Bulldogs Open March With Key Matchup Against Texas

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) vs. Texas (16-12, 5-10 SEC)
Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Moody Center (10,763)
Location: Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN2 (Mike Monaco, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 391 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia and Texas will square off on Saturday evening in the "Bracketology Bubble Bowl" at the Moody Center in Austin. Joe Lunardi's Friday NCAA Tournament projections listed the Longhorns as the "last team in" and the Bulldogs are the "first team out."
The Bulldogs are coming of an 88-83 win over No. 3/3 Florida on Tuesday night in Athens, Georgia's first victory over a top-3 team since defeating No. 3 Georgia Tech in double overtime on Jan. 3, 2004.
Georgia has played 14 games against AP-ranked teams and eight versus AP top-10 squads this season, the most of any program in the nation. In fact, the Bulldogs have played more than half of their games during 2025 – eight of 15 – against top-10 teams, with five of those being on the road.
Asa Newell, who has matched Anthony Edwards' school record with four SEC Freshman of the Week honors, has scored in double figures in 25 games and has led Georgia offensively in 18 outings.
Over the Bulldogs' last five games, Silas Demary Jr. has averaged 19.4 ppg, 4.4 apg and 37.4 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.

The Opening Tip

Georgia opens the month associated with Madness on Saturday with a rarity during the 2025 calendar, a game against a non-ranked team. The Bulldogs' slate – particularly throughout January and February – has been almost unfathomable.

Georgia has played 14 games against top-25 competition. The most of any team in the nation.

The Bulldogs have played eight games versus top-10 foes. The most of any team in the nation.

Georgia has played five road contests against top-10 teams. The most of any team in the nation.

In fact, of the Bulldogs' outings since the New Year began, more than half of – eight of 15 – have been versus top-10 competition.

The Bulldogs are 17-11 overall and 5-10 in SEC play and is squarely among NCAA bubble teams looking to make a late push into "March Madness." With Tuesday's victory over No. 3/3 Florida, Georgia now has two top-10 wins – the same as combined total of current top-10 teams Duke (1), St. John's (0), Michigan State (0) and Texas Tech (1).

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

Asa Newell, a top-10 candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the top center in college basketball, paces the Bulldogs both in scoring at 15.4 ppg and on the boards at 6.8 rpg. Among SEC leaders, Newell is No. 14 in scoring, No. 10 rebounding, No. 3 in offensive rebounds (3.1 orpg) and No. 6 in double-doubles (six). In addition, he enters the weekend at No. 2 in the league and No. 49 nationally in field goal percentage (.550).

Silas Demary Jr. also is scoring at double-digit pace of 12.5 ppg the Bulldogs – including 19.4 ppg over the last five games – and sports team-high averages of 3.9 apg, 1.7 spg and 31.1.

Blue Cain is contributing double figures in league play, upping his average of 8.2 ppg against non-conference competition to 10.1 ppg versus SEC teams.

Scouting The Longhorns

Texas enters Saturday's game at 16-12 overall and 5-10 in SEC action.

Tre Johnson leads the SEC and enters the weekend ranked No. 7 nationally – and No. 1 among freshman – in scoring at 20.9 ppg. Johnson's efficiency is as impressive as his point production, as he is one of two SEC players – along with Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. – ranked among the league's top-10 leaders in field goal percentage (No. 8 at .446), 3-point percentage (No. 4 at .391) and free throw percentage (No. 3 at .886).

Arthur Kaluma is contributing 12.7 ppg and a team-high 7.9 rpg, while Jordan Pope rounds out Texas' double-figure scorers at 10.7 ppg.

Series History With Texas

Georgia owns an 8-5 lead in all-time matchups with Texas.

The Bulldogs and Longhorns last met on Jan. 26, 2019 in Athens as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Tyree Crump scored a game-high 21 points – largely due to shooting 6-of-8 from 3-point range – to lead five Bulldogs in double figures in a 98-88.

The Longhorns led 21-13 before a Crump 3-pointer ignited a 17-2 run that put Georgia up 30-23 with 9:27 left in the first half. Texas tied the game twice, but the Bulldogs answered with a 13-4 run and never trailed thereafter.

In Georgia's last trip to Austin on Nov. 29, 1998, Robb Dryden scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor to lead a quartet of Bulldogs in double digits in a 78-77 victory over the Longhorns. G.G. Smith added 16 points, Ray Harrison chipped in 13 and Michael Chadwick scored 11.

Gabe Muoneke paced Texas with a game-high 23 points.

Last Time Out

Georgia raced to a 39-13 lead over the opening 12:07 and then rallied past No. 3/3 Florida after a furious comeback by the Gators gave them their first lead with 68 seconds remaining in the game.

Georgia led by 16 points at the intermission and by double digits until the 11:08 mark of the second stanza.

The Gators used a 13-0 surge to go up 80-78 at the 1:08 mark before Blue Cain knocked down a 3-pointer to open a 10-3 run over the final 47 seconds.

The victory was Georgia's first over a top-3 team since the Bulldogs best No. 3 Georgia Tech, 83-80, in double overtime on Jan. 3, 2004.

Silas Demary Jr. led five Georgia players in double figures with 21 points, including 14 in the first half. Asa Newell added 15 points; Tyrin Lawrence, who returned to action after missing the previous three games with a hamstring injury, chipped in 14; Cain contributed 10 and RJ Godfrey posted 10.

"Big win, crazy game," head coach Mike White said. "Credit to Florida was incredible with their comeback. They hit huge shots and took the lead and our response down the stretch was phenomenal. Florida's really, really good. It was a big win for us. I didn't get a chance to get in the locker room before the team attacked me in the coach's locker room with about 100 water bottles. So, I changed into this hoodie and am a little more comfortable now. (My) pants are still wet. (I'm) a little cold. I'm ready to get home to the pizza."

Comparing The Bubble Teams

Joe Lunardi publishes daily updates on his projected NCAA Tournament field this time of year. The information includes 16 teams "on the bubble" – the last four byes, last four in, first four out and next four out.

Georgia has been fluttering on the right and wrong side of the bubble over the past several weeks. The Bulldogs' 88-83 victory over No. 3/3 Florida this week propelled the Bulldogs from "next four out" to "first four out" status.

One thing that should work in Georgia's favor in the tournament committee's conversations is that every team that has defeated the Bulldogs is currently projected in the NCAA field by Lunardi. No other team on the bubble that can make that claim.

The NET rankings of the 11 losses for Georgia are – No. 1, No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 12, No. 20, No. 24, No. 27, No. 30 and No. 40. That's an average of 15.5, which is considerably better than any other bubble team as outlined below.

The Bulldogs are the only bubble team without a loss to a team higher than 40 in the NET.

Top-25 AP Opponents
School	Rec.	Net L	+40 Ls	NET L
Baylor	15-12	27.6	3	94
San Diego St.	18-7	44.9	3	103
Arkansas	17-11	21.6	2	81
Nebraska	17-11	35.7	4	74
Oklahoma	17-11	21.7	1	81
Indiana	17-11	29.2	3	66
Ohio State	16-13	29.5	4	58
Texas	16-12	28.8	2	91
Georgia	17-11	15.5	0	40
North Carolina	18-11	28.1	3	85
Boise State	19-8	75.5	7	196
Xavier	18-10	41.0	4	81
Wake Forest	19-9	49.9	4	125
SMU	21-7	37.3	3	77
Cincinnati	17-11	36.7	5	82
Villanova	17-12	66.9	6	256

Paul Harvey's Take On the Bulldogs' Losing Skid

The simplistically easy – and maddingly overutilzied – narrative about Georgia's record from Jan. 15-Feb. 22 has been:

• The Bulldogs lost nine of 11 games

While that's factually accurate, more thorough examination reveals:

• Eight of those nine losses were to top-25 teams
• Six of those losses were to top-10 teams
• Five of those Ls were to top-10 on the road
"And now you know the rest of the story. Good day!"

Asa Joins UGA's Top Scoring & Rebounding Freshman Lists

With his 15-point, nine-rebound performance against No. 3/3 Florida, Asa Newell ascended into the No. 6 and No. 9 positions among Georgia's freshman scoring and rebounding leaders ledgers, respectively, as outlined below.

Newell now has 432 points, inching past two-time NBA Champion and current Orlando Magic standout Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and one shy of No. 5 Cedric Henderson.

The four-time SEC Freshman of the Week has 191 boards on the season, one more than Charles Claxton, father of current Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton. With his performance against the Gators, Newell pushed three-time NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves off the top-10 rebounding list.

UGA Leads The Nation In Ranked Opponents

Georgia has played 14 games against top-25 competition and eight versus top-10 foes.

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

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.

The Bulldogs' eight matchups against AP top-10 teams passed Georgia's previous high of six such outings during the 1980-81 and 1993-94 campaigns.

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 the last five 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 five games – played against the teams ranked No. 22, No. 8, No. 21, No. 1 and No. 3 – he is averaging 19.4 points and 4.4 assists in 37.4 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 10.1 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 .429 and a team-leading .364 versus SEC opponents.

Newell Leads The "Dunkyard Dawgs"

With a nod to the awesome website barttorvik.com, we know that Georgia entered this weekend scoring the nation's seventh-highest percentage of its two-point FG attempts on dunks – 14.3 percent. That equates to 121 slams for the Bulldogs this season.

Freshman Asa Newell's 54 slams represent the 10th most among all Division I players as outlined below.

Top Dunkers Team Leaders
Rk.	Team	Pct. of FGs
1.	Creighton	18.3
2.	Utah	16.3
3.	Duke	15.5
4.	Tennessee	15.4
5.	Cincinnati	15.2
6.	Missouri	14.0
7.	Georgia	14.3

Individual Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	No.
1.	R. Kalkbrenner, CU	81
2.	J. Scott, UofL	64
3.	M. Rubin, Loy-Chi.	62
4.	R. Castro, GWU	60
5.	B. Coulibaly, Pepp.	59
6.	A. Bandaogo, UC	57
	D. Mitchell, UC	57
8.	K. Laluach, Duke	55
	F. Okpara, UT	55
10.	A. Newell, UGA	54

Georgia Elite At Protecting The Rim

Georgia enters this weekend ranked No. 11 nationally in blocks per game, swatting an average of 5.4 opponent attempts every outing.

Freshman Somto Cyril ranks No. 56 nationally – and No. 8 among freshmen – at 1.6 bpg. Cyril has blocked four or more shots in four games, including five in back-to-back outings against Notre Dame and Buffalo.

Two more 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.

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. 2 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.

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

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Players Mentioned

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Asa Newell

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