MBB Game Notes: Bulldogs Travel To Mizzou For Regular-Season Finale

Saturday, March 5

Columbia, Mo.

3:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Missouri

MBB Game Notes: Bulldogs Travel To Mizzou For Regular-Season Finale

March 04, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (6-24, 1-16 SEC) vs. Missouri (10-20, 4-13 SEC)
Saturday, March 5, 2022 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Mizzou Arena (15,061) in Columbia, Mo.
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 Sunvold, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: XM: 388; SXM App: 978
History: UM 9-8 (Full History)
Last Meeting: L 70-73 (3/11/2021)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
47-73 in 4th season at UGA
403-304 in 22nd season overall
3	Kario Oquendo	15.3	4.4
(6-4; 215; Soph., Titusville, Fla.)
5	Christian Wright	5.3	2.3
(6-3; 185; Fr.; Alpharetta, Ga.)
10	Aaron Cook	10.4	2.6
(6-2; 185; Grad.; St. Louis, Mo.)
11	Jaxon Etter	5.1	3.0
(6-4; 205; Jr.; Woodstock, Ga.)
23	Braelen Bridges	12.6	5.4
(6-11; 240; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Missouri Tigers
Coach: Cuonzo Martin
76-76 in 5th season at Mizzou
262-291 in 14th season overall
4	Javon Pickett	11.1	2.9
(6-5; 215; Sr.; Belleville, Ill.)
5	Jarron Coleman	8.8	3.5
(6-5; 210; R-Jr.; Indianapolis, Ind.)
12	Dajuan Gordon	8.1	3.9
(6-3; 180; Jr.; Chicago, Ill.)
23	Trevon Brazile	6.1	4.6
(6-9; 215; Fr.; Springfield, Mo.)
24	Kobe Brown	12.3	7.9
(6-8; 250; Jr.; Huntsville, Ala.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2021-22 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	MISSOURI
Points Per Game	70.5	64.7
Opp. Point Per Game	78.2	70.7
Scoring Margin	-7.8	-6.0
Field Goal Pct.	.446	.421
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.473	.441
3-Point Pct.	.327	.274
3-Pointers Per Game	6.6	5.1
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.346	.357
Free Throw Pct.	.752	.730
Free Throws Per Game	15.4	12.2
Rebounds Per Game	33.0	34.8
Opp. Rebound Per Game	34.3	34.3
Rebound Margin	-1.3	+0.4
Assists Per Game	14.3	11.8
Turnovers Per Game	14.6	14.2
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.98	0.83
Turnover Margin	-3.7	-1.8
Steals Per Game	5.2	6.5
Blocks Per Game	2.2	4.0

The Starting 5...

Braelen Bridges' current field goal percentage of .643 is No. 1 in UGA and No. 14 in SEC history for a season.
Aaron Cook will play in his 163rd college basketball game, the third-most ever by any MBB Division I player.
Aaron Cook's 160 assists ranks No. 3 among UGA's all-time season leaders...and is 9 from the No. 2 mark.
Eight of Kario Oquendo's 10 20-point games have come in SEC play, including a career-high 33 at Texas A&M on 2/22.
Jaxon Etter has drawn 30 charges in 29 games played this season...and 38 in his last 40 GP dating back to last season.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs will wrap up their 2021-22 regular-season slate on Saturday a matinee matchup with Missouri in Columbia.

The outing will serve as a homecoming for a pair of Bulldogs. Aaron Cook and Dalen Ridgnal hail from St. Louis and Kansas City, respectively. Cook was a first-team Class 4 All-State performer at Westminster Christian Academy, and Ridgnal helped Rockhurst High reach the "Elite Eight" round of the 2018 Missouri Class 5 state tourney.

Their treks to Athens have been winding.

Cook is a "super senior" who played four seasons at Southern Illinois and another at Gonzaga before arriving at UGA. Ridgnal's senior season of high school was spent at Lincoln Academy in Georgia before he was a two-time JUSO All-American at Cowley College.

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

Aaron Cook is...
Among UGA's single-season assist leaders:
• 9 assists from No. 2 Pertha Robinson (1995)

Series History With Missouri

Georgia's victory last season evened up the all-time series between the Bulldogs and Tigers at 8-8.

After the Missouri won first four matchups, including three before the Tigers joined the SEC, Georgia reeled off six consecutive victories. Mizzou has won four of the last six in the series.

In last year's meeting on Feb. 15 in Athens, Georgia upset No. 20/19 Missouri, 80-70, as five Bulldogs scored in double figures.

After leading 37-33 lead at the break, Missouri scored the first nine points of the second stanza as the Tigers' advantage quickly bulged to 13 points.

Following a timeout, Georgia chipped away at that margin. The Bulldogs went up 57-55 on a 3-pointer from P.J. Horne with 7:44 remaining and never trailed again.

In Georgia's most recent trip to Columbia on Jan. 25, 2020, Missouri rallied from a 20-point deficit to earn a 72-69 victory at Mizzou Arena.

The Bulldogs were led by Anthony Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, who notched his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Georgia led for more than 30 minutes of the contest before the Tigers surged ahead late in the game. Missouri went on top with 27 seconds left, the Tigers' first lead since the 11:13 mark of the first half.

Scouting The Tigers

Missouri enters Saturday's matchup with records of 10-20 overall and 4-13 in the SEC play.

Kobe Brown sports team-high averages of 12.3 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Brown is the only Tiger to start all 30 games and one of only two – along with Ronnie DeGray III – who has played in every game to date.

Last Time Out

Aaron Cook's team-high 17 points led three Bulldogs in double figures in a 75-68 setback to No. 13 Tennessee on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Kario Oquendo added 16 points, including SportsCenter's No. 3 play of the day on a first-half dunk, and Braelen Bridges added 12, this team-high 23rd double-digit output of the season.

Following a nip-and-tuck first half featuring 11 lead changes and six ties, including a 35-35 score at intermission, the Volunteers used an 11-0 run to build a 54-44 lead at the 14:02 mark.

The Bulldogs used their own 11-0 surge to close the gap to 64-60 with 6:05 left, but Tennessee withstood the rally to earn its first win in Athens since 2011.

More On The "Show Me" Dogs

Aaron Cook and Dalen Ridgnal are from opposite edges of Missouri.

Cook, a "super senior," was coached by Doug Coleman at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis.

As a senior, he was voted first-team All-State for Class 4 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) in 2016 and also named first-team All-Metro by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a senior. That season, Cook averaged 22.1 points and recorded 81 assists and 81 steals for the Wildcats en route to a 19-6 record and the Class 4, District 4 regular-season title.

As a junior, Cook averaged 16.5 points while helping the Wildcats to a 24-6 record, which culminated with Westminster winning its first district championship in nine years and advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2015 Missouri Class 4 state tournament.

Rigdnal is a junior in his first season at Georgia after standout career at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas, where he was one of two players to earn JUCO All-American accolades in 2020 and 2021.

Ridgnal played for Pete Campbell at Rockhurst High in Kansas City as a sophomore and junior. As a junior, he averaged 9.1 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game to help the Hawklets compile a 22-6 record, win a district title and reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 Missouri Class 5 state tourney.

B.B. Claims School Record

With his 6-of-7 shooting performance against Florida last Saturday, Braelen Bridges moved into the No. 1 spot among Georgia's all-time single-season leaders in field goal percentage as outlined on the next page.

Bridges has connected on 148-of-230 shots from the field this season, a conversion rate of 64.348 percent. By the slightest of margins, that's better than the 64.317 (146-of-227) by Lavon Mercer in 1978-79.

Bridges reached the minimum to be included in Georgia's single-season records (100 made field goals) during 7-of-8 effort at Vanderbilt on Jan. 29. He was in third place on that ledger entering last week until a 3-of-4 night at Texas A&M pushed him past Bob Lienhard to the second slot and the outing against the Volunteers inched him past Mercer.

Bridges' status as the record holder is tenuous, with his performance in remaining games determining where he will ultimately land in the Georgia record books.

In addition, Bridges now possesses the 14th-best shooting percentage in SEC history. The league record is 72.6 percent set by Alabama's Donta Hall during the 2017-18 campaign

UGA Season FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FG-FGA
1.	.643	Braelen Bridges	2022	148-230
2.	.643	Lavon Mercer	1979	146-227
3.	.632	Bob Lienhard	1970	215-340
4.	.611	Lavon Mercer	1980	121-198
5.	.591	Jim Youngblood	1967	140-237
	.591	Derek Ogbeide	2018	101-171

SEC Season FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FG-FGA
1.	.726	Donta Hall, UA	2018	151-208
5.	.660	Daniel Goddard, AR	2019	214-324
10.	.645	Reggie Johnson, UT	1977	131-203
11.	.644	Wiley Peck, MSU	1979	154-239
12.	.644	Nick Richards, UK	2020	164-253
13.	.644	Charles Barkley, AU	1983	161-250
14.	.643	Braelen Bridges, UGA	2022	148-230
15.	.643	Lavon Mercer, UGA	1979	146-227

Cook's Career: NCAA Wise

"Super senior" Aaron Cook will be playing in his final regular-season college basketball game on Saturday.

Cook will be participating in his 163rd college basketball game against Missouri, which at tipoof will represent the third-most by any men's basketball player in Division I history as outlined below.

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. He will add his 30th at Georgia against Missouri.

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.

Those numbers have grown exponentially this season with players awarded extra eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Jan. 13, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon inched past Lighty's mark, and he played in his 173rd game on March 3. Entering this weekend, 65 players had joined the previous 13 to reach the 150 GP milestone.

NCAA Division I Career GP Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player, School	Seasons
1.	173	Jordan Bohannon, Iowa	2016-22
2.	168	Chevez Goodwin, USC	2016-22
3.	163	Aaron Cook, Georgia	2016-22
	163	Garrison Brooks, Miss. St.	2017-22
	163	Justin Kier, Arizona	2016-22

Cook's Career: UGA Wise

In addition to his status from an NCAA historical perspective, Aaron Cook also has left his mark on the Georgia record books in his one season in Athens.

With nine assists against Auburn on Feb. 5, Cook joined Georgia's top-20 single-season leaders for passes to points.

With 15 assists in Georgia's last three games, Cook ascended all the way from No. 11 to No. 3 on that ledger.

Cook enters the Missouri contest just 90¢ – as in nine dimes – away from the No. 2 .

UGA Season Assist Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
1.	193	Sahvir Wheeler	2021	26
2.	169	Pertha Robinson	1995	27
3.	156	Aaron Cook	2022	28
4.	154	Sundiata Gaines	2007	32
5.	153	Rashad Wright	2002	32
	152	Donald Hartry	1986	30

More History In The Making

In addition to Braelen Bridges, two more Bulldogs are in the midst of producing the most efficient shooting percentages from the free throw line and 3-point range and in Georgia history as outlined below.

Christian Wright is currently ranked No. 9 among Georgia's season free throw percentage leaders ledger at .853. 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 to qualify for Georgia's record book. His current 40.1 percent shooting percentage ranks No. 12 among Georgia's single-season leaders.

UGA Season FT Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FT-FTA
1.	.910	Channing Toney	2005	61-67
2.	.902	Joe Ward	1984	55-61
3.	.886	J.J. Frazier	2017	187-211
4.	.864	Lanny Tanner	1970	70-81
5.	.859	Christian Wright	2022	57-67
	.859	Juwan Parker	2018	73-85

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
8.	.414	Ezra Williams	2003	77-186
9.	.412	D.A. Layne	1999	75-182
10.	.418	Noah Baumann	2022	56-136

The SportsCenter "Top-Quen"

Kario Oquendo has emphatically made his way in the top-10 plays on ESPN's SportsCenter three times this season. Ironically, all have been on Tuesdays.

ThisTuesday's was our favorite, with Oquendo taking a pass at the top of the key and driving for an emphatic tomahawk finish over a helpless Tennessee defender. That one came in at No. 3 among SportsCenter's top 10 later that night.

On Nov. 16, Oquendo also came in at No. 3 on SportsCenter following his third highlight reel effort against South Caroline State. He stole the ball at midcourt with no defender in site, 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, the Northwestern effort at gado.gs/kariosc1123 and the Tennessee throwdown at gado.gs/kariosctop100301.

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 outputs in a team-best 23 games...and has notched nine points in four of the other seven outings.

The Atlanta native is shooting a sizzling 64.3 percent from the field, connecting on 148 of his 230 shots.

Bridges' effort almost puts him in elite company 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 148 field goals made, Bridges is two buckets shy of that standard...or he would No. 5 nationally entering this weekend in field goal percentage.

Etter Accepting Charges

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

The junior walk-on took three charges at LSU, the third game this season he's done so...the other outings being versus Ga. Tech and Western Carolina.

Etter now has a team-high 30 charges in 29 games played this season. That trend actually began last season when Etter drew eight in the final 11 games, giving him 38 in his last 40 outings.

Dogs Capitalizing At The Line

Georgia is among the nation's top teams at getting to the line...and then converting.

The Bulldogs enter this weekend ranked No. 20 nationally in free throw makes (461) and No. 35 in free throw takes (613). Georgia is ranked No. 55 nationally in free throw percentage at .752.

The Bulldogs lead the SEC and are even more efficient in league play. Against conference foes, Georgia is shooting a sizzling 79.1 percent (268-of-339) at the charity stripe.

Taking Advantage of Charity

Georgia's performance at the free throw line isn't only among the best in the SEC this season, it's on pace to be among the best ever by the Bulldogs.

Georgia has converted on 75.2 percent or better of its trips to the line three times since the 1959-60 season, with two of those coming in the last five campaigns alone.

Top Dogs At The Stripe
Rk.	Season	FT-FTA	Pct.
1.	1966-67	454-598	.759
2.	2016-17	588-823	.757
3.	2020-21	461-613	.752

Oquendo's Production Leaps

Kario Oquendo enters the regular-season finale ranked No. 4 among SEC scoring leaders in league action.

Oquendo opened SEC play with three straight 20-point performances – the first Bulldog to do so since Anthony Edwards in 2020. He leads Georgia with 10 20-point outputs, with eight of those coming against league foes.

Each member of the SEC's top scoring quartet has increased their production in league play over their non-conference efforts; however, Oquendo's uptick has been the greatest.

Scoring Increases In SEC Play
Rk.	Player	Non-Con	SEC	Diff.
1.	Kario Oquendo, UGA	11.5	18.4	+6.9
2.	Scotty Pippen Jr. VU	18.1	22.2	+4.1
3.	Iverson Molinar, MSU	16.5	19.3	+2.8
4.	JD Notae, ARK	17.8	19.7	+1.9

B.B. Among Top Passing Bigs

Braelen Bridges has the Bulldogs' third-best assist average among active players behind only point guards Aaron Cook and Christian Wright.

Bridges has led Georgia in assists three times this season, at Auburn, at Florida and vs. Ole Miss. In fact, he is among the best passing big men in the SEC. His average of 1.9 apg is second-best among all league players 6-10 or taller. Bridges is one of five "big men" in the league who are currently averaging 1.0 assist per game or more

SEC's Best Passing Bigs
Rk.	Player, School	Ast.	GP	Avg
1.	Jaylin Williams, ARK	80	30	2.7
2.	Braelen Bridges, UGA	57	30	1.9
3.	Jabari Smith, AU	54	30	1.8
4.	Colin Castleton, UF	40	24	1.7
5.	Quentin Milora-Brown, VU	39	29	1.3

Bulldogs Battle Through

Georgia dressed out only nine players for its Feb. 12 game versus South Carolina, the most depleted the Bulldogs' roster has been this season.

Georgia's ledger of available players was cut by from 15 to 14 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 have played eight games – including seven SEC contests – with only 10 players in uniform.

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 69 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) and Florida (susp.);
• T. McMillan vs. Florida, S. Carolina and LSU (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 eight starting fives, with Braelen Bridges being the only player to do so for every contest. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Bridges and Christian Wright are the only Bulldogs who have played in every game.

Experience Has Traveled

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

The slogan "experience has traveled" is more appropriate for Georgia Basketball and it's 2021-22 campaign.

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 delivers the majority of the Bulldogs' production in virtually every statistic.

D-I transfer contributions
Stat	Team	D-I Ts	Pct.
Minutes	6000	3246	54.1
Scoring	2114	1233	58.3
Rebounds	888	492	55.4
Assists	452	279	61.7
Blocks	67	37	55.2
Steals	155	73	47.1

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, 75.0 percent (57 of 76) of Baumann's made FGs have been 3s, and he is shooting 40.1 percent on 3-pointers.

Career-wise, 72.2 percent (203 of 281) of Baumann's made FGs are 3-pointers, and he is converting on a considerably better clip from outside the arc (.425) than inside (.382).

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 both his scoring (to 5.1 ppg) and rebounding (to 3.0 rpg) and upped his PT four fold to 25.3 mpg.

Baumann Hits The Boards

With injuries to P.J. Horne and Jailyn Ingram, Noah Baumann shifted to playing the traditional '4' 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 outings, including this year's season opener versus 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 the first nine games, Baumann is contributing 4.3 rpg since.

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 15.3 points and connecting on 45.7 percent of his shots from the floor.

In outings against No. 19 Memphis, No. 13/16 Kentucky, No. 1 Auburn and No. 13 Tennessee, Oquendo averaged in 21.8 ppg and shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59).

In eight outings versus ranked foes as a collegiate basketball player, Oquendo is averaging 21.9 points and converting on 57.9 (66-of-114) of his field goals. FYI, Oquendo did not play at No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 19 due to a lower body injury.

Wright Scores Savvily

Christian Wright recorded his second and third double-figure scoring outputs at UGA in back-to-back road outings at 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 against the Tigers, Tigers and Gamecocks. That's 55.8 percent of his 43 total points.

All told, Wright drew 22 fouls in that trio of games, while committing only four fouls himself.

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."