Georgia Starts SEC Play Against Kentucky

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (10-3, 0-0 SEC) vs. Kentucky (10-3, 1-0 SEC)
Tuesday, January 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. (10,523)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer) | Affiliates
TV: ESPN - Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jay Bilas, analyst; Marty Smith, sideline)
Video Stream: SECN+
Satellite: XM: 381; Internet: 971.
Series Record: UK leads, 127-26
Last Meeting: UK, 69-49, on 1/15/19

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
21-24 in 2nd season at UGA
377-255 in 20th season overall
0	Donnell Gresham Jr.	7.2	5.4
6-3; 195; R-Sr.-Grad.; St. Paul, Minn.
4	Tyree Crump	8.6	2.5
6-1; 185; Sr.; Bainbridge, Ga.
5	Anthony Edwards	18.4	4.9
6-5; 225; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga.
10	Toumani Camara	5.9	4.4
6-8; 220; Fr.; Brussels, Belgium
20	Rayshaun Hammonds	14.1	9.1
6-9; 235; Jr.; Norcross, Ga.

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Kentucky Wildcats
Coach: John Calipari
35-74 in 11th season at UK
760-214 in 28th season overall
0	Ashton Hagans	12.9	4.0
6-3; 198; Soph; Cartersville, Ga.
3	Tyrese Maxey	13.8	4.1
6-3; 198; Fr.; Garland, Texas
4	Nick Richards	12.7	7.5
6-11; 247; Jr.; Kingston, Jamaica
12	Keion Brooks Jr.	5.8	3.3
6-7; 205; Fr.; Fort Wayne, Ind.
23	EJ Montgomery	7.8	5.6
6-10; 228; Soph.; Fort Pierce, Fla.

TEAM COMPARISON

2019-20 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	KENTUCKY
Points Per Game	80.8	74.5
Opp. Point Per Game	73.0	61.7
Scoring Margin	+7.8	+12.8
Field Goal Pct.	.469	.461
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.424	.385
3-Point Pct.	.311	.290
3-Pointers Per Game	7.2	4.6
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.324	.303
Free Throw Pct.	.663	.801
Free Throws Per Game	13.0	18.3
Rebounds Per Game	42.1	37.2
Opp. Rebound Per Game	36.8	30.6
Rebound Margin	+5.2	+6.5
Assists Per Game	16.0	15.1
Turnovers Per Game	15.6	12.5
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.02	1.21
Turnover Margin	-0.3	+0.8
Steals Per Game	8.2	5.2
Blocks Per Game	4.0	4.6

The Starting 5...

UGA's win at No. 9 Memphis was just the second victory in a road non-conference game in program history...and the first since Dec. 28, 1977 at Louisville.
Nationally, Anthony Edwards is No. 61 in scoring at 18.4 ppg (No. 2 among freshmen) and Sahvir Wheeler is No. 48 in assists at 5.3 apg (No. 5 among freshmen).
UGA had eight 90-point outputs in Tom Crean's first 40 games in Georgia. The Bulldogs had eight 90-point outings in the 249 games prior to Crean's arrival.
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 christens its 2020 SEC schedule on Tuesday evening when the Bulldogs host Kentucky in a sold-out, ESPN-televised affair.

While most of the rest of the SEC opened league play last Saturday, the Bulldogs were busy earning a historic road win at No. 9 Memphis. That was: 1) just the second road win over a ranked non-conference foe in 115 seasons of Georgia Basketball; and 2) just the second road win over a ranked foe by an SEC team this season...South Carolina's upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22 being the other.

Georgia enters the Kentucky game with a 10-3 record, including a perfect 8-0 mark at Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs easily bested Austin Peay in their last home outing, 78-48, on Dec. 30.

Fans have been flocking to Stegeman this season at an average of 9,182 per game. That is on pace to be the second-best effort in school history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03). Considering six of the Bulldogs' nine SEC home dates already are sellouts, Georgia could approach a school-record mark by season's end.

Freshman Anthony Edwards and junior Rayshaun Hammonds are leading the Bulldogs. Edwards, a preseason All-American and leading candidate for National Freshman of the Year accolades, paces Georgia in scoring at 18.4 ppg, which ranks No. 3 in the SEC. Hammonds is the league's third-leading rebounder at 9.1 rpg and also ranks No. 15 in scoring at 14.1 ppg.

It's Late...So Come Early And Eat

Stegeman Coliseum gates on Tuesday will open at 7:00 p.m., two hours prior to tipoff instead of the traditional 90-minute mark.

That will give the first 2,000 UGA students into the arena plenty of time to eat the free pizza they will be given.

Keeping An Eye On…Entering Tonight's Game Among UGA's career Leaders

Tyree Crump is...
• 18 3FGs from No. 10 Jody Patton
• 30 3FGs from No. 9 Bernard Davis
• 39 3FGAs from No. 8 G.G. Smith

Series History

Series History Kentucky owns a 127-26 advantage in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats, including a 43-17 mark in Athens.

UGA and UK also faced off at Stegeman Coliseum last season on Jan. 15. Kentucky broke open a tight contest early in the second half en route to a 69-49 victory before a sell-out crowd.

Derek Ogbeide and Nicolas Claxton scored the Bulldogs' first five baskets of the night on dunks in the opening 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 was up 35-31 at the intermission. The Wildcats scored the first nine points of the second half and never allowed the Bulldogs closer than eight points thereafter.

Nicolas Claxton led Georgia with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Rayshaun Hammonds chipped in 11 points.

Scouting The Cats

Kentucky also is 10-3 on the season, and 1-0 in SEC play. The Wildcats, who were ranked No. 17 by the AP and No. 14 by the coaches in last week, defeated Missouri in their league opener last Saturday.

The Georgia contest will be Kentucky's first true road game of the 2019-20 season. The Wildcats' outings away from Lexington to date were neutral site contests against Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden and two games in Las Vegas versus Utah in the Neon Hoops Classic and Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.

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

Last Time Out...

Rayshuan Hammond's double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds led Georgia in a 65-62 win at No. 9 Memphis last Saturday.

The victory was the Bulldogs' first road win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 17, 2004 and the first road win over a ranked, non-conference foe since topping No. 7 Louisville on Dec. 28, 1977.

The back-and-forth contest featured no less than 10 ties and 20 lead changes.

After a 37-37 tie at the intermission, Memphis opened up a 47-39 advantage with 15:44 remaining. The Bulldogs rallied, with 3-pointers from Anthony Edwards and Donnell Gresham Jr. helping cut the deficit to one. Sahvir Wheeler put Georgia up, 48-47, on a layup at the 13:32 mark.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from Hammonds with 4:05 left that made it 62-61.

Significance of the Memphis Win

Georgia's victory at No. 9 Memphis was a milestone on several fronts. It 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.

In fact, the Memphis victory was only Georgia's second road win over a ranked, non-conference foe in the 2,714 all-time games the Bulldogs have played over 115 seasons. UGA is now 2-20 when playing in a ranked team's home venue.

Bulldogs Reversing Fortunes

With its 65-62 win at No. 9 Memphis, 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 outings decided by four points or less. All six of those contests were to NCAA Tournament 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 losses to LSU (83-79), Mississippi State (68-67), Ole Miss (72-71) and Auburn (78-75) between Feb 16-27. Quick math will reveal those four league losses were by a combined nine points.

Some Very Early Indicators

Georgia is 9-0 this season when scoring first and 1-3 when the opponent notches the game's first digits. The only game the Bulldogs were able to recover from after first falling behind was against Georgia Tech.

Georgia also 7-0 after securing the opening tip. In UGA's three losses, Dayton, Michigan State and Arizona State all took the tip.

Edwards, Wheeler Included Among NCAA's Freshman Leaders

Through games of Jan. 4, Georgia's Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were ranked among the nation's top freshmen in scoring and assists, respectively, as outlined below.

Edwards was one of five freshmen ranked among the nation's top-100 scoring leaders, while Wheeler was among a quintet of first-year players in the top 50 for average assists.

Top Freshman Scoring Averages
Rk.	Player, school	GP	Avg.
39.	Isaiah Stewart, Washington	14	19.6
61.	Anthony Edwards, Georgia	13	18.4
61.	Onyeka Okongwu, USC	13	18.4
68.	Vernon Carey, Duke	14	18.4
88.	Landers Nolley, Va. Tech	14	17.4
Top Freshman Assist Averages
Rk.	Player, school	GP	Avg.
17.	Nico Mannion, Arizona	14	6.3
24.	Ellis Magnuson, E. Wash.	14	5.9
38.	Yuri Collins, Saint Louis	14	5.6
46.	Ethan Anderson, USC	14	5.4
48.	Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia	13	5.3

The Collegiate Canine Strikes

Graduate transfer Donnell Gresham Jr. has posted double-digit scoring tallies in each of Georgia's last two games. He 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 Austin Peay and Memphis was aided by hitting three 3-point baskets in each outing. That was a stark change to Georgia's first 11 games, when the St. Paul, Minn., native made a total of three shots from behind the arc.

Gresham's improved effort from 3-point range against the Governors and the Tigers falls closer in line with his performance in his four seasons at Northeastern. He made 143 3-pointers in 90 outings with the Huskies, an average of 1.6 per game.

Bulldogs Scoring at Rapid Pace

Georgia is currently averaging 80.8 points per game, which was tied for second-best in the SEC and ranked No. 22 nationally through games of Saturday, Jan. 4.

Some additional nuggets contained within the Bulldogs' offensive production over the first 13 outings of the season 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 this season – 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 Caroline 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 overtime periods of UGA's 87-85 double-OT win over SMU. He scored with four seconds remaining in the first overtime period to tie the score and extend the contest. 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 PT.

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 field goal attempts at Arizona State on Dec. 14 and is closing in on the Bulldogs' top 10 for successful shots from behind the arc as outlined below.

Crump has 154 3-pointers, 18 away from the 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.	461	Tyree Crump	2016-19	154
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.	154	Tyree Crump	2016-19	461

Wheeler Logging PT Off Bench

Freshman Sahvir Wheeler is averaging 26.2 minutes per game, the second-highest average of any Bulldog despite coming off the bench in every game to date.

Wheeler has logged 20-plus minutes in every game but a blowout win over Delaware State, when he played 18. His season high is 35 MP in double-OT against SMU...and 32 versus Georgia Southern for a regulation contest.

Camara's Contributions Climbing

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

Those contests also career highs efforts of 16 points vs. Georgia Southern, nine boards vs. Austin Peay and 34 minutes vs. SMU.

Camara's Increased Efforts
Stat	First 6	Last 6
Points per game	4.0	7.6
Rebounds per game	2.5	6.0
Minutes per game	13.2	26.2

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3"

Tyree Crump continued a familiar theme to his scoring this season, with 27 of his 38 made field goals (71.1 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 154 3s in his three-plus seasons in Athens, 69.1 percent of his 223 made field goals as a Bulldog.

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 in the opening round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He did so in an 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 minutes at Arizona State. Fagan did most of his damage in the second half. After posting four points in nine first-half minutes, he put up 11 points in 10 minutes of action following the intermission.

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 – 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 of those 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 National Junior College Player of the Year Cleveland Jackson 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 Division-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.

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 73,452 members of the Bulldog Nation have attended Georgia's first eight home dates, the second-largest tally for that many initial outings in program history. The average attendance to date of 9,182 would rank second all time in UGA history.

The Bulldogs' best first eight-game home attendance mark to begin a season was in 2002-03 when Georgia welcomed a total of 75,531 spectators to Stegeman. The No. 3 mark is 70,742 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 are now sold out.

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 Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn.

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 Yellow Jackets on the hardwood.

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.

Dogs Dish Against Delaware State

Georgia recorded 30 assists on the Bulldogs' 40 made baskets in their 100-66 win over Delaware State on Nov. 15. That was UGA's most assists since the Bulldogs had 32 against S.C. State on Nov. 21, 2006.

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 first game in a Bulldog uniform 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 beginning with the 1972-73 season, 23 Bulldogs have scored in double figures during their first collegiate contest at UGA.

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

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Toumani Camara

Nicolas Claxton

Tyree Crump

Anthony Edwards

Mike Edwards

Tye Fagan

Donnell Gresham Jr.

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Rodney Howard

Connor O'Neill

Derek Ogbeide

Sahvir Wheeler

E'Torrion Wilridge