University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Travel To Gainesville To Face Gators
February 04, 2020 | Men's Basketball
- Georgia Basketball Game Notes
- Georgia (12-9, 2-6 SEC) vs. Florida (13–8, 5-3 SEC)
- Wednesday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET
- Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (10,151) in Gainesville, Fla.
- Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer) | Affiliates
- TV: ESPNU (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Andy Kennedy, analyst)
- Video Stream: SECN+
- Satellite: XM: 382; Internet: 372.
- Series Record: UF leads, 114-105
- Last Meeting: UGA, 61-55, on 3/2/19
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Georgia Bulldogs | ||||
Coach: Tom Crean | ||||
23-30 in 2nd season at UGA | ||||
379-261 in 20th season overall | ||||
No. | Name | PPG | RPG | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Jordan Harris | 6.1 | 3.3 | |
6-5; 195; Sr.; Iron City, Ga. | ||||
5 | Anthony Edwards | 19.3 | 5.2 | |
6-5; 225; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga. | ||||
10 | Toumani Camara | 6.3 | 4.2 | |
6-8; 220; Fr.; Brussels, Belgium | ||||
15 | Sahvir Wheeler | 7.7 | 2.5 | |
5-10; 180; Fr.; Houston, Texas | ||||
20 | Rayshaun Hammonds | 12.5 | 7.6 | |
6-9; 235; Jr.; Norcross, Ga. |
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Florida Gators | ||||
Coach: Mike White | ||||
102-61 in 5th season at UF | ||||
203-101 in 9th season overall | ||||
No. | Name | PPG | RPG | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Andrew Nembhard | 11.1 | 2.8 | |
6-5; 193; Soph.; Aurora, Ontario | ||||
10 | Noah Locke | 10.2 | 2.8 | |
6-3; 207; Soph,; Baltimore, Md. | ||||
11 | Keyontae Johnson | 13.3 | 6.6 | |
6-5; 231; Soph.; Norfolk, Va. | ||||
23 | Scottie Lewis | 8.3 | 4.0 | |
6-5; 185; Fr.; Nazlet, N.J. | ||||
24 | Kerry Blackshear | 14.0 | 8.3 | |
6-10; 241; Gr.; Orlando, Fla. |
TEAM COMPARISON
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2019-20 STATISTICS | GEORGIA | FLORIDA |
Points Per Game | 75.7 | 72.6 |
Opp. Point Per Game | 73.4 | 66.6 |
Scoring Margin | +2.3 | +6.0 |
Field Goal Pct. | .448 | .448 |
Opp. Field Goal Pct. | .444 | .409 |
3-Point Pct. | .301 | .335 |
3-Pointers Per Game | 6.9 | 6.9 |
Opp. 3-Point Pct. | .324 | .310 |
Free Throw Pct. | .683 | .718 |
Free Throws Per Game | 14.0 | 14.5 |
Rebounds Per Game | 39.0 | 36.2 |
Opp. Rebound Per Game | 36.5 | 33.4 |
Rebound Margin | +2.5 | +2.8 |
Assists Per Game | 14.1 | 11.7 |
Turnovers Per Game | 15.0 | 11.7 |
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio | 0.94 | 1.00 |
Turnover Margin | -1.0 | +1.7 |
Steals Per Game | 7.7 | 6.1 |
Blocks Per Game | 3.5 | 4.0 |
The Starting 5...
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- Anthony Edwards is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.3 ppg...and the only first-year player currently ranked among the top-50 scorers in D-I.
- Georgia has won its last two trips to Gainesville, the Bulldogs' first back-to-back road wins over the Gators since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
- Sahvir Wheeler is on pace to be the first Bulldog freshman with 100 assists in more than a decade...since Dustin Ware had 108 during the 2008-09 season.
- 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's mid-week slate features a trip to Gainesville for a matchup with Florida at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Wednesday evening.
The Bulldogs are 12-9 overall and 2-6 in SEC play. Georgia is coming off a 63-48 win over Texas A&M last Saturday when the Bulldogs quickly pushed a three-point halftime lead to double figures and kept the Aggies at a relatively comfortable distance the rest of the afternoon.
Georgia improved to 10-2 at home this season and upped its average attendance for the season to 9,581, which is on pace to be the second-best effort in program history. Considering three of five remaining home dates already sold out – including a March 4 rematch with the Gators – the Bulldogs could challenge their all-time average record of 9,857 in 2002-03.
Anthony Edwards, one of only two freshmen included on the 20-player late-season Wooden Award Watch List, is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.3 ppg. Edwards, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, posted his first two career double-doubles and ninth and 10th 20-point scoring outputs last week against Missouri and Texas A&M.
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Keeping An Eye On . . . Entering Today's Game Among UGA's career Leaders
Tyree Crump is...
• 10 3FGs from No. 10 Jody Patton
• 10 3FGAs from No. 8 G.G. Smith
Among UGA's Freshman Leaders - Anthony Edwards is...
• 16 points from No. 5 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
• 27 points from No. 4 Cedric Henderson
• 75 points from No. 3 Litterial Green
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Series History
The Bulldogs and the Gators are facing off for the 220th time this evening. Florida owns a 114-105 advantage in the overall series and a 65-39 edge in Gainesville.
Florida is Georgia's most frequent foe on the hardwood. Trailing the Gators on the list of most matchups for Georgia is Georgia Tech with 196 and Auburn with 190.
Georgia has won three of its last four dates with Florida. The road team won each end of last season's home-and-home. Two years ago, the Bulldogs swept both contests, supplying Georgia with its first win in Gainesville since 2002 and first season sweep since 1996-97.
In the most recent meeting last season on March 2 in Gainesville, Nicolas Claxton exploded for a career-high 25 points to lead Georgia in a 61-55 victory over the Gators.
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 back 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.
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Scouting The Gators
Florida is 13-8 overall and 5-3 in the SEC to date. The Gators won at Vanderbilt last Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak, which included a setback at No. 1 Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Kerry Blackshear paces a quartet of double-digit scorers for Florida at 14.0 ppg and also leads the Gators on the boards at 8.3 rpg. Andrew Nembhard leads the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2 a-to-TO) and ranks second in assists (6.0 apg).
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Last Time Out...
Anthony Edwards' double-double of 29 points and 15 rebounds led Georgia to a 63-48 victory over Texas A&M last Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a basket by Edwards with 36 seconds left in the first half and got another momentum boost on an acrobatic drive and finish by Sahvir Wheeler as time expired in the period.
After the Aggies scored the first points following intermission, Georgia embarked on a 15-4 surge that gave the Bulldogs control at 39-27 with 13:43 remaining. A&M never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The victory was extra gratifying on Georgia's Lettermen's Reunion Day. Approximately 100 letterwinners – and a tally close to 500 including their family members – was in attendance. The centerpiece of that group was UGA's1990 SEC Championship team.
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Edwards Earns Georgia's Third SEC Freshman of the Week Honor
Anthony Edwards was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday after averaging 26.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in Georgia's outings against Missouri and Texas A&M.
Bulldogs have now been named SEC FOTW three times this season. Previously, Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were honored on Dec. 1 and Dec. 23, respectively.
Last week, Edwards became the first Bulldog freshman to post consecutive double-doubles since Jumaine Jones did so during the 1997-98 season. Edwards' 15 rebounds against Texas A&M were the most by a Georgia freshman since Jones' 16 versus Penn State in the semifinals of the 1998 NIT.
Edwards also 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.
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Wheeler Back In Action
Sahvir Wheeler returned to the court against Texas A&M after missing last Tuesday's game at Missouri.
Wheeler, who leads Georgia in assists and is third in scoring, suffered an upper body injury in practice on Monday before the team departed for Columbia.
The Houston native had a strong linescore against the Aggies, with nine points, five assists, four boards and two steals in 31 minutes of PT.
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Camara's Contributions Climbing
Toumani Camara, who moved into the Bulldogs' starting lineup in the 10th game of the season against SMU and has remained there since, has seen a massive up-tick in his production over the last 15 outings.
The freshman from Brussels has nearly doubled his scoring and rebounding efforts and has logged more than twice as many minutes as he did in the first six games of the season as outlined below.
Over that span, Camara has been the Bulldogs' third-leading scorer and rebounder and averaged the third-most minutes played. Those contests also include his career highs of 16 points vs. Georgia Southern, nine rebounds vs. Austin Peay and 34 minutes of playing time vs. SMU.
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Camara's Increased Efforts | ||
Stat | First 6 | Last 15 |
Points per game | 4.0 | 7.2 |
Rebounds per game | 2.5 | 4.9 |
Minutes per game | 13.2 | 27.3 |
Edwards, Wheeler Included Among NCAA's Freshman Leaders
Through games of Monday, Feb. 3, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were ranked among the nation's top freshmen in scoring and assists, respectively, as outlined below.
Edwards was the top scorer among all Division-I freshmen and the only one included among the nation's top-50 scoring leaders.
Wheeler sported the seventh-best average assists tally by a freshman.
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Top Freshman Scoring Averages | |||
Rk. | Player, school | GP | Avg. |
43. | Anthony Edwards, Georgia | 21 | 19.3 |
85. | Vernon Carey, Duke | 21 | 17.8 |
89. | Isaiah Stewart, Washington | 23 | 17.7 |
94. | Landers Nolley, Va. Tech | 22 | 17.5 |
95. | Jordyn Adams, Austin Peay | 23 | 17.4 |
Top Freshman Assist Averages | |||
Rk. | Player, school | GP | Avg. |
34. | Nico Mannion, Arizona | 21 | 5.7 |
39. | Yuri Collins, Saint Louis | 22 | 5.5 |
49. | Ellis Magnuson, E. Wash. | 20 | 5.3 |
67. | Sean East, UMass | 22 | 4.8 |
72. | Ethan Anderson, USC | 22 | 4.7 |
75. | Rylan Jones, Utah | 20 | 4.7 |
100. | Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia | 20 | 4.4 |
Dogs Drawing At Record Pace
Georgia's current attendance average of 9,581 would be the second-best effort in school history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03).
Considering three of the Bulldogs' five remaining home dates already are sellouts – tickets only remain for mid-week games against South Carolina and Auburn – Georgia could approach breaking the school-record mark by season's end.
The Bulldogs are well on their way to shattering their all-time total attendance record for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Georgia's tally of 148,700 fans through the Stegeman turnstiles broke the previous program record by more than 9,000.
This year, 114,968 spectators have attended Georgia's 12 home dates so far. That is 33,732 shy of the current mark with six games left, meaning an average of 6,747 would top the existing record.
Tom Crean has credited fan support as an integral part of the home success, most notably following a double-overtime win over SMU on Dec. 20.
"We don't win this game without this crowd," Crean said bluntly in his postgame press conference. "We do not win this game without this incredible, passionate, stick-with-us, not let us drop crowd. I reminded the players a few times that we're sitting here in basically a sold-out game, and these fans are not giving up on you, so don't give up on yourself. I'm extremely proud of how we found a way to win, and I'm unbelievably thankful for our fans."
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Dogs End Brutal Stretch
Georgia's endured a grueling stretch to open SEC play. The Bulldogs began league action by facing six straight 2019 NCAA Tournament teams – Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky (again) and Ole Miss.
Tom Crean has undergone some serious hazing from the scheduling Gods since arriving in Athens. A year ago, Georgia opened SEC play with consecutive Saturday road trips to the defending league co-champions from the previous year – Tennessee and Auburn.
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Edwards Joins Freshman Leaders
Just 18 games into the season, Anthony Edwards joined Georgia's all-time top-10 season scoring efforts by a freshman.
Edwards' 16 points at No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 21 pushed him past the previous No. 10 freshman effort in Georgia history by Eric Marbury. He is now No. 6 as outlined below.
Edwards' current scoring average of 19.3 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 599 points.
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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. | Anthony Edwards | 406 | 2020 | 21 | 19.3 |
7. | Walter Daniels | 404 | 1976 | 27 | 15.0 |
8. | D.A. Layne | 381 | 1999 | 30 | 12.7 |
9. | Terry Fair | 368 | 1980 | 27 | 13.6 |
10. | Trey Thompkins | 354 | 2009 | 28 | 12.6 |
When He's Hot, He's Really Hot
Tye Fagan scored 14 points at No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 21 by connecting on all six of his shots from the field (including a 3-pointer) and his one attempt at the free throw line.
Fagan has now scored in double figures three times this season and has done so in an extremely efficient fashion. In that trio of contests, Fagan has connected on 81.0 percent (17-of-21) of his shots from the floor.
Fagan recorded his first double-digit scoring output with 11 points against Dayton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He connected on 5-of-5 shots from the field, including his only 3-point attempt, against the Flyers.
The sophomore from Logtown paced Georgia with 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.
Before that, Fagan's top offensive performances were early last season. He notched eight points in three of the first four games of his freshman year.
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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. Rodney Howard did so against N.C. Central and Arizona State.
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Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3"
Tyree Crump continued a familiar theme to his scoring this season, with 35 of his 50 made field goals (7.0 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 162 3s as a Bulldog, 68.9 percent of his 235 made field goals.
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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 on the next page.
Crump has 162 3-pointers, leaving him just 10 away from the Bulldogs' current No. 10 tally of Jody Patton.
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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. | 490 | Tyree Crump | 2016-19 | 162 |
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. | 162 | Tyree Crump | 2016-19 | 490 |
Bulldogs Reversing Fortunes
Georgia is 4-1 this season in games decided by four points or less. 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 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).
This season, Georgia defeated Georgia Tech (72-68), Chaminade (80-77), SMU (87-85) and No. 9 Memphis (65-62) before the Bulldogs suffered their first tight-score setback at Missouri (72-69).
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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 competition for 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 also represented UGA's 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.
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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 field goals while attempting that many shots since Jonas Hayes was 8-of-8 versus Florida A&M on Dec. 5, 2003.
Camara also became just the fourth Power 5 player this season to shoot 100 percent from the field while attempting at least eight or more shots as outlined below.
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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 back-to-back double-digit scoring tallies against Austin Peay on Dec. 30 and No. 9 Memphis on Jan. 4.
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.
In addition to the APSU and Memphis outings, Gresham also scored 13 points against both The Citadel and Georgia Tech.
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Bulldogs Score At Rapid Pace During Non-Conference Action
Georgia averaged 80.8 points per game in non-conference play which ranked No. 22 nationally following the Bulldogs' last game before SEC league play.
Some additional nuggets within the point production prior to opening SEC play include:
• 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.
• 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 had 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 |
More On Edwards' Opener
Anthony Edwards' 24 points against Western Carolina were the most by a Bulldog in an opener in nearly two decades – since Ezra Williams' 26 versus Furman on Nov. 16, 2001.
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"B" Is For Basketball Player
You may notice on Georgia's roster that the Bulldogs have gone away from listing traditional basketball positions of guard, forward and center.
All 15 players are now simply listed as "B" for their position...which stands for "Basketball Player." Tom Crean is a proponent for "position-less basketball."
"That's what they are," Crean said. "It's not valid to call them centers and forwards and things like that with the way that we're trying to play. They're being trained as basketball players, every day. If you came out there to practice (6-11) Rodney Howard, a lot of times is doing the same things that (5-10) Sahvir Wheeler's doing in the sense of how we train ball handling, driving, shooting...all those type of things. That's what we're recruiting. We're recruiting basketball players."
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Georgia Inks Four Standouts
The Bulldogs signed four standouts to letters-of-intent during the NCAA's early signing period, Tom Crean announced on Nov. 18.
Georgia's incoming recruiting class was listed at No. 24 nationally in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. Two in-state prep prospects – Kadarius "K.D." Johnson from Decatur and Josh Taylor from Norcross – and a pair of Eastern Florida State College teammates – Jonathan Ned and Mikal Starks – will play for the Bulldogs beginning next season.
Taylor (6-8, 200 pounds) is rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports.com and rivals.com. In national rankings, he has been tabbed as the No. 118 recruit by 247Sports.com, as well as No. 124 by rivals.com and the No. 144 in the 247Sports.com composite.
Ned and Starks are teammates at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Fla. The 247Sports.com composite lists Starks as the No. 4 junior college prospect in the nation and Ned at No. 7.
Ned (6-9, 205) is originally from Brentwood, Calif. As a freshman at Eastern Florida State, he averaged 9.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Ned was a standout at Heritage High, where he finished second on the school's all-time scoring list and was twice named the All-Bay Valley Athletic League's MVP.
Starks (6-0, 175 pounds), is from Miami, Fla., and averaged 5.1 points and 2.8 assists as a freshman at Eastern Florida State. He is a product of Palmetto High, where he led the Panthers their first-ever Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC) title in 2018.
Johnson (6-1, 180) played at Southwest DeKalb High for the past three years and is at Hargrave Military Academy as a senior. He is rated as a four-star recruit by both 247Sports.com and rivals.com and ranked as the nation's No. 78 and No. 90 prospect overall, respectively, by those services.
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Bulldogs' Schedule Is Maddening
Georgia's 31-game regular-season slate includes 14 games against teams featured in the last preseason edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology released on Nov. 4.
In Athens, Georgia will entertain Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, N.C. Central and Tennessee.
The Bulldogs met Dayton and Michigan State in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational and will play road games at Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Memphis.
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Preseason Honors For Edwards
Anthony Edwards garnered an impressive list of accolades before playing his first game for the Bulldogs. Edwards was tabbed preseason All-America by at least four news entities – Sporting News (second team), CBS Sports (third team), Jon Rothstein (third team) and The Athletic (honorable mention).
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Players Mentioned
Georgia Basketball - Justin Bailey - Media Availability
Monday, October 06
Georgia Basketball - Jordan Ross - Media Availability
Monday, October 06
Georgia Men's Basketball Media Availability - Kanon Catchings
Monday, September 29
Georgia Men's Basketball Media Availability - Somtochukwu "Somto" Cyril
Monday, September 29