Bulldogs Begin February Slate At No. 4/4 Alabama

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) vs. No. 4/4 Alabama (18-3, 7-1 SEC)
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Coleman Coliseum (13,474)
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: ESPN2 (Michael Schumacker, play-by-play; Richard Hendrix, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 121 or 191 (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia treks to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face No. 4/4 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum, the Bulldogs' fourth matchup overall – and third on the road – against a top-10 foe in their last six games.
Georgia flips the calendar from a January, when the Bulldogs played six of eight games against top-25 competition, to find a February, with six of seven opponents included in this week's polls. Three of those February foes are currently in the top 10.
After using the same starting five for 20 games, Georgia altered that lineup and sent Dakota Leffew to the floor for the opening tip against South Carolina. He responded with a team-leading "+17" which featured 14 points, a team-high four assists and season-high tallies of three steals and 35 minutes.
Asa Newell was named to The Athletic's Freshman All-America team on Wednesday. Among freshmen nationally, Newell ranks No. 11 in scoring, No. 10 in rebounding and No. 3 in FG pct.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend ranked 37.5 in an average of six popular metrics (NET, KenPom, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR) – an increase of 181.5 spots since Mike White became UGA's head coach.

The Opening Tip

After playing six of eight games against ranked teams during the month of January, the Georgia Bulldogs christen their February slate with a trip to No. 4/4 Alabama on Saturday, the first of six contests versus teams in this week's polls over the next four weeks.

The matchup with the Crimson Tide completes a six-game span in which Georgia faced four top-10 squads – No. 6/6 Tennessee, No. 1/1 Auburn, No. 5/6 Florida and No. 4/4 Alabama.

The Bulldogs are 15-6 overall and 3-5 in SEC play.

Georgia's balanced offense features seven players who have led the Bulldogs in one or more games. Two more players have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those nine Bulldogs have produced 77 double-digit performances.

Asa Newell, who has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times, leads a trio of Bulldogs averaging double figures at 15.2 ppg. He also paces UGA on the boards at 7.0 rpg. Among league leaders, Newell is ranked No. 14 in scoring and No. 12 rebounding. He also is No. 3 in the SEC and No. 43 nationally in field goal percentage (.559).

Silas Demary Jr. and Dakota Leffew are scoring at double-digit paces of 11.3 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively, for the Bulldogs. Demary Jr. also sports team-high averages of 2.8 apg and 1.8 spg.

Scouting The Tide

Alabama enters Saturday's game at 18-3 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 4 in both the AP and coaches polls. Alabama began the season ranked No. 2 in both ledgers, dropped outside the top 10 for one week (Dec. 2) before a steady ascent back into the top 5.

The Crimson Tide is 11-1 at Coleman Coliseum this season, with a lone loss coming to No. 21 Ole Miss on Jan. 14.

Mark Sears owns team-high averages of 18.0 ppg and 5.0 apg, tallies that rank fourth and third, respectively, among SEC leaders. The Tide sports a trio of additional active double-digit scorers, with Grant Nelson at 12.7 ppg, Aden Holloway at 11.7 ppg and Labaron Philon at 11.0 ppg.

Series History With Bama

Alabama sports a 100-54 advantage in the all-time series with Georgia.

Alabama rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit en route to an 85-76 win over Georgia last season on Jan. 31 in Athens.

Georgia raced to a 17-2 lead over the game's first 8:03 and maintained a 41-27 advantage at the intermission.

The Bulldogs led for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Alabama rallied. After trailing 59-47, a bucket at the 9:53 mark ignited a 19-5 surge to give the Tide its first lead of the evening. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Grant Nelson with just under two minutes remaining pushed Bama's lead from two points to eight in a span of 29 seconds.

Last Time Out

Asa Newell notched his fifth double-double overall – and third in SEC play – lead Georgia in a 71-60 win over South Carolina on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Newell finished with 17 points and 11 boards.

After using the same starting five for the first 20 outings, Dakota Leffew made his initial appearance for the opening tip and responded with 14 points, four assists and season-best efforts of three steals and 35 minutes.

Dylan James, who scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes, played a key role. He scored eight straight points in a span of 68 seconds late in the first half to help Georgia push a five-point lead with 4:55 left in the period to 14 points at the intermission. The Bulldogs then led by double figures for all but 25 seconds of the second stanza.

"We played a really good first half," Mike White said. "I think it started with our ball security and our decisions. Just having three turnovers at halftime was the biggest difference for us."

Asa Newell Named To The Athletic's Freshman All-America Team

Asa Newell joined some elite names on The Athletic's Freshman All-America squad announced on Wednesday (Jan. 29).

The five-player ledger also featured Cooper Flagg from Duke, Dylan Harper from Rutgers, Kasparas Jakucionis from Illinois and Tahaad Pettiford from Auburn. The quintet was chosen by a panel of eight of the outlet's college basketball experts.

"Newell has been a model of consistency for a modern big in college basketball, which is tough and rare as a freshman," Justin Williams wrote. "His athleticism and versatility have helped defensively, where Georgia ranks top 20 in KenPom."

Among freshmen, Newell entered this weekend ranked No. 11 in scoring (15.2 ppg), No. 10 in rebounding (7.0 rpg), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.559) and No. 8 in double-doubles (five).

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. 32 in ESPN's SPR.

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 181.5 spots during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

Home Winning Streaks
Rk.	Season	No.
1.	1930-31 & '31-32	25
2.	1938-39 & '39-40	20
3.	1988-89, '89-90 & '90-91	15
4.	2001-02 & '02-03	13
5.	2023-24 & '24-25	12
	1997-98 & '98-99	12
7.	1984-85 & '85-86	11
8.	2023-24	10
	2022-23	10
	2007-08	10

Georgia Alters Starters For First Time

After sending the same quartet onto the court for tipoff for the first 20 games, the Bulldogs changed their lineup against South Carolina.

Graduate Dakota Leffew got his first nod of the season in place of graduate Tyrin Lawrence. Leffew responded with a team-best "+17" against the Gamecocks, with 14 points, a team-high four assists and season-best tallies of three steals and 35 minutes.

Georgia was one of six Division I programs to use the same starting lineup for the first 20 games of the season. Interestingly, the Bulldogs have played three of the other five teams to do so – Marquette, Tennessee and Florida.

"Everyday Dyl" Comes Up Big For Bulldogs

Mike White often refers to Dylan James as "everyday Dyl," a nod to the sophomore's consistency in practice on a daily basis.

James gave the Bulldogs a major boost in their Jan. 28 victory over South Carolina. After combining to score 10 points and grab five rebounds in Georgia's first seven SEC dates, the Winter Haven, Fla., native matched those totals with 10 points and five boards in a season-high 21 minutes of PT against the Gamecocks.

James single-handedly provided the Bulldogs with separation on the scoreboard late in the first half. A banked-in 3-pointer at the 4:54 mark began a 68-second span when James scored eight straight points for Georgia, pushing a five-point advantage to 11.

"My mindset is to maximize every opportunity," James said. "Every chance I get, I go 100 percent. Coach (White) tells me every day 'Just be the same guy every day. Go out there, play hard, and then opportunities are going to come.' I feel like today was that day."

No Matter How You State It, Dogs' SEC Slate Is Daunting

Since Georgia's Southeastern Conference schedule is so testing, here's a multiple choice question about the Bulldogs' slate. Which of the following is true?

A. Georgia opened SEC play by facing five straight top-25 opponents. Prior to this season, the Bulldogs had only played three consecutive ranked foes four times. Georgia had never played ranked opposition four outings in a row, let alone five.

B. Georgia is the midst of a six-game stretch when the Bulldogs will face four top-10 teams – No. 6/6 Tennessee, No. 1/1 Auburn, No. 5/6 Florida and No. 4/4 Alabama – with three of those matchups being on the road.

C. Georgia's February schedule includes six of seven games against teams ranked in the top-25 when the month began, including three top-10 foes.

D. Of Georgia's 18 SEC games, 14 are against featured in the latest published edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology, including six road outings at top-6 seeds – No. 1 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 6 Ole Miss.

E. All of the above.

Mike White, Quickly Taking Losing Programs To The Top 25

When Georgia appeared at No. 23 in the Jan. 13 Associated Press poll, it represented the third program Mike White has taken a program from a losing record the season before his arrival to a top-25 ranking in less than three years.

The Bulldogs, who were 6-26 in 2021-22, joined the AP poll after improving to 14-4 with back-to-back wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma the previous week.

White took less than two seasons to earn a top-25 ranking at his previous two head coaching stops. Louisiana Tech was in 12-20 in 2010-11 before White had those Bulldogs ranked No. 25 during the 2012-13 campaign. White inherited a 16-17 team from 2014-15 at Florida. Two seasons later, the Gators topped out at No. 12 in the AP poll during their 2017 "Elite Eight" campaign.

Some More Stuff On The Polls

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and coaches polls released on Monday, Jan. 13.

That was Georgia's first appearance in the AP poll in just over 14 years....since Jan. 10, 2011, when the Bulldogs were No. 24. The last time prior to that when Georgia was featured in both polls was nearly 22 years ago...on March 10, 2003, when the Bulldogs were listed at No. 21 and No. 22 in the AP and coaches polls, respectively.

A pair of wins over ranked foes pushed the Bulldogs into the week's polls.

Georgia's 82-69 win over No. 6 Kentucky on Jan. 7 represented the Bulldogs' highest over a ranked foe since defeating No. 5 Kentucky, 65-57, on Jan. 17, 2004. It was also UGA's highest over a ranked opponent at Stegeman Coliseum since beating No. 3 Georgia Tech, 83-80 in double OT, on Jan. 3, 2004 . . . a span of 21 years and one day.

The Bulldogs then topped No. 17 Oklahoma on Jan. 11, securing their first back-to-back victories over ranked opponents since beating No. 25 Kentucky and No. 21 LSU in January 2007.

Dogs Among Nation's Best In A 6 Stats

Georgia entered the weekend ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in six statistics as outlined below.

The Bulldogs rank among the nation's top-20 teams in both field goal percentage defense (No. 17) and 3-point defense (No. 8), as well as No. 43 in scoring defense.

Oddly, Georgia is one of the nation's worst teams in free throw defense. The Bulldogs rank No. 350, with opponents connecting on 76.6 percent of their trips to the line.

Georgia is No. 11 nationally in blocked shots. Freshman Somto Cyril, who has four or more blocks in four games, entered the weekend ranked No. 36 nationally – No. 6 among freshmen – at 1.8 bpg. Cyril and classmate Asa Newell both had four blocks when Georgia swatted 12 shots against Texas Southern on Nov. 10, the Bulldogs' most in a single game since also blocking a dozen attempts by Vanderbilt on Jan. 9, 2019.

A Top-50 Team In...
Rk.	Category	Stat
8.	3-Point FG Defense	.283
11.	Blocked Shots	5.4
17.	FG Percentage Defense	.393
33.	FT Attempts Per Game	23.1
37.	Rebound Margin	+5.9
41.	FTs Per Game	16.7
43.	Scoring Defense	66.1

The "Dunkyard Dawgs" Attack The Rim

With a nod to the awesome website barttorvik.com, we know that Georgia entered this weekend scoring the nation's fifth-highest percentage of its made FGs on dunks – 15.2 percent.

Freshman Asa Newell's 43 slams represent the sixth most among all Division I players as outlined below.

Top Dunkers - Team Leaders
Rk.	Team	Pct. of FGs
1.	Cincinnati	17.5
	Utah	17.5
3.	Creighton	17.4
4.	Tennessee	16.7
5.	Georgia	15.2
Top Dunkers - Individual Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	No.
1.	R. Kalkbrenner, CU	57
2.	J. Scott, UofL	49
3.	D. Mitchell, UC	45
4.	R. Castro, GWU	44
	A. Bandaogo, UC	44
6.	A. Newell, UGA	43

Lots Of Bulldogs Leading The Way

No less than seven Georgia players have led the Bulldogs offensively this season, while seven different Dogs have also led Georgia on the boards count.

Asa Newell has paced the Bulldogs' point production in a team-high 13 outings and on the boards a team-leading nine times.

A different Bulldog topped 20 points to top Georgia's scoring efforts in first three games of the campaign. 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. 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, Silas Demary Jr., Blue Cain, De'Shayne Montgomery and Tyrin Lawrence have led the Bulldogs on the offensive end.

On the boards, (including some ties) Newell as led Georgia in nine games, followed by Somto Cyril in six, Demary Jr. and in four, Cain and Godfrey in two apiece and Justin Abson and Lawrence in one each.

Bulldogs' Beginning Among Their Best Ever

Georgia's 12-1 start to the 2024-25 campaign was the Bulldogs' third-best ever and their best in 94 seasons as outlined below.

Georgia also opened 1930-31 at 12-1 and eventually extended that to a 23-1 record before losing to Maryland in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament and finishing 23-2. That campaign was the last of Coliseum namesake Herman Stegeman's 12 seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.

Bulldogs' Best Beginnings
Rk.	Season	Rec.
1.	1930-31	23-1
2.	1923-24	13-1
3.	2024-25	12-1
4.	2001-02	11-1
	1996-97	11-1
	1929-30	11-1
	1947-48	11-1
	1920-21	11-1
9.	1995-96	10-1
	1994-95	10-1

The Dogs' Home Court Advantage? It's Real And It's Stegtacular

Georgia is 12-1 at historic Stegeman Coliseum this season, improving to 38-11 (.776) at home under Mike White. That tally includes double-digit decisions over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma this season.

The Bulldogs' 13-game home winning streak was snapped with a 70-68 setback to No. 1 Auburn on Jan. 18. That matched the fourth-longest home winning span ever for UGA.

In fact, Georgia has enjoyed three of its 10 longest stretches of home success ever during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

Home Winning Streaks
Rk.	Season	No.
1.	1930-31 & '31-32	25
2.	1938-39 & '39-40	20
3.	1988-89, '89-90 & '90-91	15
4.	2001-02 & '02-03	13
5.	2023-24 & '24-25	12
	1997-98 & '98-99	12
7.	1984-85 & '85-86	11
8.	2023-24	10
	2022-23	10
	2007-08	10

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 Athens as a visiting head coach before coming to UGA. He led Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and was 6-1 while at Florida from 2015-22.

With his 38-11 home mark since becoming Georgia's head coach, White is now a combined 45-12 (.789) in Stegeman. He is a perfect 27-0 versus non-conference competition in home games while with the Bulldogs.

Asa Equals Nique's Mark For Debuting Dogs

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

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 a 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."

Wilkins wasn't the only elite company Newell joined among the best Bulldog initial outings. Georgia's top-10 list of freshman debuts also includes current NBA stars Anthony Edwards and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as outlined below.

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	Wofford	11/11/11

Six Dogs Were Top-100 Prospects

Georgia's 13 scholarship players includes a half-dozen Bulldogs who were ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects in their class.

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.

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 247 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.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

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Players Mentioned

Justin Abson

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Dakota Leffew

De'Shayne Montgomery

Asa Newell

University of Georgia Athletics