MBB Game Notes: Dogs To Face Dores In SEC Tourney

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (6-25, 1-17 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (15-15, 7-11 SEC)
Georgia Basketball SEC Tournament
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Amalie Arena (21,500) in Tampa, Fla.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, pbp; Daymeon Fishback, analyst; Alyssa Lang, reporter)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: Sirius: 134; XM: 190; SXM App: 961
History: VU 93-54 (Full History)
Last Meeting: L 77-85 (1/29/2022)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
47-74 in 4th season at UGA
403-305 in 22nd season overall
3	Kario Oquendo	15.4	4.3
(6-4; 215; Soph., Titusville, Fla.)
5	Christian Wright	5.3	2.3
(6-3; 185; Fr.; Alpharetta, Ga.)
10	Aaron Cook	10.6	2.5
(6-2; 185; Grad.; St. Louis, Mo.)
11	Jaxon Etter	5.2	3.0
(6-4; 205; Jr.; Woodstock, Ga.)
23	Braelen Bridges	12.8	5.4
(6-11; 240; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Vanderbilt Commodores
Coach: Jerry Stackhouse
35-43 in 3rd season at VU
35-43 in 3rd season overall
0	Tyrin Lawrence	3.5	2.4
(6-4; 195; Soph.; Monticello, Ga
2	Scotty Pippen Jr	20.5	3.6
(6-3; 185; Jr.; Los Angeles, Calif.)
4	Jordan Wright	11.7	6.3
(6-6; 215; Jr.; Baton Rouge, La.)
10	Myles Stute	8.1	3.5
(6-7; 210; Soph.; Washington, D.C.)
42	Quentin Millora-Brown	5.5	5.7
(6-10; 235; Sr.; Lorton, Va.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2021-22 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	VANDERBILT
Points Per Game	70.4	69.5
Opp. Point Per Game	78.3	67.5
Scoring Margin	-7.8	+2.0
Field Goal Pct.	.446	.423
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.473	.425
3-Point Pct.	.327	.336
3-Pointers Per Game	6.5	8.3
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.347	.304
Free Throw Pct.	.746	.692
Free Throws Per Game	15.5	15.0
Rebounds Per Game	32.7	33.9
Opp. Rebound Per Game	34.6	34.8
Rebound Margin	-1.9	-0.9
Assists Per Game	14.0	11.6
Turnovers Per Game	14.4	13.7
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.97	0.84
Turnover Margin	-3.4	+0.9
Steals Per Game	5.2	7.6
Blocks Per Game	2.2	3.2

The Starting 5...

Braelen Bridges leads the SEC and ranks No. 4 nationally in FG pct. .642...which also is second-best ever by a Bulldog.
Aaron Cook will be playing in his 164th college basketball game, the third-most ever by any MBB Division I player.
Aaron Cook's 161 assists ranks No. 3 among UGA's all-time season leaders...and is 8 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 30 games played this season...and 38 in his last 41 GP dating back to last season.

The Opening Tip

Georgia opens play in the 2022 SEC Tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Wednesday with a matchup against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs and Commodores will face off at approximately 8:00, 30 minutes after the first game of the evening between Ole Miss and Missouri.

Georgia sports a 48-58 an all-time record in 61 SEC Tournaments. The Bulldogs are 39-39 in SEC Tourney action since the event resumed in 1979 after a 27-season hiatus from 1953-79.

Georgia won SEC Tournament titles in 1983 and 2008 and also finished as the runners-up in 1940, 1981, 1988 and 1997.

Georgia has reached the semifinals 15 times, most recently doing so in 2016.

A year ago, Georgia suffered a 73-70 setback to Missouri in a second-round matchup of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

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

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

Series History With Vandy

Vanderbilt owns a 93-56 lead in all-time meetings between UGA and VU, including a 6-2 mark in the SEC Tourney.
The Commodores swept a pair of meetings this season, besting the Bulldogs, 73-66, in Athens on Jan. 15 and again two and a half weeks later, 85-77, in Nashville.

Most recently at Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 29, Aaron Cook's 18-point performance led a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures at Vanderbilt. Noah Baumann and Kario Oquendo chipped in 15 points apiece, and Braelen Bridges added 14.

The Commodores scored the game's first four points and never trailed.

Georgia shot 51.9 percent from the field and 81.0 percent from the line but only connected on just 23.5 percent of its 3-pointers. Conversely, Vanderbilt shot better from 3-point range (52.2 percent) than overall (50.9 percent).

Jaxon Etter's career-high 16-point performance led Georgia in the matchup at Stegeman Coliseum.

The walk-on from Woodstock, Ga., connected on 5-of-8 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, and 2-of-2 trips to the line en route to the first double-figure outing of his career.

Georgia led by as many as 14 points in the first half, building a 34-20 lead at the 1:43 mark. Vanderbilt closed the period and opened the next on a combined 18-0 run and led the rest of the evening.

Georgia and Vanderbilt last faced off in SEC Tournament play in 2018. The Bulldogs scored the game's first 10 points and then kept a comfortable lead the rest of the evening en route to a 78-62 victory in the opening round at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Mo.

The Bulldogs led 24-13 with 8:00 left in the first half and then exploded on a 14-0 run to blow the game open.

SEC Player of the Year Yante Maten paced Georgia with 25 points, his 16th 20-point outing of the season. A trio of Bulldog freshmen also were key to the victory. Teshaun Hightower and Rayshaun Hammonds added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Nicolas Claxton chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Scouting The Dores

Vanderbilt arrives in Tampa with a 15-15 overall record. The Commodores defeated Ole Miss, 63-61, in their regular-season finale last Saturday to complete their league slate with a 7-11 mark.

Scotty Pippen Jr. has all but locked up the SEC scoring title for the 2021-22 season. He is averaging 20.5 ppg, 1.6 ppg more than any other player in the conference. Jordan Wright also is scoring at a double-digit pace of 11.7 ppg and grabs a team-best 6.3 rpg. Pippen, Wright and Quentin Millora-Brown, who is contributing 5.5 ppg and 5.7 rpg, have started every game for the Commodores this season.

Last Time Out

Braelen Bridges' 19-point outing led a trio of Bulldogs in double figures in a 79-69 loss at Missouri in Georgia's regular-season finale last Saturday.

Kario Oquendo added 17 points, and St. Louis native Aaron Cook chipped in 17.

Georgia raced to a 9-0 start over the opening 2:05 and quickly pushed that margin to 16-2 with 16:02 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs still maintained a 14-point advantage at 35-21 at the 5:32 mark of the opening period.

Missouri chipped away and eventually tied the game at 51-51 with 12:12 remaining and outscored Georgia 13-3 over the next 5:48.

Where Did He Come From?

If you reviewed the NCAA and SEC statistical leaders on Monday morning and thought, "Wait, Braelen Bridges has the fourth-best field goal percentage in the country? How did I miss that?"

You didn't.

Though Bridges has scored in double figures in a team-high 24 games – and notched nine points in four of the other seven outings – he had been shy of the minimum of 5.0 FGs per game to be included in those rankings.

With 22 makes in his last three outings, Bridges upped his season total to 156 field goals in 31 games, one more than needed to be ranked.

After not being ranked for months, Bridges reappeared on Monday. Prior to that, he was last included on Dec. 17, nine games into the season, when he was No. 8.

Entering this week, Bridges was atop all SEC players and ranked No. 4 nationally.

NCAA FG Percentage Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player, School	GP	FG-FGA
1.	.667	Zach Eddy, Purdue	31	184-276
2.	.651	Jalyn Hinton, SE Louisiana	30	155-238
3.	.645	Enrique Freeman, Akron	30	151-234
4.	.642	Braelen Bridges, Georgia	31	156-243
5.	.636	Kevin Samuel, FGCU	31	168-264

Cook's Career: NCAA Wise

"Super senior" Aaron Cook will be participating in his 164th college basketball game against Vanderbilt, which at tipoff 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 31st at Georgia against Vandy.

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 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 174th game on March 6. Entering this week, 71 players had joined the previous 13 to reach the 150 GP milestone.

NCAA Division I Career GP Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player, School	Seasons
1.	174	Jordan Bohannon, Iowa	2016-22
2.	169	Chevez Goodwin, USC	2016-22
3.	164	Aaron Cook, Georgia	2016-22
	164	Garrison Brooks, Miss. St.	2017-22
	164	Justin Kier, Arizona	2016-22

B.B. Claims, Loses UGA Record

Braelen Bridges entered the regular-season finale sporting the best single-season field goal percentage in Georgia history...but now ranks No. 2.

With his 6-of-7 shooting performance against Tennessee on Feb. 26, Bridges claimed the UGA record by the slimmest of margins. At that point, he had connected on 148-of-230 shots from the field, a conversion rate of 64.348 percent. That slid him past Lavon Mercer's effort of 64.317 (146-of-227) in 1978-79.

Bridges' percentage ascended slightly more in the Missouri game, topping out at 64.854 when he was 7-of-9 and 155-of-240 on the year. He was 1-of-4 the rest of the way against the Tigers, dipping back to 64.2 percent as outlined below.

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 until a 3-of-4 night at Texas A&M on Feb. 22 pushed him past Bob Lienhard to the second slot and the outing against the Volunteers inched him past Mercer.

In addition, Bridges now possesses the 15th-best shooting percentage in SEC history. The league record is 72.6 percent set by Alabama's Donta Hall during the 2017-18 campaign as outlined on the next page.

Bridges' ultimate status on both lists is obviously contingent on his performance in the Bulldogs' remaining games.

UGA Season FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FG-FGA
1.	.643	Lavon Mercer	1979	146-227
2.	.642	Braelen Bridges	2022	156-243
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

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 11 assists against Texas A&M and Florida, Cook ascended all the way from No. 11 to No. 3 on that ledger.

Cook enters the SEC Tournament 80¢ – as in eight 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.	161	Aaron Cook	2022	30
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. 5 among Georgia's season free throw percentage leaders ledger at .861. 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 40.6 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	68-79
5.	.861	Christian Wright	2022	57-67

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.	.407	Billy Humphrey	2007	50-123
	.407	Bernard Davis	1993	55-135
12.	.406	Noah Baumann	2022	58-143

Their Mann is Our Mann's Bro

Vanderbilt sophomore Jamaine Mann is the younger brother of former Georgia standout Charles Mann.

Charles played in 132 games, second-most ever at UGA and the most within a four-year career, and started 106 of those. After moving into the starting lineup late in his freshman year, Charles got the nod for 98 of 100 contests over his final three seasons

An All-SEC performer, Mann is No. 15 among Georgia's career scoring leaders with 1,411 points. He scored 43.8 percent of those at the free throw line. Mann is the Bulldogs' career record holder in FT attempts (896) and makes (618) and is No. 2 in SEC history in trips to the charity stripe behind only "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Charles also is No. 6 in career assists by a Bulldog with 400.

Charles is now in his first season as an assistant coach at Army.

Oquendo's Production Leaps

Kario Oquendo enters the SEC Tournament 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	18.3	+6.8
2.	Scotty Pippen Jr. VU	18.1	22.1	+4.0
3.	Iverson Molinar, MSU	16.5	18.8	+2.3
4.	JD Notae, ARK	17.8	19.7	+1.9

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.

Last Tuesday'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 produced the No. 3 for SportsCenter following his third highlight reel effort against South Caroline State. He stole the ball at midcourt with no defender in sight, 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.

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 30 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 41 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. 15 nationally in free throw makes (482) and No. 24 in free throw takes (646). Georgia is ranked No. 75 nationally in free throw percentage at .746.

The Bulldogs lead the SEC and are even more efficient in league play. Against conference foes, Georgia is shooting a sizzling 77.7 percent (289-of-372) at the charity stripe.

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, 75.3 percent (58 of 77) of Baumann's made FGs have been 3s, and he is shooting 40.6 percent on 3-pointers.

Career-wise, 72.3 percent (204 of 282) of Baumann's made FGs are 3-pointers, and he is converting on a considerably better clip from outside the arc (.426) 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 5.2 ppg) and rebounding (to 3.0 rpg) and upped his PT four fold to 25.5 mpg.

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 six "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	81	31	2.6
2.	Braelen Bridges, UGA	58	31	1.9
3.	Jabari Smith, AU	56	31	1.8
4.	Colin Castleton, UF	40	25	1.6
5.	Quentin Milora-Brown, VU	40	30	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, who led UGA in 3-pointers and was 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 72 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	6200	3344	53.9
Scoring	2183	1271	58.2
Rebounds	910	502	55.2
Assists	434	281	64.7
Blocks	68	37	54.4
Steals	162	76	46.9

Wright Scores Savvily

There was a common them in Christian Wright's double-figure scoring outputs against No. 18 Memphis, at No. 2 Auburn and at South Carolina.

The freshman from The Skill Factory 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 those contests.

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.

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 as outlined below.

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."

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Tyrone Baker

Noah Baumann

Braelen Bridges

Aaron Cook

Jaxon Etter

P.J. Horne

Jailyn Ingram

Justin Kier

Jonathan Ned

Kario Oquendo

Dalen Ridgnal

Sahvir Wheeler

Christian Wright