MBB Game Notes: Dogs Complete Homestand By Hosting Tigers

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (6-16, 1-8 SEC) vs. No. 1/1 Auburn (21-1, 9-0 SEC)
Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 1:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, pbp; Jon Sundvold, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: XM: 382; SXM App: 972
History: AU 98-95 (Full History)
Last Meeting: L 60-83 (1/19/2022)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
47-65 in 4th season at UGA
403-296 in 22nd season overall
3	Kario Oquendo	12.9	4.1
(6-4; 215; Soph., Titusville, Fla.)
10	Aaron Cook	10.5	2.5
(6-2; 185; Grad.; St. Louis, Mo.)
11	Jaxon Etter	5.3	3.0
(6-4; 205; Jr.; Woodstock, Ga.)
20	Noah Baumann	9.1	3.9
(6-6; 210; Sr.; Phoenix, Ariz.)
23	Braelen Bridges	12.4	5.8
(6-11; 240; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Auburn Tigers
Coach: Bruce Pearl
157-93 in 8th season at AU
619-238 in 27th season overall
0	K.D. Johnson	13.2	2.6
(6-0; 204; Soph.; Atlanta, Ga.)
10	Jabari Smith	15.6	6.7
(6-10; 220; Fr.; Fayetteville, Ga.)
12	Zep Jasper	5.0	1.3
(6-0; 185; Sr.; Augusta, Ga.)
13	Walker Kessler	11.5	7.9
(7-1; 255; Soph.; Newnan, Ga.)
22	Allen Flanigan	7.0	3.5
(6-6; 220; Jr.; Little Rock Ark.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2021-22 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	AUBURN
Points Per Game	71.0	80.6
Opp. Point Per Game	77.4	66.1
Scoring Margin	-6.4	+14.5
Field Goal Pct.	.445	.454
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.467	.389
3-Point Pct.	.321	.329
3-Pointers Per Game	6.5	8.4
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.343	.319
Free Throw Pct.	.743	.740
Free Throws Per Game	15.9	14.6
Rebounds Per Game	34.3	39.4
Opp. Rebound Per Game	34.4	35.2
Rebound Margin	-0.1	+4.1
Assists Per Game	14.0	14.9
Turnovers Per Game	14.5	11.3
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.96	1.32
Turnover Margin	-3.7	+4.1
Steals Per Game	4.9	9.1
Blocks Per Game	2.5	8.1

The Starting 5...

Braelen Bridges' current FG percentage of .629 is No. 3 among UGA's all-time season leaders.
With 124 assists, Aaron Cook is just one assist away from joining UGA's all-time top-20 season leaders.
In 6 outings against ranked foes (4 JUCO, 2 at UGA), Kario Oquendo is averaging 22.3 ppg with a 62.2 FG pct.
Jaxon Etter is shooting 66.7 pct. from 3-point range in SEC play, 20.7 pct. better than any other player averaging 1.0 3FG.
UGA's seven first-year transfers combined to score 4,782 points at their previous schools.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs wrap up a two-game homestand to open the calendar's shortest month on Saturday when they host Auburn in a 1:00 p.m. matinee at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs are in the midst of a stretch of games with four outings against potential NCAA Tournament teams in a five-contest span. Georgia hosted Arkansas, a No. 8 seed in ESPN.com's Friday edition of its bracketology, on Wednesday. Auburn is a No. 1 seed in those projections.

Next Wednesday, the Bulldogs will face Florida, the "first team out" of the current bracket projections, on the road. After hosting South Carolina next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. – please note the game time for that contest was changed from its original start time of 1:00 p.m. – Georgia will trek to Baton Rouge to face LSU, a No. 6 NCAA seed, on Jan. 16.

After the Bulldogs wrapped up January by playing five of seven games away from Athens, February features a much more home-heavy slate for Georgia.

Georgia opened SEC play with a heart- breaking, 81-79 home setback to Texas A&M on Jan. 4. After that, the Bulldogs next seven contests included trips to Lexington, Starkville, Auburn, Columbia (of the South Carolina variety) and Nashville.

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

Aaron Cook is...
• 1 assist from co-No. 19s Barry Cohen (1971) and Gino Gianfrancesco (1972) among UGA's season assist leaders
• 9 assists from co-No. 17s Litterial Green (1989) and Gerald Robinson (2011) among UGA's season assist leaders
• 8 steals from 200 for his career

Series History With Auburn

Though Georgia owns a pretty hefty 62-28 advantage in games played in Athens, Auburn owns a slim 98-96 edge in overall meetings between the Bulldogs and the Tigers. Two and a half weeks ago at Auburn, Christian Wright scored 16 points and Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges also reached double figures with 11 points apiece to lead Georgia in an 83-60 setback at No. 2 Auburn.

The Tigers broke the game open with a 14-3 first-half surge that turned a one-point lead for the Bulldogs into a double-digit deficit 4:21 later.

Wright was a bright spot for Georgia. He came within one point of his career-high offensive output against No. 18 Memphis.

In the most recent matchup in Athens last season on Jan. 23, the Tigers secured a 95-77 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.

After trailing by 11 points at halftime, Georgia scored the first seven following the intermission to pull within 45-41 with 18:36 remaining; however, the Tigers responded with a 22-3 surge to gain control.

Scouting The Tigers

Auburn is currently 21-1 overall and 9-0 in SEC. Tigers are in the midst of an 18-game winning streak that dates back to a 115-109, double-overtime setback to Connecticut back on Nov. 24.

Jabari Smith paces a quartet of double-figure scorers for Auburn at 15.6 ppg. He is followed by former Bulldog K.D. Johnson at 13.2 ppg, Wendell Green Jr. at 12.6 ppg and Walker Kessler at 12.5 ppg. Kessler, whose dad (Chad), brother (Houston) and uncle (Alec) played for UGA, leads the Tigers on the boards at 7.9 rpg and is ranked second nationally in blocked shots at 4.2 bpg.

Last Time Out

Kario Oquendo's 17-point outing led Georgia in a 99-73 setback to Arkansas on Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia led for 12:33 of a first half that featured three ties and seven lead changes.

The Razorbacks knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the period up 53-47. Those point totals represented the most points the Bulldogs have scored and given up in a first half this season.

Arkansas began the second period with a 12-2 surge over the opening 3:17 to take control of the contest.

A Very Close Rivalry

Saturday's game will be the 195th between the Bulldogs and the Tigers, with Auburn owning a 98-96 advantage.

The series has been tied five times in the 2000s.

Auburn claimed an 81-80 lead entering this century by winning consecutive games in 1998 and 1999 and then won the first date in the 2000s as well.

The Bulldogs knotted the series at 84-84 in 2005 and again at 85-85 in 2007. After Georgia surged ahead, the Tigers' win in 2010 brought the record to 87-87.

Following consecutive wins by the Bulldogs, Auburn scratched the series mark to 90-90 in 2015. Georgia won three of the next four matchups to secure a 94-91 lead through the 2017 campaign.

The Tigers then put together five consecutive wins to go up 96-94 before the two teams have split their last four matchups.

While the overall series is close, the location of the game has had a dramatic difference in success. Georgia owns a 62-28 edge in Athens, while the Tigers are 63-26 against UGA on The Plains. The Bulldogs are 8-7 in neutral site affairs.

Georgia and Auburn traditionally have had a close series in football as well. The Bulldogs are 61-56-8 against the Tigers. That advantage is somewhat inflated, however, since Georgia has won 14 of the last 17 matchups, including a 34-10 victory last Oct. 9 en route to capturing the 2021 national title.

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 16 of Georgia's 22 games, and he has notched nine points in three of the other five outings.

The Atlanta native is shooting a sizzling 62.9 percent from the field, connecting on 107 of his 170 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 107 field goals made, Bridges is three buckets shy of that standard...or he would lead the SEC and rank No. 7 nationally entering this weekend.

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 .629. The minimum to be included is 100 made field goals, which Bridges met at Vanderbilt on Jan. 29.

Christian Wright is No. 13 on the season free throw percentage leaders ledger at .836. He inched past the 50 FT minimum on Feb. against Arkansas.

Noah Baumann has 46 3-pointers on the season, four off the minimum to be included in Georgia's records. He is connecting on 42.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc, which would rank No. 7 among Georgia's 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.	.629	Braelen Bridges	2022	107-170
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
10.	.839	Terrance Woodbury	2009	78-93
11.	.838	Marshall Wilson	1991	83-99
12.	.837	Dick McIntosh	1967	72-86
13.	.836	Christian Wright	2022	51-61
	.836	Levi Stukes	2007	51-61

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
Next up: .426 (46-108) – Noah Baumann

Cook Nears UGA Assist Top 20

"Super senior" Aaron Cook enters the Auburn outing one assist shy of joining Georgia's top-20 single-season leaders.

Cook has 124 assists in 21 games played this season...he missed the Dec. 1 game vs. No. 18 Memphis due to an illness.

The current No. 19 total for the Bulldogs is 125 assists. Cook is 24 passes-to-points away from Georgia's top-10 single-season leaders.

UGA Season Assist Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
9.	148	G.G. Smith	1998	35
	148	G.G. Smith	1997	33
15.	139	Sahvir Wheeler	2020	31
	139	Willie Anderson	1988	35
17.	133	Gerald Robinson	2011	33
	133	Litterial Green	1989	31
19.	125	Gino Gianfrancesco	1972	24
	125	Barry Cohen	1971	25

Next up: 124 – Aaron Cook (21 games 2022)

Cook Among Assist Leaders

As of Friday, Aaron Cook ranked No. 13 nationally in total assists (124) and No. 14 in assist average (5.9 apg).

Cook's is not only approaching the Bulldogs' top-20 season assist leaders, his assist average is on pace to be among the best 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 (6.1 apg) and the No. 3 standard in the Bulldogs' record book of 4.8 apg by Sundiata Gaines in 2006-07.

Dogs Capitalizing At The Line

Georgia has made the most of its trips to the free-throw line this season, and even more so in SEC play.

The Bulldogs enter this weekend ranked No. 80 nationally in free throw percentage at 74.3 percent. Georgia also is among the top teams in the nation at getting to the charity stripe. As of Monday, UGA ranked No. 10 in FT makes (350) and No. 15 in FT takes (471).

In stats for conference games only, the Bulldogs are the league's most efficient team. The Bulldogs have connected on a sizzling 79.7 percent (157-of-197) of their SEC free throws.

Etter's production is Better

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

Etter has more than tripled his career averages for points and rebounds while upping his playing time four fold.

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, he his contributions have increased to 5.3 points, 3.0 boards in 24.9 minutes per contest.

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	26.5	+2.5
Scoring	5.2	5.6	+0.4
FG Pct.	.383	.545	+.162
3FG Pct.	.235	.667	+.432

We Know What You're Thinking

"Wait, what? Did that just say Jaxon Etter is shooting 66.7 percent from 3-point range in SEC play?"

Yes, yes it did.

Etter is 10-of-15 from behind the arc in conference games to date.

Entering this weekend, 12 SEC players are averaging at least 1.0 3-pointer per game in league action and shooting 40.0 percent or better from 3-point range.

Etter's effort from behind the arc was the best in the league by a relatively massive margin of 20.7 percent.

Top 3-Point Threats In SEC Play
Rk.	Player, School	GP	3FGs.	Pct.
1.	J. Etter, UGA	9	10	.667
2.	M. Murrell, OM	9	23	.460
3.	S. Vescovi, UT	9	33	.458
4.	D. Gordon, MIZ	8	10	.435
	J. Powell, UT	9	10	.435
6.	D. Mintz, UK	9	19	.432

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."

The joke has since continued. After averaging 1.6 rpg in Georgia's first nine games, Baumann is contributing 5.3 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, 75.4 percent (46 of 61) of Baumann's made field goals have been 3s, and he is shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

Career-wise, 72.1 percent (192 of 266) of Baumann's made FGs are 3-pointers, and he is converting on a considerably better clip from outside the arc (.432) than inside that stripe (.379).

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 20 charges in 21 games played this season...and has taken a few ruled differently.

Etter's offensive foul trend began last season when he drew eight in the final 11 games. That gives him 28 in his last 32 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 their totals statistically since suffering a season-ending injury in the ninth outing of the year against Jacksonville on Dec. 7, that quintet of Bulldogs has accounted more than 60 percent of Georgia's points and assists and the majority of its production in virtually every stat.

D-I transfer contributions
Stat	Team	D-I Ts	Pct.
Minutes	4400	2420	55.0
Scoring	1561	945	60.5
Rebounds	684	385	56.3
Assists	308	203	65.9
Blocks	54	33	61.1
Steals	108	55	50.9

Bulldogs Battle Through

Georgia has only dressed 11 players for the last four games and will continue to due so for the foreseeable future.

In fact, the Bulldogs only had 10 players in uniform four times this season, including three SEC games, and had their "full roster" for six outings.

The Bulldogs' roster was cut by one with a preseason injury to P.J. Horne, one of two players to start every game last season.

Since the season started, 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 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 43 DNPs this season. In addition to the quartet of 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);
• J. Ned vs. Virginia and Northwestern (illness);
• K. Oquendo vs. Auburn (injury);
• D. Ridgnal vs. Texas A&M and Kentucky (illness).

Only three Bulldogs – Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges and Christian Wright – have played in every game.

Georgia has used seven starting fives, and Bridges is the only Bulldog who has gotten the nod for every contest.

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

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...

While 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."

University of Georgia Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Tyrone Baker

Noah Baumann

Braelen Bridges

Aaron Cook

Jaxon Etter

P.J. Horne

Jailyn Ingram

K.D. Johnson

Jonathan Ned

Kario Oquendo

Dalen Ridgnal

Sahvir Wheeler

Christian Wright

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