Bulldogs Host Buffalo Looking To Extend Stellar Start

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (9-1) vs. Buffalo (5-5)
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
Streaming: SEC Network+ (Matt Stewart, play-by-play; Mark Slonaker, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 374 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, Producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia hosts Buffalo on Thursday evening looking to extend the Bulldogs' 24-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs are 9-1 – their best start since opening the 2001-02 campaign with an 11-1 record – and as of Wednesday was one of just two D-I teams that ranked among the nation's top-25 leaders in both FG percentage (No. 21 at .500) and FG Percentage Defense (No. 24 at .386).
Georgia's astronomical ascent within metrics has continued during Mike White's third season in Athens. As of Wednesday, the Bulldogs were up an average of 190.3 spots among six of the most popular computer formulas – kenpom, NET, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR – since White arrived in Athens.
Georgia's balanced offense features eight players who have have combined to post 42 double-figure scoring outputs in 10 games to date, led by freshman Asa Newell's nine double-digit performances.
As of Wednesday, Georgia ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in 11 statistical categories, headlined by being No. 4 in blocked shots (6.1 bpg) and No. 6 in rebound margin (+11.7 rpg) and.

THE OPENING TIP

The Georgia Bulldogs open a three-game holiday homestand on Thursday when they host Buffalo at historic Stegeman Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will also entertain Charleston Southern on Sunday and S.C. State the following Sunday before beginning SEC play on Saturday, Jan. 4 at No. 17/16 Ole Miss.

Georgia is 9-1 on the season, the Bulldogs' best start since they began the 2001-02 campaign with an 11-1 record.

Georgia was ranked among the nation's top-50 team in no less than 11 statistical categories as of Wednesday. Of the 364 D-I teams in the nation, the Bulldogs were one of two ranked in the top 25 in both field goal percentage (No. 20 at .500) and field goal percentage defense (No. 25 at .386).

However, Georgia's strongest attributes have been controlling the glass and protecting the rim. Nationally, the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 3 in rejections (6.4 bpg) and No. 5 in boarding margin (+ 11.7 rpg).

Georgia's balanced offense features five players who have led the Bulldogs in scoring in one or more games this season. Three more have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those eight Bulldogs have combined to produce 42 double-digit performances in 10 games.

Asa Newell, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree in the first five weeks of the season, leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Among SEC stat leaders, Newell ranks No. 13 in scoring and No. 16 in rebounding, as well as No. 4 in field goal percentage (.568) and No. 13 in blocks (1.2 bpg).

Three more Bulldogs are scoring at a double-digit pace – Silas Demary Jr. at 13.0 ppg, Dakota Leffew at 12.7 ppg and Tyrin Lawrence at 11.3 ppg.

Scouting The Bulls

Buffalo is 5-5 on the season, with Thursday's game serving as the Bulls' first outing since a 65-55 setback at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 7.

Four of Buffalo's five losses have been road dates at Notre Dame, Vermont, Penn State and the Bonnies.

Ryan Sabol is off to a stellar start to his sophomore season and leads Buffalo offensively at 18.1 ppg – 10.5 ppg more than his production a year ago. Sabol sports impressive shooting percentages from 3-point range (.463) and the free throw line (.944).

Tyson Dunn is contributing 12.2 ppg and also leads the Bulls in both assists (5.9 apg) and steals (2.0 spg).

Series History With Buffalo

Georgia won both of its previous meetings with Buffalo, with the last matchup occurring slightly more than 48 years ago.

The Bulldogs secured a 108-77 decision over the Bulls on Dec. 11, 1976, behind a trio of 20-point performances.

Lavon Mercer scored a game-high 24 points, while Walter Daniels and David Reavis added 23 and 20, respectively. Mark Slonaker added eight points and a career-high 11 assists – with just one turnover – for Georgia.

After leading 46-42 at halftime, the Bulldogs exploded for 62 second-half points.

Last Time Out

Freshmen big men Asa Newell and Somto Cyril led Georgia in a 73-68 win over Grand Canyon in a Holiday Hoopsgiving matchup at State Farm Arena in Atlanta last Saturday.

Newell scored 17 points, while Cyril chipped in 12. They were a combined 11-of-14 from the field, a white-hot 78.6 percent. Blue Cain and Tyrin Lawrence added in 10 points apiece.

Though Georgia led by 11 points at halftime and the entire second half, the contest wasn't decided until the closing seconds. Grand Canyon, an NCAA Tournament team three of the last four years, pulled with 66-63 with 1:32 remaining. Newell converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 17 seconds left to all but clinch the victory.

"We started talking about Grand Canyon in the locker room after Notre Dame," head coach Mike White said. "The people who know hoops in the country knew how hard of an out this would be. They definitely had our guys' respect and attention. Our guys knew how good they were. We probably felt a little too comfortable up 11 at halftime. They came out roaring in the second half. Fortunately, we were able to hold on."

Bulldogs Better Under White

Georgia has made considerable improvement under Mike White from both semantic and quantifiable perspectives.

From traditional "game notes" verbiage you will read:

• Georgia upped its regular-season win total by 10 victories in White's first campaign, the second-largest increase of any Power conference team that season.

• Last season, the Bulldogs earned their first postseason bid since 2017 and while advancing to the NIT semifinals, reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2016.

• Georgia is currently ranked among the nation's top-40 teams in virtually every metric published, including No. 22 in the NCAA's NET.

From a numerical perspective, Georgia's progress has been even more impressive.

Among six of the most-utilized college basketball metrics, the Bulldogs have ascended an average of 190.3 spots during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

The Metric Improvement
	21-22	24-25	DIFF
SOR	246	17	+229
NET	223	25	+198
KPI*	225	27	+198
Torvik	193	27	+166
KenPom	219	37	+171
BPI	208	39	+180
Avg.	219.0	28.7	+190.3

Dogs Among Best In Blocks, Boards...And Lots Of Other Stuff

Georgia ranks among the nation's best in controlling the glass and protecting the rim this season. As of Wednesday, the Bulldogs ranked No. 4 in blocked shots (6.7 bpg) and No. 6 in rebounding margin (+11.7).

Rebounding wise, the Bulldogs have won the board battle in nine of 10 games, including two of the biggest rebound margins in program history. On Nov. 10, Georgia out-rebounded Texas Southern, 53-23, a school-record margin of +30. The Bulldogs' +25 effort against Alabama A&M on Nov. 19 equaled the seventh-biggest single-game edge for UGA.

From a swats perspective, freshmen Somto Cyril and Asa Newell lead Georgia. Following a career-high five swats against Grand Canyon, Cyril ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 23 nationally at 2.0 bpg. Newell is No. 13 in the SEC at 1.2 bpg. The Bulldogs swatted 12 shots against Texas Southern on Nov. 10, their most in a single game since also block a dozen attempts by Vanderbilt on Jan. 9, 2019.

Those rebound margin and blocks categories headline a long list of no less than 11 stats where Georgia ranks among the nation's top-50 as outlined below.

A Top-50 Team In...
Rk.	Category	Stat
4.	Blocked Shots	6.4
6.	Rebound Margin	+11.7
14.	3-Point FG Defense	.273
21.	FG Percentage	.500
24.	FG Defense	.386
27.	Scoring Margin	16.6
36.	Free Throw Makes	17.6
39.	Scoring Defense	64.8
40.	Rebounds Per Game	40.1
44.	Free Throw Attempts	23.9
47.	Effective FG Percentage	.564

Bulldogs' Home Non-Conference Win Streak Reaches 24

Georgia's 21-point victory over Notre Dame extended the Bulldogs' non-conference winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum to 24 games.

In fact, Georgia is perfect against non-conference opposition at home under Mike White, compiling an 8-0 record in 2022-23 and a 10-0 mark in 2023-24 before starting this season 6-0.

White Is Stellar In Stegeman

Mike White's success at Stegeman Coliseum is not confined to his tenure with the Bulldogs.

White was 7-1 in the arena as a visiting head coach before arriving in Athens. He led Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and was 6-1 against the Bulldogs in the venue at Florida from 2015-22.

With his 32-10 home mark since becoming Georgia's head coach, White is a combined 39-11 (.780) as a head coach in Stegeman.

Dakota Scoring In Stegeman

Dakota Leffew certainly seems to like shooting in Stegeman Coliseum.

The graduate transfer Hampton, Ga., who played the last four seasons at Mount St. Mary's, is averaging 16.9 points in seven games played in Athens.

Leffew put up a game-high 26 points for Mount St. Mary's in a 94-82 setback in Athens on Dec. 20 last season. Leffew has scored 18, 23,10, nine,16 and 16 points in the Bulldogs' six five home games this season.

Within those contests, Leffew is shooting .532 from the field (41-of-77), including .480 (24-of-50) from 3-point range, and .800 (12-of-15) from the free throw line in the arena.

Bulldogs' Schedule Has "March Madness" Feel To It

Though the NCAA Tournament won't tip off until March 18, it is worth noting that Georgia joined the projected field for "March Madness" in ESPN's Nov. 26 edition Bracketology. This week, the Bulldogs are tabbed as a No. 8 seed by Joe Lunardi.

Following a split in games against No. 15/15 Marquette and No. 22/20 St. John's at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, Georgia moved from fourth in the "next four out" the previous week to the second of the "last four in" on Nov. 26.

Regardless of the current forecast, the Bulldogs will have plenty of chances for quality wins from now until March. Georgia will play 17 of 31 regular-season games – 54.8 percent – against teams pegged to receive bids by ESPN this week.

Three of Georgia's non-conference foes are listed in the most recent bracket – Marquette as a No. 2 seed, St. John's as a No. 7 and the Antelopes as a No. 12.

The Bulldogs will face the other 12 SEC teams predicted to make the field a total of 14 times, including home-and-homes with Auburn, a No. 1 seed, and Florida, a No. 3 seed. The remaining SEC teams and their seeds are Kentucky (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 1), Alabama (No. 2), Texas A&M (No. 3), Mississippi State (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 6), Oklahoma (No. 7), Arkansas (No. 9), Missouri (No. 11) and Texas (No. 11). In addition, Vanderbilt and LSU are the second and third teams, respectively, listed among the "next four out."

Asa Again Earns SEC FOTW Honors

Asa Newell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 9 – his second certificate in the first five weeks of the season – after posting game-high tallies of 20 points and 11 rebounds in Georgia's 69-48 win over Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Newell's efforts represented his second 20-point outing and second double-double this season, and he also matched his season high with two assists in the victory.

Newell was also tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 18 after he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in wins over Georgia Tech and North Florida.

Newell is one of 10 Bulldogs who have earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors a combined 15 times since the award's inception in 1988. He is the first Georgia player to claim the accolade multiple times since Anthony Edwards earned four certificates during the 2019-20 campaign.

Lots Of Bulldogs Leading The Way

No less then five Georgia players have led the Bulldogs offensively during the first 10 games of the season, while six Dogs have topped Georgia's rebounding count in outings to date.

A different Bulldog topped 20 points to lead Georgia's scoring efforts in first three games of the campaign. Asa Newell put up 26 points in the opener against Tennessee Tech, Dakota Few notched 23 digits versus Texas Southern and RJ Godfrey poured in 21 points against North Florida. Silas Demary Jr. was the Bulldogs' leading scorer at Georgia Tech but fell a bucket shy of extending the 20-point scoring streak with 18 points.

Georgia was one of only four Power conference programs with a different 20-point scoring leader in each of the season's first three games along with Butler, Maryland and Stanford.

Since then, Blue Cain joined the leading scoring list with 17 points against No. 15 Marquette.

On the boards, Demary Jr. and Newell have led Georgia three times, Somto Cyril has done so twice and Cain, Godfrey and Tyrin Lawrence have produced the Bulldogs' most boards once each (including ties).

North Florida Victory Supplies Several Superlatives

The fourth-best shooting performance in school history topped a list of stellar stats Georgia posted en route to a 102-56 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 30 at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs:
• Scored their most points during Mike White's three seasons in Athens;
• Connected on 34-of-54 shots from the field, a red-hot 66.7 percent effort that matched the No. 4 effort in school history;
• Knocked down 14 3-pointers, matching UGA's sixth-most ever;
• Shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from behind the arc, their best percentage under White.

Georgia's overall field goal percentage (.667) and 3-point percentage (.583) are currently the best efforts by any SEC team during the 2024-25 season.

Asa Equals UGA Freshman Mark

Asa Newell's 26-point outburst against Tennessee Tech tied Dominique Wilkins for the highest offensive output ever by a Bulldog freshman in their collegiate debut as outlined below.

Wilkins also put up 26 points in his initial outing for Georgia against Troy State on Nov. 30, 1979.

Newell started quickly, scoring his first 10 points over the opening 7:10 of the contest. He reached 20 points with 15:09 left in the contest and then garnered his first double-double with a rebound at the 14:13 mark of the second half. Newell matched Wilkins' tally with an offensive rebound and putback with 2:20 remaining.

When asked by media postgame if he knew of Wilkins' legacy, Newell quickly replied: "Yes, for sure. The human highlight reel. I've got a jersey of Dominique back at the crib."

Top Debuts By Bulldog Freshmen
Pts.	Player	Opponent	Date
26	Asa Newell	Tennessee Tech	11/4/24
26	Dominique Wilkins	Troy State	11/30/79
24	Anthony Edwards	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Sahvir Wheeler	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Terry Fair	Troy State	11/30/79
18	Jeremy Price	Jacksonville St.	11/9/07
18	D.A. Layne	Mercer	11/13/98
17	Rayshaun Hammonds	Bryant	11/10/17
17	Sundiata Gaines	W. Kentucky	11/23/04
15	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	Woffford	11/11/11

Trio Posts First Double-Doubles

RJ Godfrey, Asa Newell and Blue Cain both recorded the first double-doubles of their collegiate careers in the first two games of the season. Godfrey and Newell did so in the season opener, while Cain followed suit in the next contest against Texas Southern.

Godfrey put up 10 points and 10 boards against Tennessee Tech and then posted career highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds versus North Florida. After not recording a double-double in 69 GPs as a freshman and a sophomore, Godfrey did so in two of his first three outings as a Bulldog.

Newell reached double figures in scoring in just 7:10 into his college career and took all of 25:47 to secure his double-double.

Cain grabbed a career-most 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points against TSU.

Six Dogs Were Top-100 Prospects

Georgia's 15-player roster includes no less than a half-dozen Bulldogs who were ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects in their recruiting classes.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all were tabbed among the top 100 players in the Class of 2023. Their highest The highest rankings featured Cain at No. 53 by On3.com, Demary at No. 56 by Rivals.com and James at No. 78 in the 247Sports.com composite.

As a class, they were ranked No. 11 by Rivals.com, No. 15 in the 247Sports.com composite, No. 18 by On3.com and No. 20 by 247Sports.com.

Somto Cyril, Savo Drezgić and Asa Newell were featured among the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2024, with highs of No. 11 for Newell by On3.com, No. 43 for Cyril by 247Sports.com and No. 53 for Drezgić by On3.com.

Newell finished No. 14 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, placing him alongside from impressive names. Newell is the fourth-highest signee for Georgia since the website began its composite ledger in 2003, trailing only Anthony Edwards (No. 2 in 2019), Lou Williams (No. 6 in 2005 before declaring for the NBA Draft) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (No. 11 in 2011).

Georgia Staff Inks Third-Straight Top-15 Recruiting Class

Mike White announced on Friday, Nov. 15 that high school standouts Jackson McVey, Kareem Stagg and Jacob Wilkins inked papers to join the Bulldogs next season.

The trio was ranked No. 11 nationally by Rivals.com, as well as No. 12 by 247Sports.com, giving Georgia its third straight top-15 recruiting class of prep prospects. The Bulldog signees in the Classes of 2024 and 2023 were ranked No. 10 and No. 15, respectively, by both outlets.

McVey, is a 7-1, center from Ellijay, Ga., who is playing at Overtime Elite this season. Nationally, McVey is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN.com, and he has been ranked as one of the nation's top-25 center prospects in the On3.com composite and by ESPN.com.

Stagg, is a 6-8, power forward from Chesapeake, Va., who is in his second season at the IMG Academy. A consensus four-star prospect, Stagg is ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects by 247Sports.com (No. 73), Rivals.com (No. 86) and On3.com (No. 92).

Wilkins, a 6-9, small forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School is the son of former Bulldog and hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins. Jacob is a four-star recruit ranked among the nation's top-50 players by every major recruiting service – No. 35 by Rivals.com, No. 45 by ESPN.com, No. 49 by On3.com and No. 50 by 247Sports.com.

Dominique Wilkins, a two-time All-American and 1981 SEC Player of the Year, led Georgia to its first-ever postseason bids with the 1981 and 1982 NITs. Though he played only three seasons at Georgia, Wilkins departed Athens as the Bulldogs' career scoring leader with 1,688 points, a 21.6 ppg average over 78 outings. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft before enjoying an illustrious career primarily with the Atlanta Hawks that included being a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection.

Bulldogs Produce Points In Exhibitions

Georgia averaged exactly 100 points in the Bulldogs' two preseason exhibition victories, putting up 86 at Charlotte and 114 versus UCF.

Equally impressive as the point production was Georgia's efficiency. The Bulldogs shot 61.3 percent from the floor, including 48.9 percent from 3-point range, against the 49ers and Knights.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

View the full game notes PDF.

Bulldogs Host Buffalo Looking To Extend Stellar Start

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Dakota Leffew

Asa Newell

Bulldogs Host Buffalo Looking To Extend Stellar Start

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Dakota Leffew

Asa Newell

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