Dogs Travel To Rupp For Rematch With Kentucky

Tuesday, January 21

Lexington, Ky.

7:00 PM

University of Georgia

Kentucky

January 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (11-6, 1-3 SEC) vs. Kentucky (13-4, 4-1 SEC)
Tuesday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (20,500) in Lexington, Ky.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst; Marty Smith)
Video Stream: SECN+
Satellite: XM: 381; Internet: 971.
Series Record: UK leads, 128-26
Last Meeting: UK, 78-69, on 1/7/20

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
22-27 in 2nd season at UGA
378-258 in 20th season overall
0	Donnell Gresham Jr.	6.4	5.1
6-3; 195; R-Sr.-Grad.; St. Paul, Minn.
5	Anthony Edwards	19.1	4.7
6-5; 225; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga.
10	Toumani Camara	6.2	4.4
6-8; 220; Fr.; Brussels, Belgium
15	Sahvir Wheeler	7.8	2.4
5-10; 180; Fr.; Houston, Texas
20	Rayshaun Hammonds	13.8	8.2
6-9; 235; Jr.; Norcross, Ga.

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Kentucky Wildcats
Coach: John Calipari
318-75 in 11th season at UK
763-215 in 28th season overall
0	Ashton Hagans	13.1	4.3
6-3; 198; Soph.; Cartersville, Ga.
3	Tyrese Maxey	13.7	4.2
6-3; 198; Fr.; Garland, Texas
4	Nick Richards	13.4	7.8
6-11; 247; Jr.; Kingston, Jamaica
5	Immanuel Quickley	13.7	4.2
6-3; 188; Soph.; Havre de Grace, Md.
23	EJ Montgomery	6.8	5.4
6-10; 228; Soph.; Fort Pierce, Fla.

TEAM COMPARISON

2019-20 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	KENTUCKY
Points Per Game	77.6	74.9
Opp. Point Per Game	74.3	63.8
Scoring Margin	+3.3	+11.1
Field Goal Pct.	.458	.460
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.444	.384
3-Point Pct.	.304	.323
3-Pointers Per Game	6.9	5.0
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.325	.295
Free Throw Pct.	.661	.766
Free Throws Per Game	13.5	17.9
Rebounds Per Game	39.6	38.6
Opp. Rebound Per Game	37.4	32.3
Rebound Margin	+2.3	+6.3
Assists Per Game	14.8	14.8
Turnovers Per Game	14.8	12.9
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.00	1.15
Turnover Margin	-0.5	-0.3
Steals Per Game	7.9	5.3
Blocks Per Game	3.5	5.0

The Starting 5...

Anthony Edwards is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.1 ppg...and the only first-year player currently ranked among the top-50 scorers in Division I hoops.
Over the last 11 games, Toumani Camara is UGA's second leading rebounder (5.4 rpg) and third on the team in scoring (7.4 ppg) and minutes played (26.6 mpg).
UGA's win at No. 9 Memphis was just its second road victory ever over a ranked, non-conference foe...and the first since Dec. 28, 1977 at No. 7 Louisville.
Six of nine SEC games at Stegeman Coliseum are now sellouts – Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida.
Georgia's celebrated freshman class – ranked among the top-10 groups nationally by every recruiting service – features five of the nation's top-100 prospects.

The Opening Tip

Georgia will face Kentucky for the second time in two weeks on Tuesday. On Jan. 7 in a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum, the Bulldogs built a nine-point lead late in the first half and led for nearly 23 minutes of the game before the No. 14-ranked Wildcats rallied for a 78-69 victory.

Tuesday's contest at Rupp Arena is the second half of a challenging back-to-back, Saturday-Tuesday road portion of the Bulldogs' schedule. Georgia lost at Mississippi State on Saturday. Roughly 71 hours later, the Bulldogs will face the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 10 and No. 12 in the AP and coaches polls last week, respectively.

The outings versus MSU and UK are the fourth and fifth in Georgia's grueling stretch to open SEC play. The Bulldogs will face six straight teams that earned NCAA Tournament bids last spring – Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky (again) and Ole Miss.

Georgia is 11-6 overall and 1-3 in SEC play. Last Wednesday, the Bulldogs matched their overall win total from a year ago with an impressive 80-63 victory over Tennessee.

Anthony Edwards, a pre- and mid-season All-American and leading National Freshman of the Year candidate, is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.1 ppg. Edwards is the only freshman ranked among the top-50 scorers in the country at No. 47. Rayshaun Hammonds is the SEC's fourth-leading rebounder (8.2 rpg) and also ranks No. 14 in scoring (13.8 ppg).

Series History

Kentucky owns a 128-26 advantage in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats, including a 61-5 edge in Lexington.

In Georgia's most recent trip to Rupp Arena on New Year's Eve 2017, No. 16 Kentucky rallied for a 66-61 win over Georgia.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as eight points multiple times during the second half before surging ahead in the waning moments.

Georgia held Kentucky to a season-low 31.5 percent shooting from the floor. The Wildcats scored 40 percent of their points from the line, connecting on 27-of-38 trips to the stripe.

Yante Maten had 17 points and 12 boards, his sixth double-double this season, to lead Georgia.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats also met two weeks ago in Athens on Jan. 7. Anthony Edwards' game-high 23 points was not enough to overcome No. 14 Kentucky in a 78-69 setback at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs led for 22:49 of the game, nearly 10 minutes more than the Wildcats.

Georgia used an 8-0 surge to gain its largest lead at 39-31 late in the half before Ashton Hagans' 3-pointer at the buzzer trimmed that margin to six. A 13-2 run by Kentucky turned a 55-50 lead into a 63-57 deficit for Georgia and put the Wildcats on top for good.

Keeping An Eye On . . . Entering Today's Game Among UGA's career Leaders

Tyree Crump is...
• 16 3FGs from No. 10 Jody Patton
• 26 3FGAs from No. 8 G.G. Smith

Among UGA's Freshman Leaders - Anthony Edwards is...
• 5 points from No. 10 Eric Marbury
• 29 points from No. 9 Trey Thompkins

Scouting The Cats

Kentucky also is 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. The Wildcats' lone league setback was on a buzzer-beater to South Carolina.

Kentucky's win count includes victories over No. 1 Michigan State in the season opener and No. 3 Louisville.

Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickly, who both are averaging 13.7 ppg, lead an incredibly balanced offense for UK that features a quartet averaging between 13.1-13.7 ppg.

Last Time Out...

Mississippi State shot 61.7 percent from the field – the best effort of the season against Georgia – en route to a 91-59 win over the Bulldogs last Saturday in Starkville.

Freshman Toumani Camara scored eight of his 10 points of the evening in the opening 7:08 of the contest to help Georgia grab a 15-14 advantage. State took the lead for good moments later on a Reggie Perry jumper at the 10:27 mark of the first half.

Edwards Closing In On UGA Top-10 Freshman Scoring Tally

Though the Bulldogs are just midway through the season, Anthony Edwards is poised to join Georgia's top-10 season scoring efforts by a freshman.

Edwards enters the Kentucky game just five points shy of the current No. 10 freshman effort in Georgia history by Eric Marbury as outlined below.

Edwards' current scoring average of 19.1 ppg would be second best among all players on the top-10 ledger, trailing only Jacky Dorsey. At his current pace, Edwards would wrap up the Bulldogs' 31-game regular-season slate with 593 points.

UGA's Top-10 Freshman Scorers
	Player	Pts.	Year	G	Avg.
1.	Jacky Dorsey	646	1975	25	25.8
2.	Jumaine Jones	515	1998	35	14.7
3.	Litterial Green	481	1989	31	15.5
4.	Cedric Henderson	433	1985	28	15.5
5.	K. Caldwell-Pope	422	2012	32	13.2
6.	Walter Daniels	404	1976	27	15.0
7.	D.A. Layne	381	1999	30	12.7
8.	Terry Fair	368	1980	27	13.6
9.	Trey Thompkins	354	2009	28	12.6
10.	Eric Marbury	330	1979	27	12.2
	Anthony Edwards	325	2020	17	19.1

A Trio Of Freshman Starters

Freshmen Toumani Camara, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler all started for the Bulldogs at No. 5 Auburn on Jan. 11. That marked the first time Georgia started a trio of freshmen in a decade and 11 days.

To find the last contest when three first-year Bulldogs got the nod you have to venture back to a date with Kennesaw State on New Year's Eve in 2008 when Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins and Dustin Ware all started.

All told, four members of the Bulldogs' top-10 recruiting class have now started at some point this season. In addition to the aforementioned trio, Rodney Howard did so against N.C. Central and Arizona State.

FYI, the last time four freshmen got the nod for Georgia was an outing at Kentucky on Feb. 12, 2005. Dave Bliss, Kevin Brophy, Sundiata Gaines and Channing Toney were on the floor for the opening tip against the Wildcats.

Stegeman Providing Stellar Edge

Georgia is 9-1 at Stegeman Coliseum this season. Tom Crean has credited the strong home-court edge as a key in multiple wins.

Fans have been flocking to Georgia's home dates this season. The current 9,429 average is on pace to be the second-best effort in school history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03). Considering five of the Bulldogs' seven remaining SEC home dates already are sellouts, Georgia could approach a school-record mark by season's end.

Significance of the Memphis Win

While most of the SEC opened league play on Saturday, Jan. 4, Georgia was earning a historic road win at No. 9 Memphis.

That was: 1) just the second road victory over a ranked non-conference foe in 115 seasons of Georgia Basketball; and 2) just the second road win over a ranked foe by any SEC team this season...South Carolina's upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22 being the other.

The victory over the Tigers also represented the Bulldogs' first:

• win over a top-10 foe since defeating No. 10 Kentucky, 77-70, on Jan. 8, 2011.
• road win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 5 Kentucky, 65-57, at Rupp Arena on Jan. 17, 2004.
• road win over a ranked, non-conference foe since topping No. 7 Louisville, 73-70 in overtime, on Dec. 29, 1977.

Edwards, Wheeler Included Among NCAA's Freshman Leaders

Through games of Sunday, Jan. 19, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were ranked among the nation's top freshmen statistically in scoring and assists, respectively, as outlined below.

Edwards was the top scorer among all Division-I freshmen. He was the only freshman ranked in the top 50 and one of only four featured in the top 100.

Wheeler sported the seventh-best average assists tally by a freshman...and the 12th-best assist-to-TO ratio among first-year players.

Top Freshman Scoring Averages
Rk.	Player, school	GP	Avg.
47.	Anthony Edwards, Georgia	17	19.1
62.	Isaiah Stewart, Washington	19	18.3
77.	Onyeka Okongwu, USC	18	17.8
97.	Vernon Carey, Duke	18	17.3
Top Freshman Assist Averages
Rk.	Player, school	GP	Avg.
21.	Nico Mannion, Arizona	18	6.1
36.	Ellis Magnuson, E. Wash.	17	5.6
38.	Yuri Collins, Saint Louis	18	5.6
65.	Ethan Anderson, USC	18	4.8
69.	Rylan Jones, Utah	16	4.8
73.	Sean East, UMass	18	4.8
78.	Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia	17	4.7

Camara's Contributions Climbing

Freshman Toumani Camara has made a dramatic up-tick in his PT and stats over the last 11 outings as outlined below.

Camara moved into the starting five against SMU and has remained in the lineup since.

Over the 11-game span, Camara has been the Bulldogs' second-leading rebounder and third-best on the roster in scoring and minutes played. Those contests also career highs of 16 points vs. Georgia Southern, nine boards vs. Austin Peay and 34 minutes vs. SMU.

Camara's Increased Efforts
Stat	First 6	Last 8
Points per game	4.0	7.4
Rebounds per game	2.5	5.4
Minutes per game	13.2	26.6

Bulldogs Reversing Fortunes

With its 65-62 win at No. 9 Memphis on Jan. 4, Georgia improved to 4-0 in games decided by four points or less this season. That's a dramatic difference from a year ago when the Bulldogs were 0-6 in such outings, with all six being to NCAA tourney teams.

Georgia's non-conference effort in 2018-19 featured four- and two-point setbacks to Temple and Arizona State, respectively.

In SEC play, the Bulldogs dropped four consecutive extremely excruciating late-season losses by a combined nine points between Feb. 16-27 – to LSU (83-79), Mississippi State (68-67), Ole Miss (72-71) and Auburn (78-75) between Feb 16-27.

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3"

Tyree Crump continued a familiar theme to his scoring this season, with 29 of his 43 made field goals (67.4 percent) coming from behind the 3-point arc.

More than two-thirds of Crump's made shots from the floor at UGA have come on 3-pointers. Crump has 156 3s as a Bulldog, 68.4 percent of his 228 made field goals.

Fans Flocking To Stegeman

The Stegeman Coliseum turnstiles have been quite busy since Tom Crean's arrival.

Last season, the Bulldogs drew 148,700 fans to break their total attendance record by more than 9,000 fans, and Georgia notched its fourth-best average attendance mark ever.

This season, a combined 94,289 members of the Bulldog Nation have attended Georgia's first 10 home dates, the second-largest tally for that many initial outings in program history.

The Bulldogs' best first nine-game home attendance mark to begin a season was in 2002-03 when Georgia welcomed a total of 96,577 spectators to Stegeman. The No. 3 mark is 90,047 in 1981-82, Dominique Wilkins' third and final season at UGA.

Season and single-game tickets have moved at a record pace this season.

For the first time ever, Georgia sold out the season ticket allotment for Stegeman, Crean announced during Stegmania II on Oct. 11.

Six of Georgia's nine SEC home dates were sold out before conference play started.

Outings against Texas A&M and Alabama officially became sellouts on Oct. 24, the first day single-game tickets went on sale. Since then, the Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Florida games also have sold out. The only matchups on the 2020 calendar with tickets remaining are mid-week contests against South Carolina and Auburn.

Crump Joins, Approaches UGA Top 10s For 3-Point Takes, Makes

Tyree Crump ascended into Georgia's all-time top-10 career leaders in 3-point attempts at Arizona State on Dec. 14 and is closing in on the top 10 for successful shots behind the arc as outlined below.

Crump has 156 3-pointers, leaving him just 16 away from the Bulldogs' current No. 10 tally of Jody Patton.

UGA Career 3FGA Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	3FGAs
1.	683	Levi Stukes	2004-07	261
5.	569	Kenny Gaines	2013-16	213
8.	500	G.G. Smith	1996-99	193
9.	474	Tyree Crump	2016-19	156
UGA Career 3FG Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Seasons	3FGs
1.	261	Levi Stukes	2003-07	683
4.	213	Ezra Williams	2000-03	582
	213	Kenny Gaines	2012-16	569
7.	194	Dustin Ware	2008-12	536
8.	193	G.G. Smith	1995-99	500
9.	184	Bernard Davis	1990-94	453
10.	172	Jody Patton	1987-91	387
11.	156	Tyree Crump	2016-19	474

Camara Perfect Against Eagles

Toumani Camara was 8-of-8 from the field against Georgia Southern on Dec. 23, making him the first Bulldog to be perfect on that many shots since Jonas Hayes was 8-of-8 versus Florida A&M on Dec. 5, 2003.

Camara also became just the fourth player from a Power 5 conference this season to shoot 100 percent of his field goal attempts while attempting eight or more shots as outlined below.

Power-5 Perfection On FGs
FGs	Player, School	Opp. (Date)
9-9	Olivier Sarr, Wake Forest	UNC Asheville (11/13)
8-8	Zeke Nnaji, Arizona	San Jose St. (11/14)
8-8	Kofi Cockburn, Illinois	Miami (12/2)
8-8	Toumani Camara, Georgia	Ga. Southern (12/23)

The Collegiate Canine Strikes

Donnell Gresham Jr. – the first graduate transfer in Georgia Basketball history – posted double-digit scoring tallies against Austin Peay and No. 9 Memphis.

The St. Paul, Minn., native has now reached double figures 33 times as a collegiate canine – 29 as a Northeastern Husky and four as a Georgia Bulldog.

Gresham's scoring against the Govs and Tigers was aided by hitting three 3-point baskets in each outing. That was a stark change to Georgia's first 11 games, when he made a total of three shots from behind the arc.

Bulldogs Scoring At Rapid Pace

Georgia averaged 80.8 points per game in non-conference play which ranked No. 22 nationally following the Bulldogs' last game SEC league play.

Some additional nuggets within the Bulldogs' production prior to SEC play include:

• UGA had eight 90-point performances in Tom Crean's first 40 games in Athens. The Bulldogs reached the 90-point plateau just eight times in 249 games prior to Crean's arrival.
• UGA has three of SEC's top-10 scoring outputs in non-conference action – the No. 5 mark of 100 points vs. Delaware St. and the co-No. 10 standard of 95 points vs. both The Citadel and North Carolina Central.
• UGA scored 91, 95 and 100 points in its first three games – the first time the Bulldogs scored 90 or more three times in a row since 2006. That season, the Bulldogs defeated Gardner-Webb, 96-67, on Dec. 2; No. 16 Gonzaga, 96-83, on Dec. 16; and Jacksonville, 93-77, on Dec. 19.

Edwards, Wheeler Named SEC FOTW

Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1 and Dec. 23, respectively.

Edwards was selected by the league – and also was tabbed National Freshman of the Week by CBSsports.com – following the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Most notably, he poured in 37 points against No. 3 Michigan State on Nov. 26, including a 33-point explosion in the second half.

Edwards' effort equaled the No. 11 single-game scoring tally in Georgia's history and represented the most points by a Bulldog freshman since Jacky Dorsey scored 41 versus LSU on Jan. 20, 1975.

Wheeler was honored after he scored layups in the final five seconds of both the first and second overtime periods of UGA's 87-85 double-OT win over SMU. He scored with four seconds remaining in the first OT to tie the score. In the second extra session, Wheeler's layup with 1.9 seconds left supplied Georgia with the victory.

Wheeler flirted with a double-double against the Mustangs, finishing the contest with nine points and eight assists. He equaled his career-high marks for assists (eight) and steals (two) in a career-most 35 minutes of playing time.

Fagan Posts Career highs

Tye Fagan has notched career-high scoring outputs twice this season.

Fagan recorded his first double-digit scoring output as a Bulldog with 11 points against Dayton on Nov. 25 in the opening round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He did so in an extremely efficient fashion, connecting on 5-of-5 shots from the field, including his only 3-point attempt.

The sophomore from Logtown paced Georgia with a career-most 15 points at Arizona State on Dec. 14. Fagan did most of his damage in the second half in Tempe with 11 points in 10 minutes of PT.

Before that, Fagan's top offensive performances as a Bulldog were early last season. He notched eight points in three of the first four games of his freshman year – doing so against Temple, Sam Houston State and Illinois State.

Hammonds Hot Early, Often Against Hornets & Jackets

Rayshaun Hammonds poured in 26 points in back-to-back games against Delaware State on Nov. 15 and Georgia Tech on Nov. 20.

Hammonds was hot from the get-go in both outings. He scored 17 first-half points versus the Hornets and followed that with 19 before intermission against the Jackets. All told, Hammonds was a combined 15-of-20 (75.0 percent) from the field in the first halves of those games.

Dogs' Freshmen Among UGA's Best

Georgia's freshman class features five of the top-100 prospects from 2019 and was consistently ranked among the nation's top recruiting classes – No. 5 by ESPN.com, No. 6 by rivals.com and No. 10 by 247Sports.com.

Headlining the quintet is Anthony Edwards. The Atlanta native, who tabbed the nation's best prospect by some, announced his commitment on national television on Feb. 11. He is the Bulldogs' highest rated recruit ever.

Dominique Wilkins was the most hyped recruit in Georgia history in 1979. Individual rankings for that class are believed to be unavailable, but it also featured future stars such as Ralph Sampson, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Clark Kellogg and Sam Bowie.

In the internet age, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the highest ranked player in the 247Sports.com composite to enroll at UGA at No. 12 in 2011. Louis Williams signed with the Bulldogs as the No. 6 prospect in the 2005 composite but opted to enter the NBA Draft.

The Bulldogs' highest recruiting class ever was No. 2 in 1992 when UGA inked four top-100 prospects – Shandon Anderson, Terrell Bell, Pertha Robinson and McDonald's All-American Carlos Strong – in the fall and added then added Cleveland Jackson, the National Junior College Player of the Year, in the spring.

Additional top classes at Georgia include those in 1979 and 1980 which featured four McDonald's All-Americans between them – Wilkins and Terry Fair in 1979 and Vern Fleming and James Banks a year later.

UGA's Freshman Class Also Among The Nation's Largest

The Bulldogs' class of nine freshmen ranks as the third-largest in D-I hoops for the 2019-20 season.

Navy, TCU and Utah sport a nation-leading 11 freshmen on their rosters. Air Force has 10 freshmen. In addition to Georgia, Louisville also has nine freshmen.

On this list, "freshman" is defined as a player who is a freshman eligibility wise who is competing at that school for the first time this season...so there are some redshirts.

A Historic String Of Success

The Bulldogs' five-game winning streak over Georgia Tech marks only the fifth time in 196 meetings that Georgia has captured five consecutive victories over the Jackets.

In the first 113 seasons of Georgia Basketball history, only four four-year letterwinners for the Bulldogs finished their careers with a perfect record against Georgia Tech.

That fraternity more than doubled when Mike Edwards, Turtle Jackson, Derek Ogbeide, Connor O'Neill and E'Torrion Wilridge joined the fold last year and added two more in 2019 in Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris.

It should be noted that UGA and GT played two or more times every season from 1924-82. Since then, they have met once per year, making an undefeated run a little less taxing.

Six Double-Digit Bulldogs

A half-dozen Georgia players posted double-figure scoring outputs against The Citadel on Nov. 12 – the first time six Bulldogs scored 10 or more points in just under 17 years. Anthony Edwards had 29 points; Tyree Crump and Donnell Gresham Jr. added 13 apiece; and Rayshaun Hammonds, Amanze Ngumezi and Sahvir Wheeler each chipped in 10.

Prior to that, a 92-62 win over Appalachian State on Dec. 22, 2002 was the last contest with six Bulldogs in double figures.

Edwards, Wheeler Star In Debut

Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler poured in 24 and 19 points, respectively, in the season opener against Western Carolina on Nov. 5. Those tallies represent the second- and third-most points ever by a freshman in their Bulldog debut as outlined below.

Edwards came within a bucket of Dominique Wilkins' school record against Troy on Nov. 30, 1979.

Since NCAA rules change to allow freshmen to compete in basketball in 1972, 23 Bulldogs have scored in double figures during their first collegiate contest at UGA. Edwards and Wheeler became the fifth set of teammates to do so.

Top Tally Debuts By UGA Freshmen
Year	Player	Points
1979	Dominique Wilkins	26
2019	Anthony Edwards	24
1979	Terry Fair	19
2019	Sahvir Wheeler	19
1998	D.A. Layne	18
2007	Jeremy Price	18
2004	Sundiata Gaines	17
2017	Rayshaun Hammonds	17
2011	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	15