Georgia Hosts Missouri on Senior Night

Wednesday, March 6

Athens, Ga.

6:30

University of Georgia

Missouri

Tickets

March 05, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (11-18, 2-14 SEC) vs. Missouri (13-15, 4-12 in SEC)
Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET
SENIOR NIGHT CEREMONIES BEGIN AT 6:10 P.M.
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Sirius: 99; XM: 192; Internet: 963. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
10-18 in 1st season at UGA
366-249 in 19th season overall
G	0	Turtle Jackson	5.9	1.8
6-4; 185; Sr.; Athens, Ga.
G	2	Jordan Harris	7.2	3.6
6-4; 190; Jr.; Iron City, Ga.
G	11	Christian Harrison	1.2	1.3
6-4; 200; R-Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.
F	33	Nicolas Claxton	13.2	8.6
6-11; 220; So.; Greenville, S.C.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	9.7	5.6
6-9; 250; Sr.; Lagos, Nigeria

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Missouri Tigers
Coach: Cuonzo Martin
33-28 in 2nd season at MU
219-149 in 11th season overall
G	15	Jordan Geist	13.9	4.7
6-2; 180; Sr.; Fort Wayne, Ind.
G	1	Xavier Pinson	5.9	2.6
6-2; 172; Fr.; Chicago, Ill.
G	4	Jacon Pickett	8.6	3.2
6-4; 207; Fr.; Belleville, Ill.
F	24	Kevin Puryear	7.3	5.0
6-7; 238; Sr.; Blue Springs, Mo.
F	23	Jeremiah Tilmon	10.5	5.8
6-10; 252; Soph.; East St. Louis, Ill.

TEAM COMPARISON

STATISTIC	GEORGIA	MISSOURI
Points Per Game	73.4	67.0
Opp. Point Per Game	74.6	68.4
Scoring Margin	-1.2	-1.4
Field Goal Pct.	.453	.427
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.428	.436
3-Point Pct.	.336	.358
3-Pointers Per Game	6.9	8.3
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.335	.324
Free Throw Pct.	.719	.702
Free Throws Per Game	15.9	11.5
Rebounds Per Game	38.4	35.0
Opp. Rebound Per Game	34.2	31.7
Rebound Margin	+4.2	+3.4
Assists Per Game	14.0	11.0
Turnovers Per Game	15.9	14.4
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.88	0.77
Turnover Margin	-5.0	-2.1
Steals Per Game	5.8	4.6
Blocks Per Game	4.9	1.7

The Starting 5...

UGA broke its all-time total attendance record last Wednesday. The new mark is 141,520...with the crowd for the Mizzou game yet to be added.
Nicolas Claxton was extremely efficient en route to his career-high 25 points at Florida, making 9-of-12 FGs, 2-of-2 3FGs and 5-of-5 FTs.
Turtle Jackson and Tyree Crump are currently tied at No. 15 and among UGA's career 3-point leaders, seven away from No. 14.
Of the Bulldogs' six seniors, three are slated to graduate in May and three are scheduled to earn diplomas after the summer semester.
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 Missouri on Wednesday in the Bulldogs' home finale for the 2018-19 season.

Prior to tipoff, Georgia's six seniors – Mike Edwards, Christian Harrison, Turtle Jackson, Derek Ogbeide, Connor O'Neill and E'Torrion Wilridge – will be honored in ceremonies slated to begin with 15:00 remaining on the game's countdown clock (at 6:11 p.m.)

The Bulldogs are coming off last Saturday's thrilling 61-55 win at Florida. Nicolas Claxton poured in a career-high 25 points to lead Georgia to its second-straight win in Gainesville.

That victory was even more satisfying considering Georgia had lost its last four outings – all to projected NCAA Tournament teams – by a combined nine points. The outcomes of UGA's three games prior to the Florida matchup – against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn – weren't decided until last-second shot attempts. More info on each outing can be found on Page 3 of these Game Notes.

The March 4 edition of ESPN's Bracketology included all of the Bulldogs' last five foes, with LSU as a No. 4, Mississippi State as a No. 6, Auburn as a No. 7, Florida as a No. 9 and Ole Miss as a No. 10.

Series History With The Tigers

Georgia owns a 7-5 lead in its all-time series with Missouri, including a 4-1 record in Athens.

After the Tigers won the first four meetings, the Bulldogs captured the next six. UGA and MU split two matchups a year ago. Up Next: A Rematch With S. Carolina

Georgia will wrap up its 2018-19 regular-season schedule on Saturday with a trip to Columbia – the "other one" for you Mizzou folks – to face South Carolina on Saturday.

Earlier this season, the Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs 86-80 on Feb. 2 in Athens.

See You in Nashville...Maybe

There's a decent chance Georgia and Missouri will play each other again next Wednesday evening in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at in Nashville.

The Tigers and Bulldogs currently occupy the No. 12 and No. 13 seeds, respectively, in the league's "Road to Nashville" tracking. If those hold, UGA and MU would face off at 7:00 p.m. ET next week.

Bulldogs Set Attendance Mark

Georgia broke its all-time home total attendance record at last Wednesday night's game against Auburn. The Bulldogs' crowd against the Tigers upped their total fan count this season to 141,520. That topped the previous mark of 139,570 as outlined below.

UGA Basketball Total Attendance
Rk.	Season	Games	Total
1.	2018-19	16	141,520
2.	2015-16	19	139,570
3.	2003-04	16	137,902
4.	2006-07	18	132,048
5.	2010-11	16	131,998

The Dogs Are Drawing

Fans have made their way to Stegeman Coliseum at a record pace this season, including seven sellouts. The Bulldogs are averaging 8,845 fans during the 2018-19 campaign, which would be the third-highest average in school history as outlined below.

UGA Average Attendance
Rk.	Season	Games	Average
1.	2002-03	13	9,857
2.	2001-02	13	9,064
3.	2018-19	16	8,845
4.	1990-91	12	8,822
5.	1981-82	14	8,670

Hammonds Listed as "Day-to-Day"

Rayshaun Hammonds, Georgia's second-leading scorer and rebounder, is currently being evaluated on a day-to-day basis due to a right foot injury.

Hammonds missed last Wednesday's game with Auburn but returned to play five minutes at Florida on Saturday night.

Hammonds injured his right foot during the Ole Miss game on Saturday, Feb. 23 but didn't experience any significant discomfort until two days later.

His DNP against Auburn snapped a streak of 31 straight starts dating back to last season's regular-season finale at Tennessee.

Hammonds was averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg, with a team-high 20 double-digit scoring performances, when the injury occurred. His abbreviated outing in Gainesville dropped those to 12.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg.

Bulldogs Set For Senior Night

Georgia will wrap up its 2018-19 home slate on Wednesday when the Bulldogs host Missouri at Stegeman Coliseum. The contest will serve as "Senior Night," with Georgia's six seniors honored in pregame ceremonies.

Georgia is now 11-18 overall and 2-14 in the league. The Bulldogs are coming off a 61-55 win at Florida last Saturday and looking to continue to build on the positive momentum over their last five contests. Prior to the win over the Gators, Georgia dropped a quartet of decisions – all against teams currently included in ESPN's bracketology – by a combined nine points.

Georgia pushed No. 19/21 LSU to the brink on Feb. 16 before falling, 83-79. The Bulldogs led by as many as five points midway through the second half before the Tigers rallied to improve to 11-1 in the SEC.

On Feb. 20, Georgia rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit to tie Mississippi State before a heart-breaking ending. Tyree Crump's 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds remaining knotted the score at 67-67, but Quinndary Weatherspoon's free throw with .5 of a second left provided State with the victory.

The Bulldogs dropped a second-straight one-point decision at Ole Miss on Feb. 23. Georgia rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to force four ties and six lead changes in the second stanza. The outcome wasn't decided until the Bulldogs' potential game-winner was off the mark at the buzzer.

Last Wednesday, Georgia erased a 14-point, first-half Auburn lead. The second half featured two ties and eight lead changes. The Tigers pulled out the victory on Chuma Okeke's 3-pointer from NBA range as the shot clock expired on Auburn's final possession of the night.

The Bulldogs finally broke through to defeat the Gators last Saturday at Exactech Arena. Georgia outscored Florida 10-5 over the final 2:54 to secure the victory.

Multi-dimensional Nicolas Claxton has been a "do-it-all" contributor for the Bulldogs. He currently leads Georgia in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals. Claxton also is second on the team in assists (trailing Turtle Jackson by just a single dime).

Rayshaun Hammonds, the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer and rebounder, is "day-to-day" due to a right foot injury.

Missouri sports records of 13-15 overall and 4-14 in the SEC. The Tigers are also coming off a Saturday victory, defeating South Carolina at home.

Jordan Geist leads Missouri on the offensive end with a 13.9 ppg scoring average, while Jeremiah Tilmon is chipping in 10.5 ppg and a team-best 5.8 rpg.

Series History With Mizzou

Georgia sports a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri, including a 4-1 mark at Stegeman Coliseum.

A year ago, the Bulldogs and Tigers split two matchups. Missouri won the regular-season meeting in Columbia, and Georgia avenged that setback in the SEC Tournament.

Yante Maten scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and freshman Teshaun Hightower matched his season high with 13 points to lead Georgia in a 62-60 win over Missouri in the SEC Tourney's second round.

That contest featured a series of runs.

Missouri opened the day by scoring the game's first 10 points, before Georgia responded with a 19-2 surge to gain control.

The Bulldogs led 33-24 at the half and extended that margin to a dozen points on a Turtle Jackson 3-pointer to open the second stanza scoring...before the Tigers rallied to knot the score at 39-39 with 14:11 remaining.

A Jackson layup followed by consecutive 3-pointers from Tyree Crump and Nicolas Claxton quickly put Georgia back up by eight just 1:48 later.

Missouri chipped away and pulled within 59-57 on a pair of free throws with 3:57 remaining and then closed the gap to 61-60 with 60 seconds left.

Georgia forced three misses the rest of the way and grabbed a pair of key rebounds to secure the victory.

In Mizzou's last trip to Athens on Jan. 7, 2017, Maten scored 17 points and Georgia posted 51 second-half points en route to defeating Missouri, 71-66.

After trailing 26-20 at the half, Georgia opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a lead they maintained for most of the rest of the game.

Missouri led briefly 52-51 and 54-53, before Georgia went on a 12-0 surge to make it 65-54. Five different Bulldogs contributed points during that stretch as Georgia took a lead with 7:04 remaining it would not surrender the rest of the way.

Missouri put up 36 3-pointers in the game, tying what was then the third-most ever by a Georgia foe.

Last Time Out...

Nicolas Claxton exploded for a career-high 25 points to lead Georgia in a 61-55 victory over Florida last Saturday in Gainesville.

Georgia led for virtually the entire first half before the Gators grabbed a 28-27 advantage at the intermission.

Florida opened the second half with a trio of buckets before the Bulldogs got on track. Tye Fagan's 3-pointer from the left corner put the Bulldogs up 41-39 with 11:38 left. Georgia never trailed again and closed out the contest on a 10-5 run.

Harris' Production Is Up

Over his last 11 games, Jordan Harris has upped his production over his first 15 contests by significant jumps.

Entering the Florida contest on Jan. 19, Harris was averaging 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks.

Since then, the junior from Iron City is contributing 11.3 points, 5.0 boards, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks.

That stretch actually covers 13 of Georgia's games. Harris had a two-game hiatus due to concussion-like symptoms following a collision with Nicolas Claxton at LSU on Jan. 23.

In addition, Harris has posted four career-high scoring tallies during that span. He equaled his career-best output with 12 points against LSU before upping that to 13 versus Mississippi State, 15 at Ole Miss and 18 against Auburn.

Harrison Joins Starting Lineup

Redshirt senior walk-on Christian Harrison has started the last five games.

Harrison got the nod for the first time in his collegiate career against LSU on Feb. 16. During the starting stretch, he has produced career highs for points, rebounds, assists, blocks and minutes played.

An Atlanta native and graduate of Woodward Academy, Harrison was a scholarship player for two seasons at Troy before transferring to Georgia as a walk-on.

After sitting out 2016-17, Harrison saw action in two games last season. He started this year on the scout team before beginning to earn meaningful minutes. Harrison was a key defensive contributor at Georgia Tech on Dec. 22 and is now a rotation regular, with action in 17 of the last 20 contests.

Against LSU, Harrison's linescore featured two points, two boards, two steals, an assist and a block... and he spent a good portion of the second half guarding Tremont Waters.

"I just want to tip my hat off to Christian," Nicolas Claxton said after the LSU game, unprompted. "He came here and last year didn't play at all. This year, his minutes have been kind of up and down. But, throughout all of that, he has just stayed persistent. He just kept grinding. He comes in every day, and he doesn't complain. He just comes in and works hard, and you see the results today."

Ogbeide Steps Up In SEC Play

Derek Ogbeide is averaging 10.1 points and shooting a team-best 58.1 percent from the field in SEC games.

That's a significant jump from his efforts of 9.2 ppg and 49.0 percent during non-conference play.

Turtle, Tyree And the "3"

Although the above headline sounds like the title to a children's book, it's actually in reference to the standing of Turtle Jackson and Tyree Crump among Georgia's career leaders in 3-point field goals.

Jackson and Crump both joined the Bulldogs' top-20 all-time for successful shots from behind this arc. They have gone back and forth over the last seven games while climbing from No. 20 to No. 15. They enter the Missouri game tied at No. 15 with 125 3s each as outlined below.

UGA Career 3-Point FG Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
1.	261	Levi Stukes	2004-07	683
10.	172	Jody Patton	1988-91	387
14.	132	Terrance Woodbury	2006-09	386
15.	125	Turtle Jackson	2016-19	376
15.	124	Tyree Crump	2017-19	357
17.	122	Rashad Wright	2001-04	358
18.	121	Sundiata Gaines	2005-08	400
19.	116	Michael Chadwick	1996-99	340
20.	106	Nemanja Djurisic	2012-15	292

An 80 Percent Lefty Lineup

Later in these Game Notes, you'll read that Georgia's roster (more than likely) features the most left-handed players in Division I hoops this season.

In fact, the Bulldogs started four southpaws – Nicolas Claxton, Rayshaun Hammonds, Jordan Harris and Derek Ogbeide – in consecutive outings against Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

All told, Georgia has used nine different starting quintets in the first 29 games of the season, with Claxton being the only Bulldog to begin every outing.

Dogs' Depth Paying Dividends

Georgia's bench has outscored its counterparts 19 times...consistently doing so by a significant amount.

The Bulldogs' reserves have been +10 or more in 13 outings, helping Georgia to a +188 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 twice this season.

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

Grant Williams is the only other player to lead his team in all five stats in the same contest this season. He did so in Tennessee's win at Ole Miss on Feb. 27.

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 in 2015-16.

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3" Crump

More than two-thirds of Tyree Crump's successful FGs for Georgia have been from at least 20-feet, 9-inches away from the basket.

All told, 69.4 percent (125-of-180) of Crump's made shots from the floor have been from behind the arc. In fact, 3-pointers directly account for 64.5 percent (375 of 581) of Crump's career points with the Bulldogs.

Nicolas Claxton moved into the Bulldogs' the top-10 list of single-season blocked shots efforts near the midway point of the season.

Claxton passed a familiar name at No. 9 during the South Carolina game, his father Charles. Nicolas is currently No. 7 on that ledger as outlined below and still chasing his dad, who also owns Georgia's single-season blocked shots record of 94 in 1995.

Claxton enters the Missouri game with 112 blocks in 62 games played for the Bulldogs over the past two seasons. That leaves him just seven swats shy of joining Georgia's top-10 career leaders for rejections.

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.	82	Lavon Mercer	1977	27
6.	76	Lavon Mercer	1980	27
7.	70	Nicolas Claxton	2019	29
8.	61	Yante Maten	2016	34
	60	Antonio Harvey	1991	29
10.	58	Charles Claxton	1994	30

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 boarders all-time during the Vanderbilt victory, and he has since ascended to No. 8. as outlined below.

UGA Career Rebounds Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	GP
1.	1116	Bob Lienhard	1968-70	75
2.	923	Terry Fair	1980-83	123
3.	893	Alec Kessler	1987-90	123
4.	889	Yante Maten	2015-18	128
5.	867	Jerry Waller	1964-66	75
6.	840	Charles Claxton	1992-95	116
7.	838	Lavon Mercer	1977-80	106
8.	777	Derek Ogbeide	2016-19	125
9.	763	Chris Daniels	2000-04	119
10.	739	Carlos Strong	1993-96	118

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	256
Rayshaun Hammonds	105
Jordan Harris	105
Turtle Jackson	82
E'Torrion Wilridge	75
Teshaun Hightower	68
Derek Ogbeide	68
Tyree Crump	58
Tye Fagan	44
Christian Harrison	25
Amanze Ngumezi	16
Ignas Sargiunas	15
JoJo Toppin	9
Connor O'Neill	2
Mike Edwards	2

A Really Big Family Reunion

Nearly 100 Georgia Basketball letterwinners returned to Stegeman Coliseum for the Feb. 9 Ole Miss game to take part in the Bulldogs' Lettermen's Day. That represented the largest turnout in the event's history.

Hugh Durham, the winningest coach in school history who guided the Bulldogs from 1979-95, headlined the list. Durham's teams produced a series of notable firsts in school history – the first postseason appearance with the 1981 NIT; the first SEC Tournament title, first NCAA Tournament bid and first Final Four all in 1983; and the first SEC regular-season Championship in 1990.

Player-wise, Bulldogs spanning the last 74 seasons were represented – from Charlie Burch, UGA's oldest living letterwinner from the 1944-45 team, to 2017 seniors J.J. Frazier, Kenny Paul Geno and Brandon Young.

Welcome To The League, Coach

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

Georgia began league play with back-to-back Saturday trips to the defending league co-champs and six straight outings against teams 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, in succession, were ranked as No. 7 Tennessee, No. 45 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Auburn, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 33 Florida and No. 27 LSU.

On Jan. 27 (when all 14 league teams had played six SEC games), the NET listed UGA's first six opponents as No. 6 Tennessee, No. 93 Vanderbilt, No. 27 Auburn, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 37 Florida and No. 16 LSU.

The Bulldogs' opponents over their first six SEC contests averaged a NET ranking of 31.0, far and away the most difficult in the league. The next closest was 42.0 for Alabama.

Dogs Shooting Blistering Percentages Against Longhorns

As outlined below, Georgia's overall and 3-point field goal percentages against Texas both rank among the top-5 in school history.

For good measure, the Bulldogs connected on 78.6 percent of their trips to the free throw line versus the Longhorns.

"I'm not sure I've ever coached a team in my 19 years that's ever shot that well from all three spots on the floor," Tom Crean said.

UGA Single-Game FG Percentages
Rk.	Pct.	Site-Opponent	FG-FGA	Date
1.	.762	H-Chattanooga	32-42	12/19/80
2.	.702	H-Miss. State	40-57	2/28/01
3.	.692	H-Vanderbilt	45-65	2/12/86
4.	.667	H-Texas	32-48	1/26/19
	.667	H-Winthrop	40-60	12/21/93
	.667	H-Tennessee	32-48	3/12/83

UGA Single-Game 3FG Percentages
Rk.	Pct.	Site-Opponent	3FG-3FGA	Date
1.	.727	H-Alabama	8-11	2/6/88
	.727	A-Vanderbilt	8-11	2/14/90
3.	.706	H-Texas	12-17	1/26/19
4.	.700	A-Miss. State.	7-10	1/19/89
	.700	H-S. Carolina	7-10	1/22/00

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.