Bulldogs Host No. 3 Florida, Third Top-10 Opponent In Four Games

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (16-11, 4-10 SEC) vs. No. 3/3 Florida (24-3, 11-3 SEC)
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
Student Giveaway: The first 750 UGA students will receive a black replica jersey
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, 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...

After facing No. 1/1 Auburn last Saturday on the road, Georgia returns to Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday to host No. 3/3 Florida. The Gators are the Bulldogs' third top-10 foe in their last four games.
Tuesday's game will be Georgia's 28th of the 2024-25 campaign. It will be the Bulldogs' 14th outing against an AP-ranked team.
Tuesday's game will be Georgia's 15th during the 2025 calendar. It will be the Bulldogs' eighth contest versus a top-10 AP-ranked team...with five of those being on the road.
In Georgia's last two games, Asa Newell scored 23 points against No. 21/22 Missouri and 20 points at No. 1/1 Auburn...the first consecutive 20-point outings by a Bulldog since Kario Oquendo in 2022.
Over the Bulldogs' last four games, Silas Demary Jr. has averaged 19.0 ppg, 4.8 apg and 38.0 mpg, including career highs of 23 points and seven assists against No. 22 Mississippi State.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs continue their almost unfathomable 2024-25 schedule on Tuesday when they host No. 3/3 Florida at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Gators will represent Georgia's 14th top-25 opponent during the 28th contest of the season.

The outing against Florida will be Georgia's 15th since 2025 began. It will be the Bulldogs' eighth contest versus top-10 competition, with five of those being on the road.

All of the aforementioned numbers – 14 games against ranked competition, eight versus top-10 teams and five road trips to top-10 foes – are the most of any team in the nation.

The Bulldogs are 16-11 overall and 4-10 in SEC play. Georgia is squarely among NCAA bubble teams looking to make a late push into "March Madness." The Bulldogs are the "third team out" in Joe Lunardi's Sunday update of the bracket. In addition to the date with Florida, the Bulldogs also have matchups against two of the "last four byes" in the final four games of the regular season.

The Bulldogs' balanced offense features seven players who have led Georgia in scoring in one or more games.

Asa Newell, who has been named SEC Freshman of the Week four times to tie Anthony Edwards' UGA record most SEC FOTW honors, paces the Bulldogs in scoring at 15.4 ppg and on the boards at 6.7 rpg. Among SEC leaders, Newell is No. 14 in scoring, No. 12 rebounding, No. 3 in offensive rebounds (3.3 orpg) and No. 5 in double-doubles (six). In addition, he entered the week at No. 2 in the league and No. 47 nationally in field goal percentage (.553).

Silas Demary Jr. also is scoring at double-digit pace of 12.1 ppg the Bulldogs and sports team-high averages of 4.0 apg, 1.7 spg and 31.0.

Scouting The Gators

Florida arrives in Athens at 24-3 overall and 11-3 in SEC play. After being ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press and coaches polls last week, the Gators slipped to No. 3 on Monday following Duke's blowout victory over Illinois on Sunday.

Florida is riding a six-game winning streak which includes road victories at No. 1 Auburn and No. 22 Mississippi State.

Walter Clayton Jr. leads Florida in scoring (17.1 ppg), assists (4.0 apg) and playing time (31.9 mpg), as well as in 3-point percentage (.365) and free throw percentage (.877).

Three more Gators are scoring at a double-figure pace – Alijah Martin at 15.0 ppg, Will Richard at 12.6 ppg and Alex Condon at 10.6 ppg. Condon has missed the last three games after suffering an injury early in the Mississippi State game on Feb. 11.

Series History With Florida

Despite Georgia's 63-45 advantage in games played in Athens, Florida possesses a 126-105 edge in the all-time hardwood series between the Bulldogs and the Gators.

UGA and UF met four weeks ago in Gainesville, with the Gators securing an 89-59 victory.

In the most recent matchup in Athens on Feb. 17 last season, Florida rallied from an 11-point deficit to top Georgia, 88-82.

Noah Thomasson scored a season-high 26 points, including 17 in the first half, to lead the Bulldogs. Georgia led 22-11 early, but Florida cut that gap to 46-40 by halftime and took the lead for good at 52-50.

Last Time Out

Auburn scored the game's first nine points and led the rest of the day en route to an 82-70 victory over Georgia on Saturday.

The Bulldogs kept the margin manageable throughout the contest. After Auburn surged to a 53-43 lead with 10:27 remaining, Georgia methodically trimmed that margin to 66-62 with 3:44 left but could not pull closer.

Asa Newell followed his 23 points versus No. 22/21 Missouri with 20 points, becoming the first Bulldog with consecutive 20-point performances since Kario Oquendo in 2022.

Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain chipped in 18 and 13 points, respectively, while Justin Abson added a season-high nine off the bench.

"I don't think the final score was indicative of how close the game was," head coach Mike White said. "Credit our guys. Obviously, Auburn is really, really good. They're perhaps the best team in the country, and it was a two-possession game there for a lot of the time down the stretch. We couldn't quite hit the big one or two that we needed to hit to make it a little bit closer. That said, the three or four possessions where we did hit a big shot, they answered immediately with a score on the other end. That's what good teams do and good players do."

Gators Are Georgia's Most Frequent Foe

Georgia and Florida will face off for the 232nd time on Tuesday, the most games the Bulldogs have played against any opponent.

Rounding out the top-5 in games played against Georgia are Auburn at 201, Georgia Tech at 200 and Tennessee and Kentucky, both with 161.

UGA Leads The Nation In Ranked Opponents

Tuesday's outing against No. 3/3 Florida represents Georgia's 14th game against an Associated Press ranked team and the Bulldogs' eighth contest versus an AP top-10 foe this season.

Both of those tallies lead the nation as outlined below.

Prior to this season, Georgia had never played four ranked opponents in a row. The Bulldogs have played five straight top-25 foes twice during SEC play this season.

Top-25 AP Opponents
Rk.	Team	Games
1.	Georgia	14
2.	Alabama	13
3.	Miss. St.	12
	Oklahoma	12
	S. Carolina	12
6.	Auburn	11
	Ohio State	11

Top-10 AP Opponents
Rk.	Team	Games
1.	Georgia	8
2.	Kentucky	7
	Miss. St.	7
4.	Arkansas	6
	Auburn	6
	Missouri	6
	Vanderbilt	6
	West Virginia	6
9.	N. Carolina	5

Bulldogs Face Most Ranked Foes Ever

Georgia's number of games against AP ranked competition not only leads all Division I teams this season, its the most ever for UGA.

The Bulldogs' 14 outings versus top-25 opponents is the most in program history. Georgia's previous high for ranked foes was 10 during the 1981-82, 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2002-03 and 2006-07 seasons.

Tuesday's game will be the Bulldogs' eighth against an AP top-10 team, passing UGA's previous high of six such outings during the 1980-81 and 1993-94 campaigns.

Back-To-Back Dates vs. 1-2 fails to Materialize

For the second time this season, potential consecutive contests against teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for Georgia failed to happen.

The Bulldogs took on No. 1/1 Auburn last Saturday; however, Florida, which was ranked No. 2/2 last week, slipped to No. 3 in both polls on Monday following Duke's manhandling of Illinois.

Earlier this season, Florida prevented Georgia from facing No. 1 and No. 2. On Jan. 9, Tennessee and Auburn were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The Gators knocked off the Vols in Gainesville, dropping Tennessee to No. 6 for their date with the Dogs on Jan. 15.

For the record, Georgia has never played back-to-back games against No. 1 and No. 2; however, the Bulldogs did play No. 1 Kentucky in consecutive games during the 1953-54 season, facing the Wildcats in Lexington on Feb. 4, 1954 and then again two days later in Owensboro, Ky.

Asa Equals Ant For UGA's Most SEC FOTW Honors

Asa Newell was selected as the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season on Feb. 10, tying Anthony Edwards (2019-20) for the most SEC FOTW certificates ever secured by a Georgia Bulldog.

Newell also was honored on Nov. 18 (after he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in a pair of wins over Georgia Tech and North Florida) Dec. 9 (after posting game-high tallies of 20 points and 11 rebounds in Georgia's 69-48 victory over Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge) and Jan. 13 (after he averaged 16.0 ppg and was Georgia's leading scorer in wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma).

That's just a portion of the accolades Newell has received.

On Feb. 7, Newell was named a top-10 candidate for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabar Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The award annually honors the nation's top center.

Newell is one of three non-seniors on the list. He is the third Georgia player in the past nine years to be a top-10 candidate for one of the position player of the year awards, following Anthony Edwards (Jerry West Award in 2020) and Yante Maten (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award in 2017).

On Jan. 29, Newell was featured on The Athletic's Freshman All-America squad along with Cooper Flagg from Duke, Dylan Harper from Rutgers, Kasparas Jakucionis from Illinois and Tahaad Pettiford from Auburn.

Silas Increases PT & Production

Sophomore Silas Demary Jr. has produced a trio of career-high tallies in UGA's last four games.

The Raleigh, N.C., native, recorded career highs of 23 points and seven assists against No. 22 Mississippi State. Demary Jr. logged a career-most "40-" minutes at No. 8/9 Texas A&M, playing all but 18 seconds of the first half. He then topped that mark by playing all 40 minutes versus No. 21/22 Missouri.

The career highs highlight what has been a productive stretch by Demary Jr. Over the last four games against the teams ranked No. 22, No. 8, No. 21 and No. 1 in the nation, he is averaging 19.0 points and 4.8 assists in 38.0 minutes of action per game.

Blue Producing More Points In SEC Play

Sophomore Blue Cain has upped his offensive production by a significant margin since SEC competition began.

After contributing 8.2 ppg in Georgia's 13 non-conference games, Cain is scoring 9.9 ppg in league play. He has done so by primarily upping his shooting percentages – from .375 overall and .310 from 3-point range in non-conference to .417 and .352 versus SEC opponents.

Newell Leads The "Dunkyard Dawgs"

With a nod to the awesome website barttorvik.com, we know that Georgia entered this week scoring the nation's seventh-highest percentage of its made FGs on dunks – 14.4 percent.

Freshman Asa Newell's 53 slams represent the ninth most among all Division I players as outlined below.

Top Dunkers Team Leaders
Rk.	Team	Pct. of FGs
1.	Creighton	18.1
2.	Utah	16.2
3.	Cincinnati	15.7
	Duke	15.7
5.	Tennessee	15.6
6.	Missouri	14.7
7.	Georgia	14.4

Individual Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	No.
1.	R. Kalkbrenner, CU	76
2.	M. Rubin, Loy-Chi.	60
3.	R. Castro, GWU	59
4.	J. Scott, UofL	58
5.	A. Bandaogo, UC	57
	D. Mitchell, UC	57
7.	B. Coulibaly, Pepp.	56
8.	K. Laluach, Duke	54
9.	A. Newell, UGA	53

White Enjoyed Successful Stint In Gainesville

Mike White was the head coach at Florida for seven seasons from 2015-22.

White posted a 142-88 record with the Gators and reached 100 victories at UF 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 to earn an NCAA bid in 2020 before it was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More impressively, while at Florida White was one of only five coaches to record a victory in each of the NCAA Tournaments between 2017-21 along with Bill Self, Mark Few, Jay Wright and Leonard Hamilton.

Bulldogs Have Many More Ties To Florida

In addition to Mike White serving as the Gators head coach, several other players and members of Georgia's staff have ties to Florida – the state and university.

No less than six Bulldogs list cities in Florida as their hometown – Justin Abson, Coconut Creek; Dylan James, Winter Haven; Jordyn Kee, Broward County; De'Shayne Montgomery, Broward County; and Asa and Jaden Newell, Destin.

In addition, assistant coach Erik Pastrana is from Miami, Director of Player Development Darryl Hardin is from Saint Petersburg, Director of Operations Ben Gonzalez is from Tampa, Director of Video & Analytics Ryan McCloskey is from Gainesville and Executive Assistant Casey Reed is from Valrico. Gonzalez, McCloskey and Reed are all UF graduates.

Rounding out the connections is graduate assistant Alex Klatsky, who played for the Gators from 2019-24 and is the older brother of current Bulldog Brandon Klatsky.

Georgia Elite At Protecting The Rim

Georgia enters this week ranked No. 10 nationally in blocks per game, swatting an average of 5.4 opponent attempts every outing.

Freshman Somto Cyril ranks No. 4 in the SEC and No. 51 nationally at 1.7 bpg. Cyril has blocked four or more shots in four games, including five in back-to-back outings against Notre Dame and Buffalo. He is one of three Bulldogs with five swats in a game this season. Dylan James had five rejections in Georgia's upset of then-No. 22/20 St. Johns and Asa Newell did so at No. 4/4 Alabama.

Cyril and Newell both had four blocks when Georgia had 12 swats 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.

Georgia's Declaration of SEC Schedule Difficulty

We know that a computer spit out the Southeastern Conference men's basketball schedule using an almost unfathomable lengthy list of data qualifiers attempting to create an equal and equitable ledger for all 16 schools.

However, it seems prudent to make the following declaration.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all schedules are not created equal, that they are endowed by the league office with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (as in an NCAA Tournament bid)."

• Georgia is the only league team that has road trips to each of the four SEC teams ranked in the top-10 throughout conference play – Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. A trip to No. 8/9 Texas A&M was added for good measure.

• Georgia is one of two teams that will play two of those top-10 programs twice – Auburn and Florida. Kentucky is the other – Alabama and Tennessee.

• Of Georgia's 18 SEC games, 15 are against featured in the latest published edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology, including eight outings top-3 seeds – No. 1 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn (twice), No. 1 Florida (twice), No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 3 Texas A&M.

#CommitToTheGrades

The basketball Bulldogs enjoyed their strongest academic semester ever during the fall of 2024, producing a team grade point average of 3.28. That was not only the program's highest mark ever, but also the second-highest GPA among UGA's nine men's athletic programs last fall.

All told, 12 Georgia players posted a 3.0 or higher in the fall. Tyrin Lawrence led the way with a 4.0, followed by four players between a 3.50-3.99 and seven between a 3.0-3.49.

White Quickly Takes Programs With Losing Records To The AP Top 25

When Georgia appeared at No. 23 in the Jan. 13 AP 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 AP 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 and 72-62 decision over No. 17 Oklahoma on Jan. 11 represented the Bulldogs' first back-to-back victories over ranked opponents since beating No. 25 Kentucky and No. 21 LSU in January 2007.

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

Georgia Inks Another 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.

Stagg, is a 6-8, forward from Chesapeake, Va., who is in his second season at the IMG Academy.

Wilkins, a 6-9, forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School is the son of former Bulldog and hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins.

Asa Equals Nique's Scoring 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.

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

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

View the full game notes PDF.

Bulldogs Host No. 3 Florida, Third Top-10 Opponent In Four Games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Abson

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

Dylan James

Jordyn Kee

Brandon Klatsky

Tyrin Lawrence

De'Shayne Montgomery

Asa Newell

Jaden Newell

Noah Thomasson

University of Georgia Athletics

Bulldogs Host No. 3 Florida, Third Top-10 Opponent In Four Games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Abson

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

Dylan James

Jordyn Kee

Brandon Klatsky

Tyrin Lawrence

De'Shayne Montgomery

Asa Newell

Jaden Newell

Noah Thomasson

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