Bulldogs To Face Missouri In SEC Tournament

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

2024 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Game 32: Georgia (16-15, 6-12 SEC) vs. Missouri (8-24, 0-18 SEC)
Wednesday, March 13 || 25 minutes after Game 1 of the session at approximately 9:15
Bridgestone Arena (19,395) || 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 (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Jon Sundvold, color analyst)
Video Stream: SEC Network (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Dane Bradshaw, color analyst; Alyssa Lang, sideline reporter)
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 106 or 190
History: MIZ leads, 11-9 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - UGA, 75-68, on 1/6/24

Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach: Mike White Record at UGA: 32-31 (2nd season) Career Record: 275-159 (13th season)				Missouri Tigers Head Coach: Dennis Gates Record at Mizzou: 33-33 (2nd season) Career Record: 83-73 (5th season)
INDIVIDUAL		TEAM	STATISTIC	TEAM		INDIVIDUAL
Noah Thomasson	12.8	75.0	Points Per Game	72.6	17.9	East II
Russel Tchewa	.559	.430	Field Goal Pct.	.441	716	Shaw
Jabri Abdur-Rahim	2.1	7.9	3-Pointers Per Game	7.4	2.3	Honor
Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.356	.331	3-Point Pct.	.323	.462	East II
Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.887	.732	Free Throw Pct.	.791	.925	Bates
Russel Tchewa	6.8	35.7	Rebounds Per Game	30.6	5.8	Grill
Justin Hill	3.3	11.5	Assists Per Game	12.1	4.0	East II
Justin Hill	2.22	1.00	Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.05	1.35	East II
Frank Anselem-Ibe	0.6	3.1	Blocks Per Game	4.8	1.2	Shaw
Silas Demary Jr.	1.5	6.3	Steals Per Game	7.7	1.3	Robinson II
Noah Thomasson	28.1		Minutes Per Game		34.1	East II

The Starting 5...

Georgia will face Missouri in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night, at approximately 9:15 ET...25 minutes after the conclusion of the evening's first game.
Georgia's is 7-7 in games that have been one-possession contests in the final 5:00. The Bulldogs are 5-4 in matchups that were separated by three points or less in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Russel Tchewa has led Georgia in assists in the last two games, with a career-high five versus Ole Miss and three at Auburn. On the season, Tchewa sports 39 assists and 17 blocks...numbers you would expect to be transposed for a 7-footer. That's an assist-to-block ratio of 2.29.
Georgia has now used 11 players to comprise 11 different starting fives this season. Over the last 12 games, the Bulldogs have utilized eight different quintets of starters.
Freshmen Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James got the starting nod in Georgia's final two regular-season games, the first time the Bulldogs started a trio of freshmen since Anthony Edwards, Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler did so in a March 11, 2020 SEC Tournament win over Ole Miss.

The Opening Tip

Georgia begins postseason play in the 2024 SEC Tournament on Wednesday night by facing Missouri at Bridgestone Arena. The 11th-seeded Bulldogs and 14th-seeded Tigers will face off 25 minutes after the first game of the evening at approximately 9:15 p.m. ET.

Georgia wrapped up the regular season with the same records as a year ago – at 16-15 overall and 6-12 in the SEC. However, most who have watched the Bulldogs this season would agree they have made considerable improvement.

For doubters, there is quantifiable data.

Of note, the Bulldogs' scoring differential in conference games went from -13.0 ppg in 2022-23 to -3.9 ppg this season.

Georgia's progress is validated even more within metric assessments. Six of the most commonly utilized computer models have the Bulldogs up between 37-79 positions higher nationally from last season – an average of 55 spots.

	22-23	23-24	Diff.
Seven Seniors Totals
Overall	16-15	16-15	–
SEC	6-12	6-12	–
Torvik	159	80	+79
BPI	148	85	+63
KenPom	154	92	+62
NET	152	101	+51
KPI	121	83	+38
SOR	119	82	+37
Avg.	142.2	87.2	+55.0

And on the aforementioned scoring differential in league games...KenPom ranked Georgia playing the fifth-toughest SEC schedule this winter...as opposed to the ninth in 2022-23.

The Bulldogs have been involved in more than their share of close contests. Fifteen of 31 outings – 48.4 percent – were one-possession games in the final 5:00. Nine of those were still within three points in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

Noah Thomasson is Georgia's leading scorer, both overall (12.8 ppg) and in SEC play (13.2 ppg).

Jabri Abdur-Rahim also is scoring at a double-figure pace for the Bulldogs at 12.2 ppg, largely due to sporting team-high shooting percentages of .356 from 3-point range and .887 at the free throw line. Abdur-Rahim missed the last two game due to an ankle injury, the first DNPs of his career at Georgia. Prior to that, Abdur-Rahim had played in 93 straight contests for the Bulldogs.

A balanced offensive attack features five more players contributing between 7.0-9.7 ppg.

Four Bulldogs have upped their scoring averages from their non-conference contributions to SEC play, topped by Russel Tchewa's jump of 3.2 ppg (from 6.1 to 9.3).

Keeping An Eye On…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is among UGA's career leaders...
• 3 3FGs from co No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison
• 9 3FGs from No. 12 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
• 2 3FGAs from No. 14 Turtle Jackson
• 9 3FGAs from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines

Noah Thomasson is among UGA's season leaders...
• 1 3FG from co-No. 17s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and D.A. Layne
• 2 3FGs from No. 16 Ricky McPhee
• 3 3FGs from co-No. 14s Billy Humphrey and Rashad Wright
• 4 3FGs No. 13 Jody Patton

UGA's SEC Tournament History

Georgia sports a 48-60 all-time record in 63 SEC Tournaments. The Bulldogs are 39-41 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.

The Bulldogs have reached the semifinals 15 times, most recently doing so in 2016.

Scouting The Tigers

Missouri is 8-23 after finishing SEC play 0-18. The Tigers compiled an 8-5 non-conference record, with three of those losses coming to teams ranked in the Jan. 1 AP poll – No. 2 Kansas, No. 9 Illinois and No. 15 Memphis.

Sean East II paces a quartet of Tigers producing double-digit scoring averages at 17.9 ppg. He is ranked among the SEC's top-10 leaders in five stats – No. 1 in playing time, No. 4 in field goal percentage, No. 5 in scoring, No. 8 in free throw percentage and No. 9 in assists.

Tamar Bates, Noah Carter and Nick Honor also are scoring in double figures, chipping in 13.5, 11.0 and 11.0 ppg, respectively.

Series History With Mizzou

Missouri owns a 11-9 edge in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Tigers, including a 3-1 margin in neutral site affairs.

Georgia and Mizzou last met on Jan. 6 in the SEC opener in Columbia. Russel Tchewa's season-high tallies of 18 points and 11 rebounds led to his first double-double at Georgia and a 75-68 win.

Tchewa was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line. His 11 rebounds was more than one-third of the 30 individual boards collected by Bulldogs in the contest. Justin Hill added what was then a season-high 16 points, Noah Thomasson chipped in 15 points (including the 1,200th of his career) and Silas Demary Jr. added 10 in his SEC debut.

Georgia used a 16-0 surge to grab a 17-point, 35-18, lead with 5:50 left in the first half before Missouri responded and cut that gap to 40-38 at the intermission. The contest was a one-possession game for 29:38 before the Bulldogs closed out the afternoon on a 12-3 run.

Georgia and Missouri last met in the SEC Tournament three years ago in the first round, with the Tigers downing the Bulldogs, 73-70.

Sahvir Wheeler and Toumani Camara led Georgia with double-doubles. Wheeler scored 14 points and dished out an SEC Tournament-record 14 assists, while Camara posted 13 points and 10 rebounds.

After the Tigers led 66-65 with 3:07 remaining, the Bulldogs failed on two attempts to tie or take the lead. Georgia again closed within a point at 71-70 with 12 seconds left. Missouri converted two free throws before P.J. Horne's attempt at a game-tying triple at the buzzer was off the mark.

Last Time Out

Auburn grabbed an early lead and maintained a double-digit distance for the rest of the evening en route to a 92-78 win over Georgia on Saturday at Neville Arena.

Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while Russel Tchewa posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"It could've gotten ugly, and it has gotten ugly against in this building against other teams," head coach Mike White said. "Auburn is terrific. They executed at a really high level. The hole that we dug ourselves early on was the difference. I loved our fight in the second 20 [minutes]. To come in here and outrebound these guys shows you that our guys left a lot out there on the floor."

Another Nail-Biter For The Bulldogs

Last Tuesday's win over Ole Miss was not decided until the final 30 seconds, upping the number of "close games" for Georgia this season to 14.

Of the Bulldogs' 31 games to date...
• 14 have been a one-possession game in the last five minutes. Georgia is 7-7 in those games.
• 12 have been a one-possession game in the last 90 seconds. Georgia is 5-7 in those games.
• Nine have been a one-possession game in the last 30 seconds. Georgia is 5-4 in those games.

Bulldogs' Freshmen Making Their Mark

Georgia's freshmen have made a impressive impact this season, particularly in SEC play.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all got a starting nod in the Bulldogs' last two games – the first time a trio of freshmen started for Georgia since Anthony Edwards, Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler did so in the 2020 SEC Tournament.

Cain and Demary are two of only SEC eight freshman who are logging 20.0 mpg in conference outings. In addition, James has seen his playing time jump significantly, averaging 15.3 mpg in the last nine games.

Demary, who was named to the league's All-Freshman team on Monday, leads all SEC freshman in games started, both overall (30) and in SEC action (17). The lone game he was not on the floor for the opening tip was against Texas A&M on "Senior Day." Demary is one of only five freshmen in the SEC averaging double figures in conference action at 10.5 ppg. He also ranks No. 9 among league leaders in steals per game at 1.52 spg.

Cain, who made his first career start at LSU on Feb. 27, is one of just 10 SEC freshmen scoring 6.5 ppg or more in league games. He has done much of his damage from 3-point range, with 38 of his 85 field goals (44.7 percent) coming from behind the arc.

In addition to his increased playing time, James is averaging 5.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg in Georgia's last nine contests, which is more than double the 2.1 ppg and 1.4 rpg he contributed in seven games played during the Bulldogs' first 22 outings of the season.

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.

With last Tuesday's win over Ole Miss, Georgia improved to 26-2 when holding its opponents under 70 points during White's tenure...and 6-29 when opponents reach the 70-point plateau.

The losses on that ledger were a 66-67 setback at LSU on Feb. 27 and a 61-55 decision at South Carolina in the 2022-23 regular-season finale.

Bulldogs Continue To Shuffle Starting Lineup

Eleven Bulldogs players have been used to comprise 11 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 12 games, Georgia has used eight different sets of starters.

Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson are the only 31-game starters, while Silas Demary Jr. started every game other than "Senior Day."

Some Big Numbers for UGA "Seniors"

Georgia honored seven players on "Senior Day" against Texas A&M, even though the group features a trio of graduate transfers.

Those Bulldogs included first-year grad transfers RJ Sunahara, Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson; second-season seniors Frank Anselem-Ibe, Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe; and third-year senior Jabri Abdur-Rahim.

That septet – we googled it – of Bulldogs has combined to comprise some pretty massive statistics as NCAA basketball players. Those totals, with the D-I statistical leader, are listed to the right.

Stat	No.	Leader
Seven Seniors Totals
Games played	767	Tchewa	135
Games started	431	Tchewa	91
		Thomasson	91
Minutes	16,753	Thomasson	3,238
Points	6,819	Thomasson	1,422
Rebounds	3,016	Tchewa	707
Assists	1,119	Hill	409
Blocks	367	Anselem-Ibe	54
Steals	476	Hill	109

Tchewa's Numbers, Efficiency Increase Considerably In SEC play

Graduate transfer Russel Tchewa has increased his production and shooting efficiency considerably during SEC action.

Nine of Tchewa's 12 double-figure scoring outputs and all six of his double-digit rebound counts have come during league play. Those tallies produced his team-leading five double-doubles on the year.

After averaging 6.1 ppg in 13 non-conference games, Tchewa has upped that average to 9.3 ppg against SEC foes – an increase of 3.2 ppg.

After averaging 6.3 rpg in November and December, he is grabbing 7.2 rpg in league outings – an increase of 0.9 rpg.

After shooting 49.1 percent from the field in non-conference action, Tchewa is converting on 59.4 percent versus conference competition – an increase of 10.3 percent.

Tchewa's playing time also has seen a significant jump since 2024 calendar began. He logged 22.2 minutes of action in non-conference contests but has upped that to 28.1 mpg in the SEC – an increase of 5.9 mpg.

Individual Scoring In SEC Action Up

Four Bulldogs have boosted their point production from non-conference outings to SEC competition, led by Russel Tchewa's increase of 3.2 ppg.

Statistic	Non	SEC
SEC Individual Increases
Noah Thomasson	12.5	13.4
Silas Demary Jr.	8.5	10.5
Justin Hill	8.5	9.1
Russel Tchewa	6.1	9.3

Bulldogs Notch Fourth Road Win

Georgia's victory at Vanderbilt represented the Bulldogs' fourth road win of the season. Georgia is now 4-5 on the road during the 2023-24 season.

"Good for you" would probably be the best passive, aggressive, condescending response.

It is good for the Bulldogs, considering it took Georgia 37 road games (as in a 4-33 record) over four seasons to win four road games prior to this season. The four road Ws in 2023-24 are the most Georgia has recorded in a season since the 2017-18 campaign.

A Lot Of Entertaining Outings During The Losing Streak

Georgia's losing streak from Jan. 27-Feb. 17 featured six competitive and dramatic contests.

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 before Mississippi 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.

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

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 history. A minimum of 50 makes are required for inclusion on the Bulldogs' all-time single-season free throw 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 118-of-133 (.887) free throws, the third-best percentage in school history.

Melendez met the 50 makes standard versus No. 24/22 Alabama on Jan. 31. He is currently 57-of-65 at the line this season, an 87.7 percent conversion rate that is No. 5 all-time among Bulldogs.

Jabri Sets Game Mark, Joins Career Percentage Line Leaders too

In addition to his aforementioned season efforts, Jabri Abdur-Rahim shares Georgia's best game free throw percentage and is among the best career converters too. Minimums of 9 and 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among UGA's single-game career free throw percentage leaders, respectively.

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

Abdur-Rahim has connected on 238-of-285 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 83.5 percent that currently has him at No. 2 all-time among Bulldogs.

Cain, Demary Make Strong 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 an opener since Anthony Edwards in 2019.

With 12 points, 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.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Frank Anselem-Ibe

Blue Cain

Jalen DeLoach

Silas Demary Jr.

Justin Hill

Dylan James

Markel Jennings

Brandon Klatsky

RJ Melendez

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Jaden Newell

RJ Sunahara

Russel Tchewa

Noah Thomasson