MBB Game Notes: Georgia Travels To Gainesville To Face Gators

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (11-3, 1-0 SEC) vs. Florida (7-7, 0-2 SEC)
Saturday, January 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.
Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center (10,151) in Gainesville, Fla.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Jeff Dantzler, pbp; Brett Holcomb, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, pbp; Jon Sundvold, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM: 384; SXM App: 974
History: UF leads, 120-105 (Full History)
Last Meeting: UF, 84-72, on Feb. 26, 2022

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mike White
11-3 in 1st at UGA
254-131 in 12th season overall
0	Terry Roberts	15.0	3.5
(6-3; 180; Sr.; North Amityville, N.Y)
3	Kario Oquendo	14.5	3.9
(6-4; 220; Jr.; Titusville, Fla.)
12	Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe	6.3	5.3
(6-8; 215; Jr.; Toronto, Ontario)
13	Mardrez McBride	5.1	2.6
(6-2; 180; 5th Year; Augusta, Ga.)
23	Braelen Bridges	7.4	4.3
(6-11; 245; 5th Year; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Florida Gators
Coach: Todd Golden
7-7 in 1st season at UF
64-43 in 4th season overall
2	Trey Bonham	10.6	2.9
(6-0; 170; Jr.; Mobile, Ala.)
3	Alex Fudge	7.9	5.3
(6-9; 200; Soph.; Jacksonville, Fla.
5	Will Richard	9.8	4.0
(6-4; 206; Soph.; Fairburn, Ga.)
11	Kyle Lofton	8.4	2.6
(6-3; 188; Grad.; Hillside, N.J.)
12	Colin Castleton	14.9	7.4
(6-11; 250; Grad.; Deland, Fla.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2022-23 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	FLORIDA
Points Per Game	71.6	74.2
Opp. Point Per Game	64.0	66.6
Scoring Margin	+7.6	+7.6
Field Goal Pct.	.438	.451
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.410	.409
3-Point Pct.	.343	.343
3-Pointers Per Game	7.0	6.7
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.284	.336
Free Throw Pct.	.732	.747
Free Throws Per Game	15.2	15.2
Rebounds Per Game	38.4	36.1
Opp. Rebound Per Game	32.3	35.1
Rebound Margin	+6.1	+1.0
Assists Per Game	12.6	12.0
Turnovers Per Game	14.1	12.1
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.89	0.99
Turnover Margin	-1.4	+1.1
Steals Per Game	7.1	6.4
Blocks Per Game	3.4	5.8

The Starting 5...

UGA defeated No. 22/20 Auburn on Wednesday, its first "W" in an SEC opener since the 2017-18 season.
With a win, UGA would double both its overall and SEC win totals for the entire 2021-22 season.
Only 3 Dogs have played in every game and 6 have recorded a combined 16 DNPs due to injury or illness.
UGA's bench has scored 355 points with a +186 (13.3 ppg) margin over its opponents' reserves to date.
Mike White secured the 250th victory of his head coaching career with UGA's win over Florida A&M on Dec. 2.
Plus One
Georgia freshman Brandon Klatsky is the brother of Gator redshirt junior Alex Klatsky and both his parents – Brian and Nicole – are Florida graduates.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs and their modest four-team winning streak travel to Gainesville on Saturday afternoon to meet the Florida Gators. The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive 76-64 victory over No. 22/20 Auburn on Wednesday night. Georgia led for 38:28 of the contest and trailed only once – at 24-23 – for all of 14 seconds. The win was the Bulldogs' first in an SEC opener in five seasons, since Georgia defeated Auburn, 96-84, on Dec. 29, 2017. The Bulldogs' 11 victories to date is one "W" shy of doubling their win total from last season. In fact, Georgia won six games in November, taking just 24 days in Mike White's first season to reach the number of "Ws" earned during the entire 2021-22 campaign.

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

Braelen Bridges is...
• 21 points from 1,000 for his career
• 10 rebounds from 500 for his career

Jailyn Ingram is...
• 2 rebounds from 700 for his career
• 28 points from 1,500 for his career

Series History With Florida

Florida possesses a 120-105 advantage in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Gators.

Georgia and Florida last met on Feb. 26 last season in Stegeman Coliseum. Kario Oquendo scored 20 points – his 10th 20-point outing of the season and eighth in SEC play – however the Gators still defeated the Bulldogs, 84-72.

Braelen Bridges added 16 points, his team-leading 22nd double-figure performance during the 2021-22 campaign.

A back-and-forth first half featured eight lead changes before the Gators inched out to a 41-34 lead at the intermission. Florida then opened the second stanza with a 10-0 surge to seize control of the contest.

In the most recent matchup in Gainesville last Feb. 9, the Gators thwarted a late rally to secure a 72-63 victory.

Oquendo, a native of Titusville, Fla., enjoyed an extremely productive return to his home state. He scored 22 points to go along with career-best efforts of eight rebounds and four steals.

Florida jumped out to an 18-8 lead midway through the first half and maintained a multiple possession edge until late in the game. After trailing 64-51 with 6:04 left, the Bulldogs used a 10-0 surge to pull within three points with 2:56 remaining. Florida responded with a 5-0 surge to regain control.

Scouting The Gators

Florida enters the weekend with a 7-7 overall record and an 0-2 mark in SEC. The Gators have suffered three straight losses, including successive three-point setbacks to Auburn and Texas A&M.

Colin Castleton leads the Gators in just about every significant statistical average, contributing 14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.1 steals. He ranks seventh nationally in bpg.

Trey Bonham and Kowacie Reeves also are scoring at a double-digit pace for Florida. Bonham is putting up 10.6 ppg, while Reeves chips in 10.0.

Last Time Out

Terry Roberts poured in a career-high 26 points to lead Georgia in an impressive 76-64 victory over No. 22/20 Auburn in the Bulldogs' SEC opener on Wednesday.

Roberts put up 13 points in each half, and Kario Oquendo added 17 points. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe fell just shy of a double-double performance, with nine points and nine boards.

The Bulldogs led for 38:28 of the contest and trailed only once – at 24-23 – for all of 14 seconds.

Georgia grabbed a 21-10 lead at the 10:08 mark before the Tigers responded with a 14-2 surge to gain their only advantage of the evening at the 4:12 mark. Roberts quickly responded on the Bulldogs' next possession.

After leading 37-30 at the intermission, Georgia maintained a two-possession or larger edge advantage throughout the second stanza. The margin bulged to 13 points twice, and the Bulldogs led by double digits for all but 10 seconds of the final 6:14.

The victory over Georgia's first in an SEC opener in five seasons, since defeating Auburn, 96-84, on Dec. 29, 2017.

We'll Start With The Obvious

Georgia head coach Mike White spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach at Florida.

White posted a 142-88 record at Florida from 2015-22. 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 the only SEC program to earn a bid to the four NCAA Tournaments contested between 2017-21. In addition, Florida was a consensus pick among bracketologists to earn at bid to "March Madness" in 2020 before it was canceled.

More impressively, the Gators were one of only six programs in the nation to record a victory in each of the NCAA Tournaments between 2017-21.

If You Can't Beat him, Hire Him

Mike White compiled a 12-3 record against Georgia in his previous stints at Louisiana Tech and Florida.

White led La. Tech to 79-71 victory over the Bulldogs in the 2014 NIT. He then compiled an 11-3 mark in seven seasons with the Gators from 2015-22.

Stegeman Coliseum has been especially kind to White. In addition to the 1-0 record at Louisiana Tech, he was 6-1 against the Bulldogs while at Florida and is now 9-0 at Stegeman this season.

Quick math reveals a 16-1 mark in the venue. A calculator was used to determine his 94.1 percent winning percentage at Stegeman.

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 positive ratios in six of eight contests since then and were even in assists-to-TOs in the other two (Notre Dame and Auburn). In those outings, Georgia has delivered a combined 115 assists and committed 99 turnovers, which equates to much more respectable a 1.16 assist-to-TO effort.

This May Be A First

Have you ever read a note touting a stat where the team ranks last in the league? Well, today's that day.

On the season, Georgia ranks at the bottom of the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.89; however, the Bulldogs' improvement taking care of the basketball since Thanksgiving is the best in the league.

Since Thanksgiving, seven SEC teams have produced a better assist-to-TO ratio than their games prior to Turkey Day, while the other half of the league teams' ratio's has dropped. The Bulldogs own the most positive uptick 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 provided a good point of reference.

Assist-To-TOs Since Turkey Day
Team	11/24	1/5	Diff.
Georgia	0.63	0.89	+.26
S. Carolina	0.70	0.91	+.21
LSU	0.92	1.11	+.19
Texas A&M	0.96	1.07	+.11
Tennessee	1.18	1.28	+.10
Arkansas	1.02	1.08	+.06
Auburn	1.01	1.03	+.02

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. 2 in assists (4.2 apg), No. 5 in free throw percentage (.814), No. 9 in scoring (15.0 ppg), No. 9 in steals (1.9 spg), No. 11 in field goal percentage (.416) and No. 13 in assist-to-TO ratio (1.53).

UGA's Most Frequent Foe

Georgia and Florida will face off for the 216th time on Saturday, the most games the Bulldogs have played against any opponent.

Trailing the Gators and rounding out Georgia's top-5 frequency foes are: Georgia Tech (198), Auburn (196), Tennessee (159) and Kentucky (157).

A Very Productive Bench

Georgia's reserves have come off the bench to score 355 points this season, accounting for 35.4 percent of the 1,003 points put up by the Bulldogs.

Georgia's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves 355-169, a massive +186 margin (13.3 ppg).

The Bulldogs have won the "bench battle" in 13 of 14 games and tied Auburn in the other. Georgia has a "+20" margin in five contests and a season-high "+25" (27-2) tally versus ETSU. The Bulldogs' highest single-game bench scoring effort was 36 points versus UAB.

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 the pre-January double-digit qualifier. Eleven editions of the Bulldogs recorded nine victories before the calendar flipped, most recently doing so 2019-20. Of those, four teams 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 on Page 5 of these Game Notes.

Dogs Sport Impressive Depth

We think it's safe to say that Georgia is the only college basketball 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 12.8-29.5 minutes per game.

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 the entire 2021-22 campaign during the first 24 days of Mike White's first season.

Healthy M-A Makes A Difference

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe was hindered after suffering an ankle sprain in the Bulldogs' 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.

Moncrieffe has been extremely efficient in Georgia's last five outings, converting a combined 15-of-19 shots from the field – a spectacular 78.9 percent. He posted his first double-digit outing as a Bulldog with 11 points against the Yellow Jackets and immediately topped that with 15 points versus Notre Dame.

Moncrieffe also has been Georgia's most active rebounder of late. In the last five games, he is averaging at team-best 6.4 rpg and grabbed team-high tallies of seven boards against Chattanooga, six versus Rider and nine against Auburn.

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 honoree since Toumani Camara was recognized on Dec. 21, 2020.

Overall, Bridges 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 Player of the Week certificates.

Etter Still Taking Charges

Former Jaxon Etter has made quite the name for himself on defense.

The senior from Woodstock, Ga., who was awarded a scholarship on Nov. 2, has taken seven charges in eight games played this season.

That comes after drawing 30 offensive fouls in 31 games last season and eight in the last 11 games of his sophomore year.

All told, Etter has now been on the receiving end of 37 charges in his last 39 games...and 45 in his last 50 outings.

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.

White quickly added the final seven wins with the Bulldogs to reach 250. In fact, with the victory over the Rattlers Georgia topped its win total for the 2021-22 season.

Dogs Get Defensive

Defense has been key to Georgia's 11-3 start. The Bulldogs are 7-0 when holding opponents under 70 points.

Georgia held its opposition in a trio of outings from Nov. 27-Dec. 2 to under 55 points, a first in 12 seasons. During that span, Georgia defeated ETSU, 62-47; Hampton, 73-54; and Florida A&M, 68-46.

That marked the first time the Bulldogs held three consecutive opponents under 55 points since Dec. 2010, a span covering 388 games.

Ingram Proves Impactful

Jailyn Ingram, one of just five seventh-year seniors playing D-I basketball this season, made his 2022-23 debut in the second half of Georgia's 62-47 win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 27.

The Madison, Ga., native entered the game at the 14:15 mark of the second half and the Bulldogs leading 39-36. A quick glance at the box score would lead one to believe Ingram's 4:02 of PT was quite pedestrian – 0-of-1 on FGs, one foul, one foul drawn and one steal. But the far right side of his linescore was more telling – "+9."

"I just thought we were flat," Mike White said. "When you do put him out there for the first time, you're experimenting... So, you're tooth-and-nail against East Tennessee State – close game, early second half – and one of the guys on staff suggested it. The last few days he's gotten to the point where we said, 'We're about ready to give him a chance in a game.' Athletically, from a conditioning standpoint, he's looked better and better. It could've gone the other way of course, but he was an inspiration to his teammates. I thought he was probably the biggest factor in the game."

Ingram was a huge factor in the Hampton game as well, with a more statistically emphatic performance. He scored 14 points, largely due to knocking down 4-of-5 3-pointers, in 20 minutes of PT.

While those were Ingram's first two games of the 2022-23 season, he upped his collegiate GP total to 133. He played five seasons at Florida Atlantic – including a red-shirt campaign in 2018-19 – before transferring to Georgia. Ingram started the first nine games of the 2021-22 season and was the Bulldogs' leading rebounder when he tore the ACL in his right knee with 14:21 left in a Dec. 7 victory over Jacksonville.

Hill Named All-Tourney

Justin Hill was named to the Beach Bracket's all-tournament team after two strong outings at the Sunshine Slam.

The junior from Houston averaged a team-high 14.5 points against Saint Joseph's and UAB by shooting 61.5 percent from the field and an even more impressive 71.4 percent from 3-point range.

Hill put up 12 points against Saint Joseph's, including a shot clock-beating 3-pointer with 2:28 left after the Hawks cut Georgia's 23-point halftime lead to 54-46. He then led the Bulldogs offensively for the first time with 17 points versus UAB.

Bulldogs Sign Top-25 class

Georgia opened the NCAA's early signing period on Wednesday, 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 power 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 23-8 overall.

Jordan, a 6-6, 185-pound small 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.

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.

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."

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

MBB Game Notes: Georgia Travels To Gainesville To Face Gators

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Frank Anselem-Ibe

Braelen Bridges

Jaxon Etter

Justin Hill

Jusaun Holt

Jailyn Ingram

Brandon Klatsky

Mardrez McBride

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Kario Oquendo

Terry Roberts

MBB Game Notes: Georgia Travels To Gainesville To Face Gators

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Frank Anselem-Ibe

Braelen Bridges

Jaxon Etter

Justin Hill

Jusaun Holt

Jailyn Ingram

Brandon Klatsky

Mardrez McBride

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Kario Oquendo

Terry Roberts

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