MBB Game Notes: Georgia Ventures To LSU For Mid-Week Matchup

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (6-19, 1-11 SEC) vs. LSU (18-7, 6-6 SEC)
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Maravich Assembly Center (13,215) in Baton Rouge, La.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, pbp; Mark Wise, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: XM: 381; SXM App: 971
History: LSU 68-46 (Full History)
Last Meeting: W 91-78 (2/23/2021)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
47-68 in 4th season at UGA
403-299 in 22nd season overall
3	Kario Oquendo	14.0	4.2
(6-4; 215; Soph., Titusville, Fla.)
10	Aaron Cook	10.6	2.6
(6-2; 185; Grad.; St. Louis, Mo.)
11	Jaxon Etter	5.4	3.1
(6-4; 205; Jr.; Woodstock, Ga.)
20	Noah Baumann	8.7	3.9
(6-6; 210; Sr.; Phoenix, Ariz.)
23	Braelen Bridges	12.6	5.8
(6-11; 240; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

LSU
Coach: Will Wade
101-47 in 5th season at LSU
192-92 in 9th season overall
0	Brandon Murray	10.1	2.8
(6-5; 214; Fr.; Baltimore, Md.)
1	Xavier Pinson	9.9	2.7
(6-2; 154; Sr.; Chicago, Ill.))
4	Darius Days	13.0	7.8
(6-7; 245; Sr.; Raleigh, N.C.)
5	Mwani Wilkinson	3.6	3.2
(6-5; 206; Soph.; Las Vegas, Nev.)
15	Efton Reid	6.8	4.9
(7-0; 238; Fr.; Richmond, Va.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2021-22 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	LSU
Points Per Game	70.6	72.6
Opp. Point Per Game	77.1	61.1
Scoring Margin	-6.6	+11.4
Field Goal Pct.	.439	.440
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.465	.374
3-Point Pct.	.314	.328
3-Pointers Per Game	6.4	6.6
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.340	.279
Free Throw Pct.	.742	.711
Free Throws Per Game	16.0	13.6
Rebounds Per Game	34.2	38.6
Opp. Rebound Per Game	35.1	35.0
Rebound Margin	-0.9	+3.5
Assists Per Game	14.0	12.4
Turnovers Per Game	14.3	15.0
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.98	0.83
Turnover Margin	-3.2	+2.8
Steals Per Game	5.3	11.1
Blocks Per Game	2.4	4.6

The Starting 5...

Braelen Bridges' current FG percentage of .622 is No. 3 among UGA's all-time season leaders.
Aaron Cook's 141 assists rank No. 14 among UGA's all-time season leaders...and seven from joining the top 10.
Kario Oquendo has upped his scoring average in SEC games by 5.3 ppg over what his production in non-conference play.
UGA leads the SEC in free throw percentage and nationally ranks No. 10 in FT makes (399) and No. 11 in FT takes (538).
UGA's seven first-year transfers combined to score 4,782 points at their previous schools.

The Opening Tip

Georgia treks to LSU on Wednesday to wrap up a stretch of four outings against potential "March Madness" invitees in a five-game span.

Georgia opened February by hosting Arkansas and Auburn, which occupied No. 6 and No. 1 seeds in Tuesday's edition of ESPN.com's bracketology, respectively.

Last Wednesday, the Bulldogs faced Florida, a "first four team out" in the latest projections, in Gainesville. This week's foe, LSU, was listed as a No. 6 NCAA seed on Tuesday.

Keeping An Eye On... Entering Todays's Game:

Aaron Cook is...
• 5 steals from 200 for his career
Among UGA's single-season assist leaders:
• 2 assists from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines (2008)
• 3 assists from No. 12 Gerald Crosby (1985)
• 4 assists from No. 11 Pertha Robinson (1996)
• 7 assists from co-No. 9s G.G. Smith (1998) and G.G. Smith (1997)
• 8 assists from No. 8 Rashad Wright (2003)
• 9 assists from No. 7 Willie Anderson (1987)
• 10 assists from No. 6 J.J. Frazier (2016)
• 11 assists from No. 5 Donald Hartry (1986)
• 12 assists from No. 4 Rashad Wright (2002)
• 13 assists from No. 3 Sundiata Gaines (2007)
• 28 assists from No. 2 Pertha Robinson (1995)
Noah Baumann is...
• 4 3-pointers from 200 for his career

Series History With LSU

LSU sports a 68-47 lead in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Tigers.

In the most recent meeting last Feb. 23 in Athens, Georgia secured a 91-78 victory to avenge an overtime loss in Baton Rouge earlier in the season.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring and then led for 37:25 of the contest. Georgia eventually built a 16-point, 45-29 advantage at halftime and never allowed LSU closer than 12 points following the intermission.

Earlier last season on Jan. 6 in Baton Rouge, LSU outscored Georgia 14-12 in overtime en route to a 94-92 win at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The back-and-forth affair featured no less than 20 lead changes and nine ties – including at halftime (42-42) and obviously at the end of regulation (80-80).

Georgia led 80-74 with 1:57 left, but Javonte Smart's back-to-back 3s tied the game and forced the extra session.

Scouting The Tigers

After opening the season with a 12-game winning streak in non-conference play, LSU is now 18-7 overall and 6-6 in SEC action.

The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak with victories over Texas A&M and Mississippi State last week.

Tari Eason, a transfer from Cincinnati, leads the Tigers on the offensive end, scoring 16.6 ppg. Darius Days adds 13.0 ppg and a team-best 7.8 rpg, while Brandon Murray chips in 10.1 ppg. Xavier Pinson and Eric Gaines are just shy of double-figure scoring averages, putting up 9.9 ppg and 9.8 ppg, respectively.

Last Time Out

Kario Oquendo led a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures in an 80-68 setback to South Carolina last Saturday in Athens.

Oquendo paced Georgia offensively for the fourth consecutive game, and seventh time in SEC play. Braelen Bridges added 16 points, Jabri Abdur-Rahim chipped in 12 and Aaron Cook scored 11.

Georgia raced to an early 18-10 lead before the Gamecocks responded with a 24-3 surge to gain control.

After trailing 42-38 at halftime, the Bulldogs grabbed a 45-44 lead on a layup from Jaxon Etter; however, South Carolina again answered, this time with a 14-6 run, and never trailed again.

Oquendo's Production Leaps

After averaging 11.5 ppg during the non-conference campaign, Kario Oquendo's scoring has increased to 16.8 ppg in SEC outings.

Oquendo opened SEC play with three straight 20-point performances – 21 vs. Texas A&M, 22 vs. No. 13/16 Kentucky and 28 at Mississippi State. He became the first Bulldog to do so since 2020 when Anthony Edwards put up 23 points at Missouri on Jan. 28, 29 against Texas A&M on Feb. 1 and 32 at Florida on Feb. 5.

Oquendo enters the week ranked No. 6 among SEC scoring leaders in league action. All six of the SEC's top scorers in league play have increased their production over their non-conference efforts; however, Oquendo's is the most significant.

Scoring Increases In SEC Play
Rk.	Player	SEC	Non Conf	Diff
1.	Kario Oquendo, UGA	11.5	16.8	+5.3
2.	Iverson Molinar, MSU	16.5	20.6	+4.1
3.	JD Notae, ARK	17.8	20.1	+3.3
4.	Scotty Pippen Jr. VU	18.1	19.8	+1.7
5.	Jaden Shackelford, UA	17.0	17.7	+0.7
6.	Tari Eason, LSU	16.3	16.9	+0.6

Cook Joins UGA Assist Top 20

With nine assists against Auburn on Feb. 5, "Super senior" Aaron Cook ascended into Georgia's top-20 single-season leaders for passes to points.

Cook is now No. 14 on that ledger and enters the LSU contest 70¢ – as in seven dimes – away from the top 10. He also is just $1.30 – you guessed it, 13 dimes – from the No. 3 tally

UGA Season Assist Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
1.	193	Sahvir Wheeler	2021	26
2.	169	Pertha Robinson	1995	27
3.	154	Sundiata Gaines	2007	32
4.	153	Rashad Wright	2002	32
5.	152	Donald Hartry	1986	30
6.	151	J.J. Frazier	2016	34
7.	150	Willie Anderson	1987	30
8.	149	Rashad Wright	2003	27
9.	148	G.G. Smith	1998	35
	148	G.G. Smith	1997	33
11.	145	Pertha Robinson	1996	30
12.	144	Gerald Crosby	1985	31
13.	143	Sundiata Gaines	2008	34
14.	141	Aaron Cook	2022	24
15.	140	J.J. Frazier	2017	34

More Dish Marks Are Coming

Cook also is on pace to produce one of the best assist averages ever by a Bulldog.

The current No. 2 mark in Georgia history is 6.3 apg by Pertha Robinson in 1994-95, and there is a wide gap between Cook's current average (5.9 apg) and the No. 3 standard in the Bulldogs' record book of 4.8 apg by Sundiata Gaines in 2006-07.

Bulldogs Battle Through

Georgia had only nine players in uniform for last Saturday's game against South Carolina, the most depleted the Bulldogs' battered roster has been during the 2021-22 campaign.

Georgia's ledger of available players was cut by from 14 to 15 with a preseason injury to P.J. Horne, one of two Bulldogs who started every game last season.

The Bulldogs have had their "full complement" of the 14 players for six outings and has played six games with only 10 players dressed out. That list includes SEC outings vs. Texas A&M, at Kentucky, at Auburn, at Florida and vs. South Carolina.

Since the season began, Jailyn Ingram suffered a season-ending injury against Jacksonville on Dec. 7, Jonathan Ned has been out with an ankle injury beginning with a Dec. 18 matchup with George Mason and Tyrone Baker broke his right hand on Jan. 18, the day before a road game at Auburn.

We won't count Horne since his injury was before the season, but the 14 other Bulldogs have compiled 51 DNPs. In addition to the injuries outlined above, Bulldogs scratched from the scorebook include:

• T. Baker vs. Virginia and Northwestern (illness);
• N. Baumann vs. Northwestern (illness);
• A. Cook vs. Memphis (illness);
• J. Etter vs. Gardner-Webb (injury);
• C. McDowell vs. Texas A&M and Kentucky (illness);
• T. McMillan vs. Florida and S. Carolina (injury);
• J. Ned vs. Virginia and Northwestern (illness);
• K. Oquendo vs. Auburn (injury);
• D. Ridgnal vs. Texas A&M and Kentucky (illness).
• J. Taylor vs. S. Carolina (illness);

Georgia has used seven starting fives, with Braelen Bridges being the only Bulldog to do so for every contest, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Bridges and Christian Wright have played in every game.

B.B. Is Consistent, Efficient

Braelen Bridges is the Bulldogs' most consistent point producer and among the nation's most efficient.

Bridges has posted double-digit scoring outputs in a team-best 19 of Georgia's 25 games...and he has notched nine points in three of the other six outings.

The Atlanta native is shooting a sizzling 62.2 percent from the field, connecting on 122 of his 196 shots.

Bridges' effort almost puts him in elite company in the SEC and nationally. To be ranked among statistical leaders in field goal percentage, a player has to make a minimum of 5.0 shots per game.

With 122 field goals made, Bridges is three buckets shy of that standard...or he would lead the SEC and rank No. 7 nationally entering this week in field goal percentage.

Dogs Capitalizing At The Line

Georgia is among the nation's top teams at getting to the line...and then making the most of those trips.

The Bulldogs enter this week ranked No. 10 nationally in free throw makes (399) and No. 11 in free throw takes (538). Overall, Georgia leads the SEC and is ranked No. 79 nationally in free throw percentage at .742.

The Bulldogs have been the SEC's most efficient team at the line in league play. Georgia has connected on 78.0 percent (206-of-264) of its free throws against conference foes, which is 4.1 percent better than any other team.

History In The Making

Three Bulldogs are in the midst of producing the most efficient shooting percentages overall, from 3-point range and at the line in Georgia history as outlined below.

Braelen Bridges' now has the third-best season field goal percentage ever by a Bulldog at .622. The minimum to be included is 100 made field goals, which Bridges met during 7-of-8 effort at Vanderbilt on Jan. 29.

Christian Wright is currently ranked No. 10 among Georgia's season free throw percentage leaders ledger at .841. He inched past the 50 free throws made minimum to be featured on the leaders' ledger on Feb. 2 against Arkansas.

Noah Baumann connected on his 50th 3-pointer of the year against South Carolina. His 39.4 percent shooting percentage ranks No. 15 among Georgia's single-season leaders.

UGA Season FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FG-FGA
1.	.643	Lavon Mercer	1979	146-227
2.	.632	Bob Lienhard	1970	215-340
3.	.622	Braelen Bridges	2022	122-196
4.	.611	Lavon Mercer	1980	121-198
5.	.591	Jim Youngblood	1967	140-237
	.591	Derek Ogbeide	2018	101-171

UGA Season FT Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FT-FTA
1.	.910	Channing Toney	2005	61-67
5.	.859	Juwan Parker	2018	73-85
6.	.858	Jerry Epling	1969	91-106
7.	.856	Juwan Parker	2017	77-90
8.	.854	John Fraley	1972	105-123
9.	.844	Jordan Harris	2019	54-64
10.	.841	Christian Wright	2022	53-63

UGA Season 3FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	3FG-3FGA
1.	.449	Bernard Davis	1994	80-178
2.	.442	Jody Patton	1991	69-156
3.	.436	G.G. Smith	1998	81-186
4.	.435	Dustin Ware	2011	57-131
5.	.434	Litterial Green	1992	62-143
6.	.429	Levi Stukes	2007	85-198
7.	.425	Jarvis Hayes	2003	54-127
15.	.394	Noah Baumann	2022	50-127

Etter's production is Better

Walk-on Jaxon Etter's contributions this season have skyrocketed over those during his first two seasons in Athens.

The junior from Woodstock, Ga., began the 2021-22 campaign with averages of 1.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 6.1 minutes during his freshman and sophomore years.

This season, Etter has more than tripled his scoring to 5.4 ppg, nearly quadrupled his rebounding to 3.1 rpg and upped his playing time more than four fold to 25.6 mpg.

Etter's scoring, shooting efficiency and playing time have increased even more in SEC action

Etter's Non-Conference vs. SEC
Stat	N-C	SEC	Diff.
Minutes	24.0	27.3	+3.3
Scoring	5.2	5.6	+0.4
FG Pct.	.383	.522	+.139
3FG Pct.	.235	.611	+.376

Baumann Hits The Boards

With injuries to P.J. Horne and Jailyn Ingram, Noah Baumann shifted to playing the traditional '4' spot for Georgia 10 games into the season.

In his second outing doing so, Baumann grabbed 11 rebounds against Western Carolina. That was more than double his previous career-most of five boards in seven different outings including this year's season opener against Florida International.

Joked Tom Crean: "I don't know if he's done that since grade school. Somewhere out West, he might have had 11 boards in a CYO game in the eighth grade."

The joke has since continued. After averaging 1.6 rpg in Georgia's first nine games, Baumann is contributing 5.0 rpg since Ingram's injury.

Noah Continues Scoring Trend

In five seasons of college basketball, Noah Baumann has established a trend of scoring most of his points from behind the 3-point arc...and doing so efficiently.

This season, 74.6 percent (50 of 67) of Baumann's made FGs have been 3s, and he is shooting 39.4 percent on 3-pointers.

Career-wise, 72.1 percent (196 of 272) of Baumann's made FGs are 3-pointers, and he is converting on a considerably better clip from outside the arc (.423) than inside (.378).

Etter Accepting Charges

Defensively, Jaxon Etter is like Visa...as in "everywhere you want (him) to be."

The junior walk-on took three charges against Western Carolina, the second game this season he's done so...the other outing being versus Ga. Tech.

Etter now has a team-high 23 charges in 24 games played this season. That trend actually began last season when Etter drew eight in the final 11 games, giving him 31 in his last 35 outings.

Experience Has Traveled

The phrase "defense travels" is a well-known in the sports world.

The slogan "experience has traveled" may be more appropriate for Georgia Basketball this season.

When the campaign began, Georgia's lineup was anchored by five D-I transfers – sixth-year "super seniors" Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram, graduate transfer seniors Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges and sophomore Jabri Abdur-Rahim.

Even though Ingram has not contributed to its totals since suffering a season-ending injury against Jacksonville on Dec. 7, that quintet has accounted more than 60 percent of Georgia's points and assists and the majority of the Bulldogs' production in virtually every stat.

D-I transfer contributions
Stat	Team	D-I Ts	Pct.
Minutes	5000	2744	54.9
Scoring	1764	1062	60.2
Rebounds	770	431	56.0
Assists	351	232	66.1
Blocks	59	36	61.0
Steals	132	64	48.5

Kario Likes The Bright Lights

Kario Oquendo's 25-point outing against No. 1 Auburn continued his trend of producing big games against the best opposition.

Last season at Florida SouthWestern College, Oquendo averaged 13.5 points while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.

In Buccaneers' four contests against ranked opponents, those stats jumped to 22.0 points and 63.6 percent.

This season, Oquendo is averaging 13.8 points and connecting on 46.1 percent of his shots from the floor.

In outings against No. 19 Memphis, No. 13/16 Kentucky and No. 1 Auburn, Oquendo averaged in 23.7 ppg and shot 55.6 percent (25-of-45).

In seven outings versus ranked foes as a collegiate basketball player, Oquendo is averaging 22.7 points and converting on 60.0 (60-of-100) of his field goals. FYI, Oquendo did not play at No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 19 due to a lower body injury.

Cook Joins Elite List

At tipoff at Auburn, Aaron Cook became just the 18th player in NCAA Division-I men's basketball history to participate in 150 career games. Cook played in 103 games in four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2016-20, including a redshirt campaign with six contests in 2019-20. He saw action in 30 games last season at Gonzaga during the Bulldogs' NCAA runner-up finish. Georgia's Jan. 19 game at Auburn was his 17th game with the Bulldogs. While Cook's milestone is significant, it is obviously aided by his "super senior" status as a sixth-year player. Entering this season, Ohio State's David Lighty held the NCAA record with 157 games played and only 13 players had logged PT in 150 contests. On Jan. 13, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon inched past Lighty's mark, and Cook became the fifth player in 2021-22 alone to reach the century-and-a-half mark. Those numbers have only continued to grow. Entering this week, Bohannon was at 166 GP and 26 players – twice as many as had ever done prior to 2021-22 – had reached 150 games played this season.

Wright Scores Savvily

Christian Wright's recorded his second and third double-figure scoring outputs as a Bulldog in back-to-back road outings against No. 2 Auburn and South Carolina.

The freshman from The Skill Factory scored 16 points at Auburn and followed that 10 at South Carolina. His first double-digit performance was a 17-point outing against No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 1.

There has been a common theme in all three contests, Wright's ability to get to the free throw line.

Wright converted on 24-of-28 (.857) trips to the charity stripe in those contests. That's 55.8 percent of his 43 points. All told, Wright drew 22 fouls in that trio of games, while committing only four fouls himself.

Also of note, Wright committed only one turnover in 38 minutes against Memphis, which entered the contest averaging 18.0 turnovers forced per game.

Crean Inducted Into MU HOF

Tom Crean was inducted into Marquette University's M Club Hall of Fame on Sunday, Jan. 23.

Crean was the head coach at Marquette from 1998-2008 and during nine seasons compiled a record of 190-96. He led MU to the 2003 NCAA Final Four – its first since 1977 – and four additional NCAA appearances in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Crean earned Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in both 2002 and 2003 before leading Marquette's successful integration into a loaded BIG EAST in 2005.

Crean was also inducted to the M Club Hall of Fame as part of the 2003 Final Four Team. He recruited and coached Marquette All-Americans Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Lazar Hayward.

Cook Joins Elite List

At tipoff at Auburn, Aaron Cook became just the 18th player in NCAA Division-I men's basketball history to participate in 150 career games.

Cook played in 103 games in four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2016-20, including a redshirt campaign with six contests in 2019-20. He saw action in 30 games last season at Gonzaga during the Bulldogs' NCAA runner-up finish. Georgia's Jan. 19 game at Auburn was his 17th game with the Bulldogs.

While Cook's milestone is significant, it is obviously aided by his "super senior" status as a sixth-year player. Entering this season, Ohio State's David Lighty held the NCAA record with 157 games played and only 13 players had logged PT in 150 contests.

On Jan. 13, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon inched past Lighty's mark, and Cook became the fifth player in 2021-22 alone to reach the century-and-a-half mark.

Those numbers have only continued to grow. Bohannon recorded his 163rd GP on Monday night against Penn State and Creighton's Ryan Hawkins became the 10th player to reach the 150 games played milestone this season alone last Saturday.

Kario Hot When SEC Starts

Kario Oquendo opened SEC play with a trio of 20-point performances – 21 vs. Texas A&M, 22 vs. No. 13/16 Kentucky and 28 at Mississippi State.

The sophomore from Titusville, Fla., became the first Bulldog to do so since 2020 when Anthony Edwards put up 23 points at Missouri on Jan. 28, 29 against Texas A&M on Feb. 1 and 32 at Florida on Feb. 5.

Baumann Hits the Boards

With injuries to P.J. Horne and Jailyn Ingram, Noah Baumann has shifted to playing the traditional '4' spot for Georgia.

In his first outing doing so, Baumann grabbed 11 rebounds against Western Carolina. That was more than double his previous career-most of five in seven different outings including this year's season opener against FIU.

Joked Tom Crean: "I don't know if he's done that since grade school. Somewhere out West, he might have had 11 boards in a CYO game in the eighth grade."

Kario Likes The Bright Lights

Kario Oquendo has a history of producing big games against the best opposition.

Last season, he averaged 13.5 points while shooting 55.4 percent from the field for the Florida SouthWestern College.

In Buccaneers' four contests against ranked opponents, those stats jumped to 22.0 points and 63.6 percent.

The trend of big nights continued this season. Against No. 19 Memphis and No. 13/16 Kentucky, Oquendo averaged in 23.0 ppg and shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the floor.

In six outings versus ranked foes as a collegiate basketball player, Oquendo is averaging 22.3 points and connecting on 62.2 (51-of-82) of his field goal attempts. FYI, Oquendo did not play in Georgia's game at No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 19 due to a lower body injury.

Dogs Look To Regroup...Again

Georgia lost Jailyn Ingram to a knee injury during the Jacksonville game on Dec. 7. Ingram went down in a non-contact situation while trying to save a ball along the baseline with 14:21 left in the contest.

The "super senior" from Madison, Ga., and Morgan County High School was the Bulldogs' leading rebounder (6.0 rpg) and third-leading scorer (10.7 ppg).

Following an MRI on Dec. 8, Tom Crean confirmed the prognosis on Dec. 9 with a Tweet stating: "Unfortunately, Jailyn Ingram will have to have surgery to repair his ACL in his right knee. It's heartbreaking because Jailyn has been emerging in so many areas and has been a model of consistency day in and day out. He's an incredible young man... Jailyn has brought a spirit and seriousness to us. He is a guy that is in the gym most mornings before we would lift weights at 8:45 and was stabilizing for a young team. We plan to appeal for the waiver to get another year since he's under the 30% games played. Pray for him."

Ingram's injury was UGA's second season-ending setback. On Oct. 20, Crean announced an injury to P.J. Horne, one of just two Bulldogs to start every game last season.

Tweeted Crean: "It's with genuine sadness that I let you know that P.J. Horne will miss this season after undergoing surgery on his right knee this past weekend. In practice, he bumped knees in a scrimmage, lost footing and went down awkwardly. This is such a major blow to us because P.J. was playing so well and showing great leadership as our leading returning player, but more so because he is such a great person and one of the finest people I've ever coached."

Jabri's Contributions Soar

It's probably glossed over too much that this fall is the first time Jabri Abdur-Rahim has played extended minutes in nearly two years. He suffered a foot injury during his senior season at Blair Academy and only played in two games and only appeared in eight games last season at Virginia.

Jabri, who was ranked as one of the nation's top-40 prospects in the Class of 2020, showed signs of returning to form in three early-December outings.

Abdur-Rahim exploded for a career-high 20 points against Wofford and followed that with a 15 and 10-point showings versus No. 18 Memphis and Jacksonville, respectively. Equally impressive as the totals was the efficiency in which he scored.

In those three games, Abdur-Rahim scored more points, connected on more shots and upped his shooting percentages by massive amounts over his 14 previous career outings

Abdur-Rahim's Increases
Total Points	32	45	+13
Scoring Average	2.3	15.0	12.7
FGs Made	9	13	+4
FG Percentage	.214	.650	+.436
3FGs Made	3	9	+6
3FG Percentage	.125	.600	+.475

Crean Captures Win No. 400

Tom Crean secured his 400th career victory with Georgia's upset of No. 18 Memphis on December 1.

Prior to arriving in Athens, Crean compiled 366 W's in his first 18 campaigns as a collegiate head coach. He earned the first 190 in nine seasons at Marquette from 1998-2008 and added 166 more at Indiana between 2008-17 before arriving in Athens and securing the final 44 of his 400.

Tom Crean's Milestone Wins
No. 1 – Nov. 20, 1999 – Marquette defeats Chicago State, 62-43, in Tom Crean's first game as a collegiate head coach.
No. 100 – March 6, 2004 – A three-point play with .8 of a second left lifts Marquette over No. 25 Louisville, 81-80.
No. 200 – Dec. 8, 2009 – Indiana knocks off Pittsburgh, 74-64, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
No. 250 – Nov. 20, 2012 – A day after beating Georgia, 66-53, in the first round, IU tops Georgetown, 82-72, to win the Progressive Legends Classic.
No. 300 – Dec. 20, 2014 – Indiana tops No. 23 Butler, 82-73, as Yogi Ferrell became IU's 48th 1,000-point scorer.
No. 400 – Dec. 1, 2021 – Kario Oquendo's 24-point outburst paces UGA in an 82-79 upset of No. 18 Memphis.

Wright Stellar In Upset

Freshman Christian Wright started at point guard against No. 18 Memphis for Aaron Cook, who was out of action due to an illness. That task was taller considering the Tigers entered the game forcing an average of 18.0 turnovers per game.

While Wright's career-high totals of 17 points, six boards and 38 minutes tallies drew significant attention, his turnover tally – a meager one TO – was the most significant digit in his linescore. And he did so logging the most PT of any Bulldog in any game this season to date.

Also of note, Wright drew seven fouls, including two on the offensive end, and converted on 6-of-7 free throw attempts.

The SportsCenter "Top-Quen"

Kario Oquendo has emphatically made his way in the top-10 plays on ESPN's SportsCenter twice this season.

On Nov. 16, Oquendo came in at No. 3 on SportsCenter's top-10 plays after his third highlight reel effort against S.C. State. He stole the ball at midcourt and windmilled home an uncontested dunk.

A posterized effort on Nov. 23 was tabbed No. 6. Oquendo, who's 6-4, gathered a steal in Northwestern's lane and drove the length of the floor before a thunderous dunk over a 6-9 Wildcat.

If you want to rate Oquendo's SportsCenter dunks, you can find the S.C. State slam at gado.gs/kariosctop1116 and the Northwestern effort at gado.gs/kariosc1123.

Cook Tops Millennium Mark

Aaron Cook blew past the 1,000-point career scoring mark on Nov. 16 against South Carolina State.

The "super senior" was eight points shy of entering the game and inched past the milestone with 2:21 left in the first half. He finished with 22 points, three off his career high versus Indiana State on Jan. 24, 2018.

Cook scored 845 points at Southern Illinois from 2016-20 and added 127 points during Gonzaga's en route to their NCAA runner-up finish last season.

Cook was presented the game ball from the S.C. State game in a ceremony prior to the George Mason game that featured his mother, Regina, and brother, Anthony.

Dalen, Kario Draw Attention

Kario Oquendo and Dalen Ridgnal are among the top JUCO transfers expected to make the biggest marks this season.

On August 25, bustingbrackets.com ranked the top-25 junior college players moving to the "high-major" level. Ridgnal was tabbed No. 2 on that ledger, while Oquendo was ranked No. 23.

On Nov. 1, college basketball guru Jon Rothstein tabbed his top-10 "JUCOs to watch," an unranked list that also included Ridgnal.

Welcoming A Slew Of Scoring

Of the 10 newcomers on the Bulldogs' roster seven are transfers – five D-I players (Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Noah Baumann, Braelen Bridges, Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram) and a pair from the junior college ranks (Kario Oquendo and Dalen Ridgnal).

Those players arrived in Athens having already scored 4,782 points at their previous schools, the largest addition of scoring by any D-I program this season as outlined below.

In their previous stops, the D-I quintet of the group also logged 8813 minutes in 404 games played, while grabbing 1283 rebounds, dishing 643 assists, swatting 116 blocks and collecting 304 steals.

Top Scoring Influx's In D-I hoops
Rk.	School	Players	Points
1.	Georgia	7	4782
2.	Duquesne	5	4695
3.	Florida	5	4144
4.	Arkansas	6	4125
5.	Penn State	7	5183
6.	Washington St.	4	3785
7.	SMU	4	3733
8.	Kentucky	4	3538
9.	Utah	6	3175
10.	Arizona St.	3	3132

On The Flip Side...

hile Georgia welcomed a huge influx of college scoring from its newcomers, the Bulldogs returned a minuscule portion of their scoring from last season.

Minus P.J. Horne, the four returning Bulldogs accounted for only 1110 of Georgia's 2014 points a year ago, or 5.5 percent. Walk-on Jaxon Etter is the top returning point producer with 47 points.

"B" Is For Basketball Player

You may notice on Georgia's roster that the Bulldogs have gone away from listing traditional positions – guard, forward and center. All 15 players are now simply listed as "B" 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 power forwards and things like that as much with the way that we're trying to play. They're being trained as basketball players, every day... in the sense of how we train with the ball handling, the driving, the shooting – all those type of things. That's big to me."

MBB Game Notes: Georgia Ventures To LSU For Mid-Week Matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Tyrone Baker

Noah Baumann

Braelen Bridges

Aaron Cook

Jaxon Etter

P.J. Horne

Jailyn Ingram

Jonathan Ned

Kario Oquendo

Dalen Ridgnal

Sahvir Wheeler

Christian Wright

MBB Game Notes: Georgia Ventures To LSU For Mid-Week Matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Tyrone Baker

Noah Baumann

Braelen Bridges

Aaron Cook

Jaxon Etter

P.J. Horne

Jailyn Ingram

Jonathan Ned

Kario Oquendo

Dalen Ridgnal

Sahvir Wheeler

Christian Wright

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