MBB Notes: Dogs To Face Cats At Rupp On Tuesday

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (13-4, 3-1 SEC) vs. Kentucky (11-6, 2-3 SEC)
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (25,000) in Lexington, Ky.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, pbp; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie (producer)) | Affiliates
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, pbp; Jimmy Dykes, analyst; Marty Smith, sideline reporter)
Video Stream: SECN+/ESPN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM: 380; SXM App: 970
History: UK leads 130-27 (Full History)
Last Meeting: UK, 92-77, on Jan. 8, 2022

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mike White
12-4 in 1st at UGA
255-132 in 12th season overall
0	Terry Roberts	15.6	3.9
(6-3; 180; Sr.; North Amityville, N.Y)
3	Kario Oquendo	13.1	3.4
(6-4; 220; Jr.; Titusville, Fla.)
12	Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe	6.8	5.5
(6-8; 215; Jr.; Toronto, Ontario)
13	Mardrez McBride	4.6	2.5
(6-2; 180; 5th Year; Augusta, Ga.)
23	Braelen Bridges	7.8	4.6
(6-11; 245; 5th Year; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Coach: John Calipari
376-107 in 11th season at UK
821-247 in 31st season overall
0	Jacob Toppin	10.6	6.3
(6-9; 205; Sr.; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
1	C.J. Fredrick	8.1	0.8
(6-3; 185; R-Sr.; Cincinnati, Ohio)
22	Cason Wallace	10.9	3.5
(6-4; 193; Fr.; Dallas, Texas)
24	Chris Livingston	5.4	2.9
(6-6; 220; Soph.; Akron, Ohio)
34	Oscar Tshiebwe	15.9	13.1
(6-9; 260; Sr.; Lubumbashi, D.R. of the Congo)

TEAM COMPARISON

2022-23 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	KENTUCKY
Points Per Game	70.5	75.5
Opp. Point Per Game	63.9	66.8
Scoring Margin	+.6.6	+8.7
Field Goal Pct.	.422	.456
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.409	.422
3-Point Pct.	.342	.375
3-Pointers Per Game	7.1	7.4
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.277	.341
Free Throw Pct.	.746	.674
Free Throws Per Game	15.5	12.3
Rebounds Per Game	39.1	39.3
Opp. Rebound Per Game	33.1	31.2
Rebound Margin	+6.0	+8.1
Assists Per Game	12.0	16.5
Turnovers Per Game	13.9	11.9
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.86	1.38
Turnover Margin	-1.6	+0.8
Steals Per Game	6.8	6.9
Blocks Per Game	3.2	5.8

The Starting 5...

UGA is off to its first 3-1 start in SEC play since 2016-17 and looking to go 4-1 for first time since 2013-14.
Terry Roberts is the SEC's leading scorer in conference action, averaging 20.3 ppg in a quartet of league dates.
Against Miss. State, Braelen Bridges notched his 1000th point and 500th rebound in the 100th game of his D-I career.
UGA's assist-to-TO ratio is up by +.23 since Thanksgiving, the best improvement by an SEC team during that span.
Mike White secured the 250th victory of his head coaching career with UGA's win over Florida A&M on Dec. 2.

The Opening Tip

Georgia looks to continue to build upon its recent momentum when the Bulldogs travel to Lexington on Tuesday to face Kentucky.

Georgia has won six of its last seven outings since returning to action following Final Exams. Georgia is 13-4 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, win totals that are more than double those for all of last season.

Last Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated Ole Miss, 62-58, in Oxford, Georgia's first road win since winning at Auburn on Feb. 2, 2021. Coupled with last Wednesday's win over Mississippi State, Georgia also recorded its first back-to-back conference wins in two seasons.

The Bulldogs are 3-1 in the SEC, matching their best beginning in league play in six seasons since the 2016-17 campaign.

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

Jailyn Ingram is...
• 26 points from 1,500 for his career

Series History Kentucky

Kentucky owns a 130-27 advantage in the all-time series between UGA and UK, including a 63-5 edge in Lexington.

Last season on Jan. 8, Kario Oquendo's 22 points lead a quartet of double-figure scorers in a 92-77 setback to No. 13/16 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

Oquendo also led Georgia with seven rebounds, while Aaron Cook added 17 points, Noah Baumann contributed 14 and Braelen Bridges finished with 10.

Georgia led for 14:05 of a back-and-forth first half that featured no less than five ties and 10 lead changes. Kentucky expanded a three-point, 40-37 advantage at the intermission to 12 points with 15:26 remaining and never allowed the Bulldogs closer than eight points thereafter.

Scouting The Wildcats

Kentucky improved to 11-6 overall and 2-3 in SEC play with the Wildcats' 63-56 upset at No. 5 Tennessee last Saturday.

Preseason SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe is averaging a double-double of 15.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He leads a quartet of Cats scoring at a double-figure clip. In addition, Antonio Reeves is contributing 12.2 ppg, Cason Wallace is chipping in 10.9 ppg and Jacob Toppin is adding 10.6 ppg.

Former Bulldog Sahvir Wheeler, who missed the Tennessee contest with an injury, leads Kentucky and the SEC in assists, delivering 6.3 apg and also scores 9.5 ppg.

Last Time Out

Kario Oquendo scored all of his game-high 15 points in the second half to lead Georgia in a 62-58 victory over Ole Miss in Oxford last Saturday.

Terry Roberts added 14 points and game-high tallies of seven rebounds and five assists.

Oquendo took over the game late. With Georgia trailing 54-50 and 5:44 remaining, he scored all of the Bulldogs' points in a 12-4 run to close out the contest. Oquendo hit back-to-back 3-pointers that flipped the score from down 56-54 to up 60-56.

Following an Ole Miss bucket, Oquendo knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to ice the victory.

In A Matter Of Days

Georgia's win at Ole Miss on Saturday was the Bulldogs' first road victory since they defeated Auburn, 91-86, on Feb. 2, 2021 – a span or 711 days.

The win also improved Georgia is 3-1 in the SEC, the Bulldogs' best start in conference play in six seasons. Georgia was last 3-1 in the league on Jan. 11, 2017 – a span of 2,204 days.

Roberts Paces SEC Scorers

Terry Roberts is the SEC's leading scorer in conference action, averaging 20.3 points per game in league outings.

Roberts opened SEC competition with a career-high 26 points – with 13 in each half – against No. 22/20 Auburn. He followed that with 25 points at Florida before "cooling off" to score only 16 against Mississippi State and 14 at Ole Miss.

Healthy M-A Makes A Difference

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe was hindered after suffering an ankle sprain in the season opener against Western Carolina.

The junior from Ontario missed two games before returning to play in the next four contests. He then had two more DNPs prior to the Georgia Tech contest.

In the Bulldogs' last eight outings, Moncrieffe has been both Georgia's most efficient shooter and productive rebounder.

During that span, Moncrieffe has converted on 24-of-39 shots from the field – 61.5 percent. He also has posted his first three double-digit outings as a Bulldog – 11 points at Tech, 15 versus Notre Dame and 10 against Mississippi State.

Moncrieffe is averaging at team-best 6.4 rpg in his last eight outings and grabbed team-high tallies of seven boards against Chattanooga, six versus Rider and a season-best nine against Auburn.

Dogs Sport Impressive Depth

We think it's safe to say that Georgia is the nation's only team in the nation where every player who has seen action is averaging double-digit minutes.

Individually, Bulldogs who have checked in this season are averaging between 11.3-30.2 minutes per game.

Defending Outside The Arc

Georgia enters this week ranked No. 8 nationally in 3-point defense, with the Bulldogs' opponents connecting on just 27.7 percent (101-of-364) attempts from outside the arc.

Georgia's defense from 3-point range has been even better in league play, a more paltry 24.0 percent (23-of-96).

The Bulldogs are on their way to having one of the best 3-point defense marks in program history. Only once has Georgia held its opponents to less than 30 percent from outside the arc, when foes shot just 29.3 percent in 1993-94.

Dogs, Cats Battle On Boards

Kentucky and Georgia sport two of the best rebound margins in college hoops. The Wildcats entered this week tied for 10th nationally at +8.1 rpg, while the Bulldogs are 30th at +6.0 rpg.

Kentucky's rebound count gets a huge boost from Oscar Tshiebwe, who leads the SEC and ranks second nationally at 13.1 rpg. Georgia's boarding has been a team effort as no Bulldog is ranked among the top 350 rebounders in the nation; however, eight are currently averaging between 3.0-5.5 rpg.

Georgia has won the rebound count in 14 of 17 games.

Kario Clutch In Oxford

Kario Oquendo scored Georgia's final 12 points in the Bulldogs' 62-48 road win over Ole Miss last Saturday. In fact, the junior from Titusville, Fla., scored all of his game-high 15 points in the second half in Oxford.

With Georgia trailing 54-50, Oquendo began his surge with a thunderous driving dunk. After the Rebels answered, he finished at the rim to make it 56-54. Back-to-back 3-pointer at the 2:20 and 1:04 marks put the Bulldogs up 60-56.

Ole Miss scored with 42 seconds left before Oquendo sank both ends of a one-and-one with three seconds remaining.

Holt Gives Bulldogs Juice

Jusaun "Juice" Holt's stats in Georgia's consecutive wins over Mississippi State and Ole Miss were relatively pedestrian – combined totals of six points, seven rebounds and two steals in 33 minutes of action.

Thanks to the relatively recent addition of "+/-" on box scores, a lot of the "little things" that don't traditionally show up are measured in a quantifiable way. By those standards, Holt was the Bulldogs' most productive player in the last two outings. He was a team-best "+17" against State and led Georgia with a "+13" mark in Oxford.

With Holt on the floor, the Bulldogs were a combined "+30" against State and Ole Miss.

Taking Advantage At The Line

Georgia connected on 13-of-14 attempts at the free throw line against Ole Miss, which equated to a season-best 92.9 percent.

The Bulldogs' red-hot shooting at the stripe actually dates back to the previous outing against Mississippi State. Georgia connected on 17-of-18 free throws in the second half of that contest.

Combining the two, the Bulldogs have made 30-of-32 free throws – an almost unfathomable 93.8 percent – over their last 60 minutes of action.

Anselem Protecting The Rim

The defensive presence of Frank Anselem has increased significantly of late.

The junior from Lagos, Nigeria, enters this week ranked No. 9 in blocks per game in SEC action, swatting 1.5 shots per game against league flows.

That comes after Anselem did not record a single block in Georgia's first eight outings

In the seven games since the Bulldogs returned to action following Final Exams, Anselem has averaged 1.7 blocks, including a career-high three swats against Chattanooga.

A Milestone Night For Bridges

Braelen Bridges recorded a trio of significant career statistical achievements in Georgia's win over Mississippi State.

The senior from Atlanta accomplished the first at tipoff, which was the 100th outing of his college career in four seasons at UIC and Georgia.

At the 3:42 mark of the first half, Bridges grabbed his fifth rebound of the night, more notable in that it also was his 500th board.

Most significant were the two free throws with 25 seconds on the clock. Those pushed Georgia's lead to two possessions and Bridges' career scoring tally to 1000.

Thankful We're Less Giving

Georgia's ball security numbers have taken a distinct turn since Turkey Day.

The Bulldogs recorded more turnovers than assists in each of the first six games prior to Thanksgiving, to the combined tune of 62 assists to 99 TOs. That equated to a paltry 0.63 assist-to-TO ratio.

The Bulldogs have produced even or positive ratios in nine of 11 contests since then. In those outings, Georgia has delivered 142 assists and committed 138 turnovers, a much more respectable a 1.03 assist-to-TO effort.

But We're Most Improved...

in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ration since Thanksgiving.

On the season, Georgia ranks 13th in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.86; however, the Bulldogs' improvement taking care of the basketball since Thanksgiving is the best in the league.

Since Turkey Day, half of the SEC's teams have produced a better assist-to-TO ratio than their games prior to the holiday, while the other seven's ratios have dropped. The Bulldogs own the most positive up-tick as outlined below.

Although "Thanksgiving" seems like a random line to draw, every SEC team had played either five or six games as of Nov. 24 so it seemed like a solid reference point to observe.

Assist-To-TOs Since Turkey Day
Team	11/24	1/12	Diff.
Georgia	0.63	0.86	+.23
LSU	0.92	1.06	+.14
S. Carolina	0.70	0.84	+.14
Tennessee	1.18	1.32	+.14
Texas A&M	0.96	1.07	+.11
Auburn	1.01	1.04	+.03
Alabama	0.99	1.00	+.01

He Ain't Roy Kent, But...

if you peruse SEC statistical leaders, Terry Roberts may have you thinking "He's here. He's there. He's "...and we better stop right there.

The senior from North Amityville, N.Y., enters this weekend ranked among league leaders in six categories – No. 3 in assists (4.2 apg), No. 4 in free throw percentage (.833), No. 5 in scoring (15.6 ppg), No. 9 in steals (1.8 spg), No. 11 in field goal percentage (.389) and No. 14 in assist-to-TO ratio (1.46).

A Very Productive Bench

Georgia's reserves have come off the bench to score 408 points this season, accounting for 34.1 percent of the 1,198 points put up by the Bulldogs.

Georgia's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves 408-245, a massive +163 margin...or 9.6 points per game.

The Bulldogs have won the "bench battle" in 14 of 17 games and tied Auburn in another. Georgia has a relatively massive "+20" margin in five of those contests, headlined by a season-high "+25" (27-2) tally versus ETSU.

Dogs' Home Winning Streaks

Georgia is 10-0 at Stegeman Coliseum this season, making this just the sixth bunch of Bulldogs ever to post a double-figure home winning streak. In fact, the current home streak is the Georgia's sixth-longest overall and fifth-best in a single season as outlined below.

The Bulldogs' longest stretch of home success in one season came when the 1930-31 Bulldogs produced the only perfect home record in program history and went 16-0 at old Woodruff Hall.

Georgia's longest overall home winning streak is 25 games. That span includes the final three home games of the 1929-30 season, the 16-0 mark the following year and the first six dates in Athens during Georgia's 1931-32 Southern Conference Championship season.

UGA Hoops Overall Home Win Streaks
Rk.	W's	Span
1.	25	1930-32
2.	20	1939-40
3.	15	1989-90
4.	13	2002-03
5.	11	1998-99
6.	10	2022-23
	10	2007-08
	10	1985-86

UGA Hoops Single Season Home Win Streaks
Rk.	W's	Span
1.	16	1930-31
2.	13	1939-40
3.	12	1989-90
4.	11	2002-03
5.	10	2022-23
	10	2007-08

White Is Stellar At Stegeman

Georgia's 10-game home winning streak has extended Mike White's almost unfathomable success at Stegeman Coliseum.

White was 7-1 in the arena before he became the Bulldogs' head coach. He led Louisiana Tech to an NIT victory over Georgia at Stegeman in 2014 and then was 6-1 against the Bulldogs in seven seasons at Florida from 2015-22.

Quick math adding in a 10-0 mark this season reveals a 17-1 mark for White in the venue. A calculator was used to determine his almost unfathomable 94.4 percent winning percentage.

Dogs Earn Historical "W"

The 2022-23 season already supplied one of Georgia's most fruitful pre-New Year efforts ever.

The Bulldogs wrapped up their pre-SEC slate at 10-3 following a Dec. 28 victory over Rider – just the fourth time in program history the Bulldogs compiled a double-digit win total prior January.

Interestingly, each of the previous squads to obtain that standard – from the 1996-97, 2001-02 and 2010-11 seasons – notched 11 victories before January arrived. Those teams all went on to compete in "March Madness"...although the 2002 appearance was later vacated.

Numerous other Georgia squads came up just shy of attaining the pre-January double-digit qualifier.

Eleven editions of the Bulldogs recorded nine victories before the calendar flipped, most recently in 2019-20. Of those, four were 9-1, two were 9-2, three were 9-3, one was 9-4 and one was 9-5.

Bulldogs Fight Through

Georgia's 10-3 start was more impressive considering the DNPs and missed practices endured during non-conference play.

Only three Bulldogs – Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges and Mardrez McBride – have played in every contest, and six Bulldogs have missed a combined 16 outings due to injury or illness. In fact, the Notre Dame game – the 11th contest of the campaign – was the first outing when every player on Georgia's roster was available for action.

Georgia has mixed and matched eight Bulldogs to comprise eight different starting lineups. No player has started every game, although three – Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Kario Oquendo and Terry Roberts – have gotten the nod for every game they've played. UGA's game-by-game starters can be found above.

Dogs Match 2021-22 Win Total

While a 6-win season will certainly never be celebrated, it is worth noting that Georgia notched is sixth victory of the 2022-23 season with a Nov. 30 "W" over Hampton. With that, the Bulldogs matched their win total for last season 24 days into Mike White's first season.

Bridges Earns SEC POTW

Braelen Bridges was named SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 19, a day after his 18-point performance in a Holiday Hoopsgiving win over Notre Dame.

Bridges was a perfect 9-of-9 from the field against the Fighting Irish and scored 18 points in just 18 minutes of playing time.

Bridges became the Bulldogs' first SEC Player of the Week since Toumani Camara on Dec. 21, 2020. He is the 29th Georgia player to earn SEC Player of the Week accolades since the award's inception in 1985. Those Bulldogs have combined to secure 40 SEC POTW certificates.

White Earns Win No. 250

Mike White captured the 250th victory of his head coaching career with Georgia's Dec. 2 win over Florida A&M.

White compiled a 101-40 record in four seasons in Louisiana Tech from 2011-15. That included a trio 27-win efforts in each of his final three seasons, which helped give White the best winning percentage (.716) of any coach in program history.

In seven campaigns at Florida from 2015-22, White posted a 142-88 record. He reached 100 victories with the Gators in 158 games, the second-fastest pace ever by a Florida basketball coach behind only Billy Donovan (154 games). Under White, the Gators were one of only six programs to record a victory in the four NCAA Tournaments contested between 2017-21.

Bulldogs Sign Top-25 class

Georgia opened the NCAA's early signing period on Nov. 9 with a bang, inking a top-25 recruiting class comprised of two of the nation's top-100 prospects. Lamariyon "Mari" Jordan and Dylan James were ranked No. 72 and No. 94 nationally by ESPN.com, respectively.

"It's an exciting day for us to be able to sign two players that we targeted and invested a lot of time and energy in," Mike White said. "Both of these guys are excited to be Bulldogs."

James, a 6-9, 190-pound forward, helped lead Winter Haven High to the semifinals of the 2022 Florida Class 6A state tournament. He was selected as the Lakeland Ledger's Player of the Year after averaging 15.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season for the Blue Devils, who finished with a 23-8 overall record.

Jordan, a 6-6, 185-pound forward, was tabbed first-team All-State for Class 6A by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a junior after averaging 19.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game for Dacula High. Over three seasons, Jordan compiled 1,257 points, 434 rebounds, 128 blocks, 109 assists and 104 steals for the Falcons.

A "March Madness" Pedigree

Five of Georgia's six first-year transfers played for teams that reached the 2021 or 2022 NCAA Tournaments.

Justin Hill (Longwood) and Jusaun Holt (Alabama) both took part in the "Big Dance" last spring. Frank Anselem (Syracuse), Madrez McBride (North Texas) and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (Oklahoma State) all had tickets punched to the 2021 edition of "March Madness."

Oquendo Named All-SEC

Kario Oquendo was tabbed second-team preseason All-SEC by league coaches. Last season, he was Georgia's scoring leader, both overall (15.2 ppg) and in SEC play (18.3 ppg). Oquendo was the SEC's leading returning scorer in league action last season.

Bridges Finds Bottom Of Net

Braelen Bridges converted on 63.4 percent of his shots from the floor for Georgia last season. That not only led the SEC and ranked No. 7 nationally, it was one of the most efficient campaigns ever for UGA and in league history.

The Union Grove High School product knocked down 161 of his 264 field goals in his first year as a Bulldog in 2021-22.

Among the best single-season field goal percentages for the Bulldogs and within the SEC, Bridges' effort ranks No. 2 and No. 17 all-time, respectively.

Bridges became the first Bulldog to pace the SEC in shooting efficiency since Lavon Mercer did so in 1980 at 61.1 percent. Interestingly, Mercer set the UGA record (64.3 percent) in 1979 but did not lead the SEC that season.

Ingram Offers Experience

According to research by Middle Tennessee's SID staff, Jailyn Ingram is one of five seventh-year men's players in Division-I basketball this season.

The Madison, Ga., native and Morgan County High graduate, spent five seasons at Florida Atlantic before returning to his home state prior to the 2021-22 season.

Ingram played in 122 games for the Owls from 2016-21, including a redshirt campaign in 2018-19. All told, he recorded 1,334 points and 630 rebounds for the Owls, which are the No. 6 and No. 3 totals in program history.

Ingram played in nine games last season for Georgia before suffering a season-ending injury on Dec. 7 against Jacksonville. He received an additional red-shirt from the NCAA to return to the Bulldogs this season.

That makes Ingram among of quintet of players – including a well traveled Nittany Lion – competing for a seventh college basketball season this winter as outlined below.

7th-Year Super Duper Seniors
Name	Schools
Jailyn Ingram	FAU, Georgia
DeAndre Dishman	EKU, MTSU
Juan Munoz	Longwood, Hawaii
DeJuan Clayton	Coppin State, Cal
Michael Henn	UC-Davis, Cal Baptist, Portland, Denver, Penn State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Frank Anselem-Ibe

Noah Baumann

Braelen Bridges

Aaron Cook

Justin Hill

Jusaun Holt

Jailyn Ingram

Mardrez McBride

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Kario Oquendo

Terry Roberts