Bulldogs Back At Stegeman To Host LSU

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (15-7, 3-6 SEC) vs. LSU (12-9, 1-7 SEC)
Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
Game Giveaway: The first 750 UGA students will receive Spike slippers.
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Jon Sunvold, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 84 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia returns to the friendly and increasingly raucous confines of Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday to host the LSU Tigers. The Bulldogs will play three of their next four games at home.
Georgia is 12-1 at home this season, with capacity crowds for three of four SEC outings – wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma and a two-point loss to No. 1/1 Auburn.
After playing six of eight games against top-25 teams in January, the Bulldogs flipped the calendar to February to find...six of seven outings versus teams ranked this week.
With UGA at No. 23 on Jan. 13, Mike White has now led three programs with losing records the year before he arrived to the AP top-25 in less than three seasons...also doing so at La. Tech and Florida.
Georgia has become one of the nation's premier defensive teams under Mike White. Metrically, the Bulldogs currently rank in the top-25 nationally in defensive efficiency and effective FG pct defense.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs begin a stretch of three home dates over four games on Wednesday evening when they face LSU's Tigers at historic Stegeman Coliseum.

That span is part of a grueling February slate for Georgia. After playing six of eight games against top-25 opponents in January, the Bulldogs will face foes ranked this week in six of seven contests during the year's shortest month.

The Bulldogs are 15-7 overall and 3-6 in SEC play and projected as an NCAA Tournament team by virtually everyone predicting a bracket...including a No. 10 seed by ESPN.com on Tuesday.

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 79 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. 15 in scoring and No. 11 rebounding. He also is No. 3 in the SEC and No. 46 nationally in field goal percentage (.550).

Silas Demary Jr. and Dakota Leffew are scoring at double-digit paces of 11.1 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively, for the Bulldogs. Demary Jr. also sports team-high averages of 2.9 apg and 1.7 spg.

Scouting The Tigers

LSU is 12-9 overall and 1-7 in the SEC entering Wednesday's matchup. The Tigers were 11-2 in non-conference play, including victories over Kansas State, UCF and Florida State.

Cam Carter leads a solid 1-2 scoring punch for LSU at 17.3 ppg, followed by Jordan Sears at 14.8 ppg. Jalen Reed averaged 11.1 ppg before suffering a season-ending injury in the eighth game of the season against Florida State.

Series History With LSU

LSU owns a 71-49 advantage in the all-time series with UGA.

The two teams split a home-and-home series last season, with each team winning on its home floor.

In the Tigers' last trip to Athens on Jan. 24 last season, Russel Tchewa's three-point play with 2.3 seconds remaining lifted Georgia to a 68-66 win over the Tigers.

Tchewa grabbed an offensive rebound and powered in a layup while being fouled to secure his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia offensively for the second time in three games with 15 points.

After three ties and seven lead changes in the opening 14:00, Demary scored 11 straight Georgia points to put the Bulldogs up 32-24. Georgia remained on top until a three-point play by Jalen Cook gave the Tigers a 66-65 edge with 16 seconds remaining. Tchewa followed a missed 3-point attempt with his stick-back and free throw.

The rematch on Feb. 27 in Baton Rouge also went down to the final horn. A pair of LSU free throws from Will Baker with 15 seconds left, followed by a pair of misses on potential game winners by Bulldogs, propelled the Tigers to a 67-66 victory.

The back-and-forth final minutes featured six lead changes and two ties in the final 5:38.

Last Time Out

Asa Newell and RJ Godfrey scored 16 and 10 points, respectively, to lead Georgia in a 90-69 setback to No. 4/4 Alabama last Saturday.

Alabama used a 14-0 surge to break open a 10-10 game midway through the first half.

The Bulldogs committed just six turnovers and collected 12 steals in the contest.

"It's definitely frustrating," head coach Mike White said. "There are some positives, though. You get beat 20 on the road, I know that may be a surprise for me to use the word positive, but I'm talking to myself as well. I'm talking to our guys in terms of just trying to keep it in perspective. We come into Alabama and have six turnovers and only had two or three loud ones. For the most part, made really good decisions, executed some stuff, got a lot of post touches, drew a lot of fouls."

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. This season's win tally includes double-digit decisions over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma.

The Bulldogs sport a scoring margin of +20.5 at Stegeman this season, with 10 of 12 victories – including those over the Wildcats and Sooners – coming by double figures.

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, after producing just 11 double-digit home winning streaks in Georgia's first 116 seasons of intercollegiate competition, the Bulldogs have now produced three double-digit winning streaks at Stegeman during White's three seasons alone 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 Has Always Been 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.

Defense Becomes Dogs' Calling Card

Georgia has become one of the nation's top defensive teams under Mike White.

The Bulldogs ranked in the 300s in most defensive categories during the season before his arrival. Georgia is now among the nation's top-30 defensive teams, both statistically and metrically.

The Bulldogs entered this week ranked No. 27 in field goal percentage defense and No. 14 in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Oddly, Georgia is one of the nation's worst teams in free throw defense. The Bulldogs rank No. 354, with opponents connecting on 76.9 percent of their trips to the line.

Georgia also was No. 14 nationally in blocked shots on Monday. Freshman Somto Cyril, who has four or more blocks in four games, entered the week ranked No. 39 nationally – No. 7 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.

Metrically, Georgia is currently ranked in the top-25 nationally in defensive efficiency and effective FG percentage defense by both kenpom.com and barttorvik.com as outlined below.

Defensive Dogs - Kenpom.com
Rk.	Category	Stat
21.	Defensive Efficiency	94.8
16.	Effective FG Dec. Percentage	45.6
Defensive Dogs - Barttorvik.com
Rk.	Category	Stat
22.	Defensive Efficiency	95.0
16.	Effective FG Dec. Percentage	45.6

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 week ranked No. 10 in scoring (15.2 ppg), No. 10 in rebounding (7.0 rpg), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.550) and No. 8 in double-doubles (five).

In Commit To The G, The "G" Is For Grades

The basketball Bulldogs enjoyed their strongest academic semester ever during the fall, 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.

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. During an 18-day span between Jan. 15-Feb. 1, Georgia faced 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-5 seeds – No. 1 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn, No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 5 Ole Miss.

E. All of the above.

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.

"Every day Dyl" Comes Up Big For Bulldogs

Mike White often refers to Dylan James as "every day 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."

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.

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.

The "Dunkyard Dawgs" Attack The Rim

With a nod to the awesome website barttorvik.com, we know that Georgia entered this week scoring the nation's sixth-highest percentage of its made FGs on dunks – 14.6 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.	Utah	17.3
2.	Cincinnati	17.0
3.	Creighton	16.9
4.	Tennessee	16.4
5.	Duke	15.2
6.	Louisville	15.0
7.	Georgia	14.6
Top Dunkers - Individual Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	No.
1.	Utah	17.3
2.	Cincinnati	17.0
3.	Creighton	16.9
4.	Tennessee	16.4
5.	Duke	15.2
6.	Louisville	15.0
7.	Georgia	14.6

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 14 outings and on the boards a team-leading 10 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

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.

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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

Russel Tchewa