Bulldogs Back In Action At Vanderbilt

Wednesday, February 21

Nashville, Tenn.

8:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Vanderbilt

February 20, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Game 26: Georgia (14-11, 4-8 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (7-18, 2-10 SEC)
Wednesday, February 21 || 8:30 p.m. ET
Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) || Nashville, Tenn.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, color analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, color analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 392
History: VU leads, 95-56 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - VU, 85-82, on 1/21/23

Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach: Mike White Record at UGA: 30-27 (2nd season) Career Record: 273-155 (13th season)				Florida Gators Head Coach: Jerry Stackhouse Record at VU: 68-87 (5th season) Career Record: 68-87 (5th season)
INDIVIDUAL		TEAM	STATISTIC	TEAM		INDIVIDUAL
Abdur-Rahim	12.7	76.1	Points Per. Game	84.6	14.5	Manjon
Tchewa	.556	.433	Field Goal Pct.	.455	.507	Ven-Allen, Lubin
Abdur-Rahim	2.2	8.2	3-Pointers Per. Game	7.7	1.6	Taylor
Abdur-Rahim	.371	.347	3-Point Pct.	.334	.333	Taylor
Abdur-Rahim	.880	.730	Free Throw Pct.	.688	.830	Manjon
Tchewa	6.6	35.8	Rebounds Per. Game	44.4	6.6	Smith
Hill	3.7	11.9	Assists Per. Game	15.2	3.6	Manjon
Hill	2.49	1.00	Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.24	1.78	Manjon
Tchewa	0.6	3.4	Blocks Per. Game	5.5	1.1	Ven-Allen, Lubin
Demary Jr.	1.4	6.4	Steals Per. Game	6.8	1.7	Lawrence
Thomasson	27.7		Minutes Per. Game		31.1	Lawrence

The Starting 5...

Nine Bulldogs have been mixed and matched to comprise eight different starting lineups this season, including five variations in the last six games. Silas Demary Jr., Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson have started every game for Georgia.
Georgia is 24-1 when holding its opponents to less than 70 points during Mike White's two seasons with the Bulldogs – 2-0 in 40s, 7-0 in the 50s and 15-1 in the 60s.
Noah Thomasson is coming off a season-high 26-point outing against Florida last Saturday. The graduate transfer from Houston leads Georgia with 16 double-digit scoring performances this season and is tied with Jabri Abdur-Rahim for the most 20-point outings with four.
Silas Demary Jr. is the only freshman in the SEC start every game this season. The Raleigh, N.C., native averaged 8.5 ppg in non-conference play but has uppped that to 10.9 ppg in SEC action.
Georgia entered this week No. 17 nationally in bench points, with UGA's reserves contributing 29.3 ppg. The Bulldogs sport a bench scoring margin of +275 (+11.0 ppg).

The Opening Tip

Georgia treks to Nashville on Wednesday to face Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium. The Bulldogs enter the contest at 14-11 overall and 4-8 in SEC play and looking to end a couple of losing streaks – a six-game overall skid and a four-game road stretch.

The 2023-24 campaign has been a streaky one for the Bulldogs. Contrary to Georgia's current situation, the Bulldogs recorded winning streaks of 10 games overall, 10 contests at Stegeman Coliseum and three road outings earlier this season.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim leads a trio of Bulldogs scoring at a double-digit pace for Georgia at 12.7 ppg. Noah Thomasson and RJ Melendez are contributing 12.5 ppg and 10.2 ppg, respectively.

Georgia has been more productive and balanced offensively in conference action.

The Bulldogs are one of three teams with a higher scoring offense in SEC play over non-league games. Four Bulldogs are averaging double figures in conference games, with Thomasson sporting a team-leading 12.8 ppg. Five Bulldogs have upped their scoring averages from their non-conference contributions, including Russel Tchewa's jump of 3.1 ppg (from 6.1 to 9.2).

Keeping An Eye On…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is among UGA's career leaders...
• 9 3FGs from co-No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison
• 15 3FGAs from No. 17 Ty Wilson

Justin Hill is career statistics wise...
• 1 assist from 400

Scouting The Commodores

Vanderbilt is 7-18 overall and 2-10 in the SEC entering Wednesday's game. The Commodores are 7-8 at Memorial Gymnasium, including a buzzer-beating 74-73 win over Texas A&M last Tuesday.

Ezra Manjon leads Vanderbilt offensively, averaging 14.1 ppg and 3.6 apg. Tyrin Lawrence and Ven-Allen Lubin also are scoring at a double-figure pace for the Commodores, contributing 13.4 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively.

Lawrence has been Vandy's leading scorer in league play, upping his average to 13.7 ppg.

Series History With Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt owns a 95-56 lead in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Commodores, including a 57-15 advantage at games played on the Vandy campus.

Georgia last won at Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 22, 2020, when Tyree Crump knocked-down a 35-footer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs an 80-78 victory.

Last season on Jan. 21 in Athens, Jabri Abdur-Rahim posted what was then a career-high 21 points; however, the Bulldogs suffered their first home loss of the season, 85-82, at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum. The setback snapped Georgia's 10-game winning streak at home, which matched the sixth-longest overall and fifth-best single-season stretches of home success ever by the Bulldogs.

A 3-pointer 85 seconds into the game put Vanderbilt up 3-2, and the Commodores never trailed again.

Georgia trimmed an eight-point halftime deficit to a single possession six times in the second stanza. After Vanderbilt matched its largest lead of the day at 77-65 with 4:51 left, the Bulldogs scored 11 straight to close the gap to 77-76 at the 2:13 mark.

Georgia had possession with a chance to tie or take the lead three times in the final 111 seconds but could not complete the comeback.

In the Bulldogs' last trip to Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 29, 2022, Aaron Cook's 18-point performance led a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures in an 85-77 setback. 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).

Last Time Out

Noah Thomasson put up a season-high 26 points to lead a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures; however, Florida rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to secure an 88-82 decision over Georgia before a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum last Saturday.

Thomasson scored 17 first-half points to help the Bulldogs open up a 22-11 lead. The Gators trimmed that margin to 46-40 by halftime, took their first lead at 52-50 and never trailed again.

"Turnovers, live ball turnovers, continue to harm us in some of these close games," head coach Mike White said. "If we take away live ball turnovers and a couple of their offensive rebounds, we'd probably be sitting here feeling a lot different."

A Lot Of Entertaining Outings During The Last Six Outings

Georgia's losing streak has featured a six competitive and somewhat dramatic setbacks.

The Bulldogs rallied from 21 points down to force overtime at Florida before falling 102-98.

Georgia then owned double-digit leads over both No. 24/22 Alabama and South Carolina before the Tide and Gamecocks rallied. The Bulldogs led for a combined 56:55 of those contests – 33:49 against Alabama and 23:06 versus South Carolina.

Georgia trimmed a 13-point deficit to three in Starkville before State surged to victory.

The Bulldogs matchup at Arkansas on Feb. 10 featured three ties and five lead changes in the final 3:47 before the Razorbacks secured a three-point decision.

Last Saturday, Georgia again led for more than half the game – 21:11 to be exact – and built an 11-point, first-half lead over Florida before the Gators rallied in the second stanza.

Georgia's Magic Number Is On The "Other" End of The Floor

The 13th and final rule Dr. James Naismith listed when creating basketball was "The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner." Quite simply, the team that scores the most points wins.

For Georgia, the number of points the opposing team scores has been an extremely strong indicator of success during Mike White's two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Georgia is 24-1 when holding its opponents to less than 70 points during that span and 6-24 when opponents reach the 70-point plateau. The lone loss on that ledger was a 61-55 setback at South Carolina in the 2022-23 regular-season finale.

Bulldogs Continue To Shuffle Starting Lineup

Nine Bulldogs players have been used to comprise eight different starting fives this season.

Georgia mixed and matched seven players to form three different starting quintets over the first 10 outings.

The Bulldogs then settled into the same starting unit for the next 10 contests.

Over the last six games, Georgia has used five different sets of starters.

Silas Demary Jr., Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson are the three constants who have started every game. In fact, Demary is the only freshman in the SEC to start every game this season.

UGA Students Packing Stegeman

During each of Georgia's six home SEC contests, the Stegeman Coliseum student section has overflowed its capacity of 2,065. When more than 2,065 students show up and there are still remaining unsold seats in Stegeman, they are allowed to occupy the empty locations.

Georgia drew 3,026 students for Arkansas; 2,330 for Tennessee; 2,806 for LSU; 3,208 for Alabama; 2,726 for South Carolina; and 2,175 for Florida

The Stegeman student capacity for six games should be 12,390. In reality, 15,804 students have come through the turnstiles for those contests. The student attendance average of 2,634 per game is 128 percent of "capacity."

Bulldogs' Bench Providing Productivity

Georgia entered this week ranked No. 17 nationally in benching scoring at 29.3 ppg – 38.5 percent of the Bulldogs' average of 75.9 ppg.

The Bulldogs' reserves have outscored their counterparts in 20 of 25 games – every outing other than versus Oregon, at No. 8/10 Kentucky, against South Carolina in Athens, at Arkansas and versus Florida at Stegeman.

Georgia sports an impressive +275 scoring margin in bench points – an advantage of +11.0 ppg.

Dogs' Stats Trending Upward In SEC Play

Generally, teams' statistical performances slip slightly once SEC play starts...the whole tougher competition thing.

Conversely, several of Georgia's stats have improved over the Bulldogs' non-conference numbers as outlined below.

The Bulldogs are one of only three league teams – along with Tennessee and LSU – scoring more points and SEC foes than they did during November and December.

Stat	Non	SEC
SEC Team Increases
Scoring Offense	75.4	76.9
3FG Pct.	.344	.350
3FGs Per Game	8.0	8.3
Free Throw Pct.	.696	.771

Individual Scoring Up Too

As you would expect with Georgia's team scoring offense improving during SEC play.

No less than five Bulldogs have boosted their point production from non-conference outings to league competition, led by Russel Tchewa's increase of 3.1ppg as outlined below.

Statistic	Non	SEC
SEC Individual Increases
Noah Thomasson	12.5	12.8
Silas Demary Jr.	8.5	10.9
RJ Melendez	9.8	10.7
Justin Hill	8.5	9.8
Russel Tchewa	6.1	9.2

A Very "Maddening" Schedule

Four of the Bulldogs' six remaining regular-season outings are against teams now featured in the 68-team field of ESPN.com's most recently published edition of Bracketology.

All told, Georgia's 31-game regular-season slate includes 15 matchups – 48.4 percent of the schedule – against teams mentioned in the Feb. 16 version Bracketology. Of those, 13 games are against teams projected to reach the tournament and two are versus Wake Forest and Providence, two of the "first four out" of the bracket.

In addition, Georgia defeated another projected tourney team, Eastern Kentucky, in a preseason charity exhibition.

Abdur-Rahim, Melendez Own Top-5 Season FT Percentage Marks

Jabri Abdur-Rahim and RJ Melendez now own two of the five best single-season free throw percentages in Georgia Basketball history.

A minimum of 50 made free throws are required for inclusion on the Bulldogs' all-time single-season percentage leaders ledger.

Abdur-Rahim surpassed that standard during the Mount St. Mary's game on Dec. 20, just the 11th outing of the season. He has now connected on 103-of-117 (.880) free throws, which equals the fourth-best percentage in school history as outlined below.

Melendez met the 50 makes standard while going 4-of-4 at the stripe versus No. 24/22 Alabama on Jan. 31. He is currently 54-of-62 at the line this season, an 87.1 percent conversion rate that is No. 5 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined below.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Season FT Pct. Leaders
1.	Channing Toney ('05)	.910
2.	Joe Ward ('84)	.902
3.	J.J. Frazier ('17)	.886
4.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.880
5.	RJ Melendez	.871

Jabri Sets Game Mark, Joins Career Percentage Line Leaders too

In addition to his aforementioned season efforts, Jabri Abdur-Rahim owns spots among Georgia's best game and career performers among the Bulldogs' best free throw shooters ever.

Abdur-Rahim's school-record 10-of-10 effort against Mount St. Mary's tied Georgia's single-game record, representing the 15th time a Bulldog converted on nine or more FTs in a single contest.

A minimum of 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among UGA's career FT percentage leaders. Abdur-Rahim has made 223-of-269 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 82.9 percent that currently has him tied at No. 3 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined below.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Career FT Percentage Leaders
1.	J.J. Frazier	.841
2.	Dick McIntosh	.831
3.	Juwan Parker	.829
4.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.824
5.	Jerry Epling	.822

Melendez Has Bulldogs' Biggest Game Ever Off Bench...We Think

RJ Melendez's 35-point performance at Florida on Jan. 27 tied the 20th-highest single-game output ever by a Bulldog. It may be the most points ever off the bench for Georgia.

Box scores determined the vast majority of the scoring efforts tied with and ahead of Melendez were done by starters. In fact, there are only four performances where research has yet to confirm were accomplished by starters.

It's hard to fathom that Alfred Scott did not start Georgia's 122-2 – yes 122-2, that's not a typo – win over Southeast Christian on Jan. 12, 1918. FYI, that performance stands as the largest margin of victory by any Division I team.

Jacky Dorsey was known to start throughout his career in Athens; however, box scores for the two games haven't been located...we've emailed LSU and Southern Miss, by the way.

Zippy Morocco's contest came during the same season when he set what was the SEC's season scoring record, compiling 590 points...and we've emailed Tennessee too.

"Don't Look, Ethel!"...Of Bulldogs Winning Streaks & Stuff

Much of Georgia's 2023-24 season has been of the streaky nature.

Georgia put together a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 24-Jan. 10, tying the fourth-longest in program history and the longest in 75 years since the 1947-48 season as outlined below.

Within their 12-3 start, the Bulldogs were 10-0 at Stegeman, equaling the seventh-longest home winning streak and the fifth-longest home streak since Georgia moved into the Coliseum in 1964.

Rk.	Season	No.
UGA Winning Streaks
1.	1912-13 & 1913-14	16
2.	1930-31	13
3.	1947-48	11
4.	2023-24	10
	1930-31	10

BEWARE: Barking Bench Means Bulldogs May Bite

Getting "three stops in a row" is an extremely popular analytical indicator quoted by basketball coaches competing on just about every level. At Georgia, a sequence of three stops in a row is recorded as a "bite" for the Bulldogs.

If you notice various members of the bench barking loudly while Georgia is on the defensive end of the floor, that indicates that the Bulldogs have already posted two consecutive defensive stops and are just shy of taking a "bite" out of their opponent's offensive efforts.

Cain, Demary Make Their Marks In Collegiate Debuts

Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr. made key contributions for Georgia in their collegiate debuts against Oregon in the Naismith Hall of Fame Classic.

Demary became the first true freshman to get a starting nod for the Bulldogs in a season opener since Anthony Edwards in 2019. The Raleigh, N.C., native produced a thorough linescore of eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Cain became the first true freshman to notch a double-digit scoring output in the season opener since Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler did so in 2019. Cain posted 12 points off the bench by connecting on 5-of-11 shots from the field and matched Demary for the team high with two steals.

Georgia Signs Top-10 Prospect Asa Newell

Georgia opened the NCAA's early signing period with a bang when the Bulldogs signed Asa Newell, the No. 8 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2024.

Newell is the fifth top-100 prospect to sign with Georgia in the last two classes.

The younger brother of current Bulldog Jaden Newell, Asa is a 6-10, 215-pound power forward and a consensus five-star recruit. Asa is the second-highest ESPN.com and third-highest 247Sports.com ranked recruit to sign with Georgia during the internet era. He trails only Anthony Edwards (No. 4 in 2019) on the ESPN.com ledger and only Edwards (No. 2) and Lou Williams (No.6 in 2005) in the 247Sports.com composite. Edwards went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, while Williams elected to turn pro and has enjoyed a 17-year NBA career that includes three NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards.

Newell was a member of USA National Teams for FIBA World Cup tournaments during the past two summers, helping the USA capture a Gold Medal at the 2022 U17 tourney in Malaga, Spain and finish fourth at the 2023 U19 event in Debrecen, Hungary.

Newell is in his second season at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., which finished No. 2 in the SCNext Top 25 national rankings last season and is currently ranked No. 1 this season.

Newest Bulldogs Rated Highly

Georgia was one of three programs with both its freshman and transfer recruiting classes ranked among the nation's top-20 groups by On3.com. The Bulldogs' five transfer were tabbed as at No. 11, while the freshmen were featured at No. 18.

All four of Georgia's freshmen were rated as top-100 prospects in the Class of 2023 by various recruiting services. The highest rankings were: Blue Cain at No. 53 by On3.com, Silas Demary Jr. at No. 56 by Rivals.com, Dylan James at No. 78 in the 247Sports.com and Mari Jordan at No. 87 by ESPN.com.

As a class, the freshman 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.

Georgia's freshmen were the second-highest ranked class in the SEC 247Sports.com's composite ledger of the average ranking of those recruiting services. Ten of 14 SEC schools were ranked among the nation's top-50 freshman classes in the 247Sports.com Class of 2023 composite.

A "March Madness" Pedigree

Seven Georgia players have played in the NCAA Tournament at previous schools.

Third-year Bulldog Jabri Abdur-Rahim was a member of Virginia's roster in 2021 when the Cavaliers won the ACC regular-season title en route to March Madness.

Frank Anselem-Ibe, Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who are in their second seasons in Athens, also reached the Big Dance. Anselem-Ibe helped Syracuse reach the 2021 Sweet 16. Hill led Longwood to the 2022 tournament. Moncrieffe played in the 2021 NCAA Tournament while at Syracuse.

Georgia newcomers Jalen DeLoach, RJ Melendez and RJ Sunahara bring NCAA Tournament experience as well. DeLoach helped VCU earn an NCAA bid last spring. Melendez was on Illinois teams that reached the 2022 and 2023 tourneys. Sunahara played in a trio of Division II tournaments at Nova Southeastern, including the Sharks perfect 36-0 march to the 2023 national title.

In addition, Russel Tchewa's Texas Tech team was on the NCAA bubble in 2020 before the championship was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunahara Takes One For the Team...Accepts new nickname

It's not uncommon for basketball teams to have multiple players with the same first name, but that usually occurs with a rather common name. When a pair of "RJ's" transferred to Georgia during the offseason, it left the coaching staff scratching their heads.

"We're going to have to figure this out," Mike White quipped to the media when discussing the Bulldogs' summer trip to Italy.

It didn't take long for RJ Sunahara to become "Sunny"...at least while he's on the basketball court. Even though his name is pronounced "soon-ah-hara," the 2023 Division II National Player of the Year is now "Sunny." Actually, the nickname fits quite well with Sunahara's Hawaiian heritage.

Forza Dogs...Georgia's Tour Of Italy

Georgia got a jump on preparations for the 2023-24 season during the summer when the Bulldogs ventured to Italy for a three-game international tour from July 20-29.

On the the hardwood, Georgia defeated different teams from the Italian Club Orange Basket Bassano by 39.3 points per game. Each Bulldog dressed out for two of the three games, with nine different players recording one or more double-figure scoring outputs.

Away from basketball, Georgia spent four days in Rome, one day in Florence and two days in Sorrento. The team toured the traditional sites such as Vatican City, The Colosseum, The Forum, Pompeii, Amalfi and Positano. The Bulldogs also enjoyed a cooking class where they prepared – and then dined on – their own pasta and tiramisu.

Designer Genes

We believe that Georgia Basketball's family tree may be the most athletic in the country. Almost every Bulldog has immediate family who competed at the collegiate or professional levels, including:

Jabri Abdur-Rahim – his dad, Shareef, was a 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2002 NBA All-Star and current president of the NBA's G League; and five of his uncles (Amir, Muhammad, Tahir, Bilal and Malik) played college basketball.

Blue Cain – his mom, the former Myriah Lonergan, played basketball at George Washington and is in GWU's Athletic Hall of Fame; his dad, Chris, played golf at Duke; and his sister, Sophie, is a senior setter on Appalachian State's volleyball team.

Jalen DeLoach – his brother, Kalen, is in his third season as a starting linebacker at Florida State; and his sister, Taylor, was a Big Ten champion in the 400-meter relay at Ohio State.

Silas Demary Jr. – his dad, Silas Sr., played at Virginia State and was the 2005 Arena Football League Defensive Player of the Year for the L.A. Avengers.

Justin Hill – his dad, Keith, played basketball at Michigan State and New Mexico State, where he helped the Aggies reach the NCAA Tourney; his mom, the former Donna Holt, played basketball at Virginia, where she was 1988 ACC Player of the Year and was named to the ACC's Silver Anniversary team in 2002;

Dylan James – his brother, Dorian, is a redshirt senior of North Florida's basketball team; and two additional siblings – brother Darius and sister Charla – played basketball at Lynn University.

Markel Jennings – is distant cousins on his dad's side with NFL players Vernon and Vontae Davis, who both were multiple Pro Bowl selections.

Brandon Klatsky – his dad, Brian, played college basketball at DIII Skidmore; and his brother, Alex, is a redshirt senior on Florida's basketball team.

Jaden Newell – his brother, Asa, the No. 8 overall prospect in 247Sports.com Class of 2024 composite rankings, has signed to join him in Athens next season.

RJ Sunahara – his dad, Reed, was a two-time All-American in volleyball at UCLA and is the current women's volleyball coach at West Virginia; his mom, the former Laura Rekstis, played volleyball at Cincinnati; his grandfather, Peter Rekstis, played football at Cincinnati; his uncle, Chet Moeller, played football at Navy and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Noah Thomasson – his dad, Leon, played football at Texas Southern and for the Atlanta Falcons; and he's distant cousins with Spud Webb on his mom's size.