage in all-time meetings between the Bulldogs and Longhorns, including a 3-0 mark in Athens. In the last meeting two years ago, which was also part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, Georgia earned a 59-57 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.

Up Next: Dogs Visit The Hogs

The Bulldogs will travel to Fayetteville on Tuesday to take on Arkansas at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Welcome To The League, Coach

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

Georgia began 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 the NET, the Bulldogs' first half-dozen SEC foes were ranked, in succession, as No. 7 Tennessee, No. 45 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Auburn, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 33 Florida and No. 27 LSU.

Most of those NET rankings have held relatively true through the first couple of weeks of SEC action.

Following midweek SEC action, those six teams were listed in Thursday's edition of the NET as No. 5 Tennessee, No. 82 Vanderbilt, No. 25 Auburn, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 37 Florida and No. 12 LSU.

Following Saturday, every SEC team will have played six league games. The Bulldogs' opponents in that stretch averaged a NET ranking of 28.2. The next closest average was 43.3 for Alabama.

Georgia's streak of top-50 NET foes will continue against Texas this weekend. The Longhorns were No. 49 in the Jan. 5 edition of that ledger but had climbed to No. 43 as of Thursday.

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 2018 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 for those "sellouts" to have capacity crowds of 10,523.

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 points was in a 113-74 victory over Grambling on Nov. 27, 1999.

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...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 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."

Longhorns Return To Stegeman For Another Challenge Matchup

For the second time in three season, Georgia will host Texas as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Stegeman Coliseum. Just under two years ago (728 days to be exact), the Bulldogs secured a 59-57 win over the Longhorns on Jan. 28, 2017.

The Bulldogs are currently 9-9 on the season and 1-5 in SEC play.

Georgia has faced far and away the toughest league schedule to date. The average NCAA NET ranking of the Bulldogs' first six SEC opponents is 28.2...the next closest average is Alabama at 43.3.

Sophomores Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton lead the Bulldogs.

Hammonds averages a team-high 13.2 ppg, which ranks No. 20 in the SEC. Among league statistical leaders, he is No. 9 in free throw percentage (.831) and No. 14 in rebounds (6.3 rpg).

Claxton has been a "do-it-all" contributor for the Bulldogs. He is scoring 12.5 ppg and leads the league in both rebounding (9.6 rpg) and blocks (3.0 bpg). Claxton also paces Georgia in assists (38) and steals (23).

Texas is 11-8 on the year and 3-4 in Big 12 action to date.

Kerwin Roach II tops a trio of double-digit scorers for the Longhorns at 14.2 ppg, while Jaxson Hayes and Matt Coleman III both chip in 10.3 ppg.

Series History With Texas

Georgia lead the all-time series between UGA and UT 7-5, including a 3-0 mark at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs and Longhorns met eight times during the 1990s but had not faced off in 13 years prior to the 2017 SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Athens.

Yante Maten's 21 points – his eighth 20-point outing this season – and seven boards led Georgia in a 59-57 victory over the Longhorns on Jan. 28, 2017.

Georgia trailed 32-23 at the half but opened the second stanza on an 8-0 surge. The Bulldogs eventually grabbed a 38-26 lead on a Jordan Harris 3-pointer with 13:13 left and then pushed that margin to as high as seven.

Georgia gained possession up 59-57 with 38 seconds remaining. That margin appeared to double on a Derek Ogbeide putback; however, the bucket was waved off as a shot clock violation following a video review.

The Longhorns took possession with 8.9 seconds on the clock, but Jarrett Allen's short hook that would have forced overtime rimmed out at the buzzer.

Likely the most memorable matchup in the series was on March 16, 1990, when the Longhorns earned a 100-88 decision over Georgia, that season's SEC Champions, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind.

Alec Kessler scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in his final collegiate game. He was joined in double-digits by Litterial Green, Marshall Wilson and Rod Cole, who chipped in 17, 16 and 11 points, respectively.

Travis Mays notched 44 points to lead the Longhorns. That tally included a 23-of-27 effort by Mays at the free throw line. Those tallies represent the most takes and makes at the charity stripe ever by a Georgia opponent.

Last Time Out...

LSU methodically built a 48-36 halftime lead and then withstood several Georgia rallies en route to a 92-82 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers outscored Georgia 18-9 over the final 5:54 of the first half to secure a double-digit lead at the intermission.

The Bulldogs quickly cut that margin in half to 50-44 in the first 1:45 of the second half. LSU answered with a 12-2 surge of its own. Georgia pulled within seven points twice thereafter, but the Tigers answered each time and allowed the Bulldogs to get no closer.

For the game, Georgia shot a better percentage than LSU in all three phases – 53.6 to 50.0 on FGs, 47.1 to 25.0 on 3FGs and 77.8 to 72.4 on FTs.

Georgia's Challenge History

The Bulldogs are 1-2 in their appearances in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. UGA did not participate in the event during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

In addition to Georgia's victory over Texas two seasons ago, the Bulldogs dropped an 83-73 decision at No. 17 Baylor in 2016. The Bulldogs led 35-32 at halftime in Waco before the Bears rallied.

A year ago, Georgia suffered a 56-51 setback at Kansas State, an eventual "Elite Eight" participant. The Bulldogs led by five points with just over six minutes remaining but were outscored 12-2 down the stretch.

Bulldogs Are Shot Swatters

Georgia has ranked among the nation's top shot-blocking teams throughout the season.

Through SEC midweek games, Georgia ranked No. 3 in the SEC and No. 7 nationally by averaging 5.8 rejections per game.

Individually, Nicolas Claxton led the league and ranked No. 6 nationally at 3.0 bpg through games of Jan. 23.

Dogs' Depth Paying Dividends

Georgia's bench has outscored its counterparts 13 times...usually by a relatively significant amount.

The Bulldogs' reserves have been +10 or more in 10 outings, helping Georgia to a +175 scoring margin on bench points.

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	164
Rayshaun Hammonds	62
Teshaun Hightower	54
Turtle Jackson	47
Jordan Harris	46
E'Torrion Wilridge	44
Derek Ogbeide	41
Tyree Crump	39
Tye Fagan	35
Ignas Sargiunas	4
Amanze Ngumezi	13
JoJo Toppin	9
Christian Harrison	6
Connor O'Neill	2
Mike Edwards	1

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3" Crump

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

With a 35 3-pointers this season and 98 for his career, 3-point field goals directly account for 61.6 percent (294 of 477) points at UGA.

Overall, 66.7 percent (98-of-147) of Crump's made shots from the floor for Georgia have been from behind the arc.

Ogbeide Among Best Boarders

Derek Ogbeide began the season ranked No. 17 among UGA's career rebounding leaders with 614 boards.

Ogbeide joined the Bulldogs' top-10 during the Vanderbilt victory and is now No.

Hammonds Bounces Back

Rayshaun Hammonds rebounded quite well from his only two scoreless outings during the 2018-19 campaign.

After not putting up points at No. 3 Tennessee in the SEC opener, Hammonds scored a game-high 19 points against Vanderbilt.

Hammonds did not score versus Florida, but then had a team-high 18 points at LSU.

It took Hammonds a while to get going against the Commodores, though. He was held scoreless in the first half.

Tom Crean then 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'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 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.

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	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)

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.

University of Georgia Athletics

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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