Bulldogs Host Razorbacks In Top-25 Showdown

Saturday, January 17

Athens, Ga.

4:00

University of Georgia

Arkansas

Tickets From $33 - $48

January 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

No. 21/22 Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC) vs. No. 17/17 Arkansas (13-4, 3-1 SEC)
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Dane Bradshaw, analyst)
Streaming: ESPNU+
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network; Sirius 84 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix
Game Giveaway: The first 750 UGA students will receive a free Georgia-themed winter hat

The Starting 5

No. 21/22 Georgia will host No. 17/17 Arkansas on Saturday at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum, where the Bulldogs are 51-14 (.785) during Mike White's four seasons in Athens.
Georgia will honor its 1996 "Sweet 16" team on Saturday. In Tubby Smith's first season, UGA defeated Clemson and No. 1 seed Purdue before falling to eventual NCAA runner-up Syracuse in overtime.
The Bulldogs are No. 21 and No. 22 in this week's AP and coaches polls, respectively. Georgia has been ranked for five consecutive weeks, its longest span since being in 11 straight polls in 2002-03.
Stegeman Coliseum's rims may take a beating on Saturday. Georgia leads the nation in percentage of field goals that are dunks (122 dunks=20.6 pct.), while Arkansas is ranked No. 6 (100 dunks=16.3 pct.).
Jeremiah Wilkinson has posted 30-point performances in each of Georgia's SEC home outings – 31 against Auburn on Jan. 3 and a season-high 32 versus Ole Miss on Wednesday.

Keeping An Eye On…

Entering Today's Game - Among UGA's Career Leaders

Smurf Millender is…
• 29 points from 1000 for his career
Blue Cain is...
• 3 3-pointers from No. 19 Sundiata Gaines
• 4 3-pointers from No. 18 Rashad Wright
• 8 3-pointers from No. 17 Turtle Jackson
• 22 3-point attempts from No. 18 Ty Wilson
Somto Cyril is...
• 5 blocks from No. 14 Albert Jackson
• 13 blocks from No. 13 Terry Fair

Entering Today's Game - Among UGA's Season Leaders

Somto Cyril is...
• 2 blocks from No. 18 Charles Claxton ('93)
• 3 blocks from No. 17 Charles Claxton ('92)
• 4 blocks from co-No. 14s Willie Anderson ('87 & '88) and Yante Mateo ('18)
• 5 blocks from No. 13 Trey Thompkins ('11)
• 6 blocks from co-No. 11s Donte' Williams ('12) & Somto Cyril ('25)

The Opening Tip

The No. 21/22 ranked Georgia Bulldogs will host No. 17/17 Arkansas in a Saturday matinee tipping off at 4:00 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs are looking to rebound from a 97-95 overtime setback to Ole Miss on Wednesday, their first home loss of the season. Georgia is now 14-3 overall, with two of those three Ls coming in overtime (also to Clemson).

Georgia is ranked for a fifth straight week, the Bulldogs' longest stretch in the top 25 since an 11-week span during the 2002-03 campaign.

Georgia's statistical start to the 2025-26 campaign has been equally impressive.

As of Friday, the Bulldogs were leading the all 365 Division I teams in scoring offense (96.4 ppg), fastbreak points (24.8 ppg), free throw makes (21.8 fts pg) and blocks (7.4 bpg). Among the 28 statistics tracked by the NCAA, Georgia was ranked in the top 5 in six stats and within the top 25 in 14 categories.

Georgia has one of the nation's deepest rotations playing at a pace among the country's quickest.

Eleven Bulldogs are averaging double-figure minutes, and according to the oft-used metric KenPom.com, Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 3 nationally in adjusted tempo (74.8) and No. 5 in average offensive possession length (14.6).

Georgia's depth is not just in numbers but also in its offensive production.

Ten of the 11 Bulldogs playing double-digit minutes have scored 10+ points in a game, combining to record 72 double-figure scoring outputs this season.

Jeremiah Wilkinson is averaging a team-high 17.8 ppg, while Blue Cain is contributing 14.1 ppg and Marcus "Smurf" Millender is chipping in 11.8 ppg.

Kanon Catchings and Somto Cyril are just shy of double figures at 9.8 ppg – three points each to be exact. Cyril also paces Georgia in rebounding (6.2 rpg), blocks (2.7 bpg) and field goal percentage (.800 – that's not a typo, it's .800).

Scouting The Razorbacks

Arkansas, which is ranked No. 17 in both the AP and coaches polls this week, is 13-4 overall and 3-1 in the SEC to date. The Razorbacks are tied atop the league standings with Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

Arkansas sports the nation's best 1-2 freshman scoring punch in Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas. Acuff leads Arkansas is fourth in the SEC in scoring at 19.8 ppg, while Thomas is contributing 15.7 ppg. Those averages rank fifth and 18th among all freshmen nationally as of Friday.

Trevon Brazile provides another double-figure scorer at 13.4 ppg and leads the Razorbacks on the glass at 6.7 rpg.

eries History With Arkansas

Despite an 11-7 edge for Georgia in games played in Athens, Arkansas leads the overall series between the Bulldogs and the Razorbacks, 28-17.

Last season on Jan. 22 in Fayetteville, Arkansas rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Georgia, 68-65, at Bud Walton Arena.

A pair of Asa Newell free throws with 14.8 seconds left tied the game, 65-65. Aduo Thiero was fouled with 1.8 seconds remaining and clinched the game at the line.

In the Razorbacks' most recent trip to Athens on Jan. 10, 2024, Georgia never trailed en route to a 76-66 victory over Arkansas. The Bulldogs scored the game's first six points and never looked back. The lead bulged to 13 before Georgia settled on a 34-24 halftime lead. Arkansas inched back and pulled with three on three occasions; however, the Bulldogs answered each time.

Last Time Out

An Ole Miss putback with .02 seconds left in overtime lifted the Rebels to a 97-95 upset over Georgia on Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. The setback snapped the Bulldogs' 12-game winning streak at home that dated back to a Feb. 25 victory over No. 3 Florida last season.

Jeremiah Wilkinson poured in 32 points, a season high and the most points by any Bulldog this season, to lead the Bulldogs.

"Really tough loss," head coach Mike White said. "A ton of things we could have done better, credit Ole Miss. They played well. They're a good team. You can't just outscore people in this league. We've got to be a lot better defensively. I've got to do a better job defensively. They shot 60-percent of the second half at home with 10,000 people cheering for us, and we played with some energy and we made some shots and got loud in there, but gave up layups, gave up open threes."

Georgia To Honor 1996 "Sweet 16" Team At Arkansas Game

Georgia will honor the 30th anniversary of the Bulldogs' 1996 "Sweet 16" team at the Arkansas game on Saturday, Jan. 17.

First-year head coach Tubby Smith inherited a veteran team and maximized their potential en route to the second-best NCAA Tournament performance ever by Georgia.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season at 18-8 overall and 10-6 in the SEC, finishing second in the SEC East.

Georgia earned the No. 8 seed of the NCAA Tournament's the West Regional. The Bulldogs trekked to The Pit in Albuquerque to open "March Madness," ironically where Georgia also played during the 1983 Final Four. The Bulldog topped 9th-seeded Clemson, 81-74, before upsetting top-seeded Purdue, 76-69, in the Round of 32. Georgia then dropped a heart-breaking 83-81 overtime decision to No. 4 seed Syracuse, which then advanced national championship game.

Mike White, Quickly Taking Losing Programs To The Top 25

Mike White's teams have consistently been featured in top-25 polls throughout his career, a fact that's even more impressive considering each program he inherited had a losing record the season prior to his arrival.

When Georgia climbed into both the AP and coaches ledgers last January, it represented the third program White took an under .500 program to a top-25 ranking in less than three years.

The Bulldogs were 6-26 in 2021-22 and joined the Jan. 20, 2025, AP poll after improving to 14-4 with wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma.

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 in 2013. Florida, 16-17 in 2014-15, topped out at No. 12 during the Gators' 2017 "Elite Eight" campaign.

Georgia currently has been ranked for five consecutive weeks. That's the Bulldogs' longest appearance in the polls since the 2002-03 campaign when they were ranked 11 straight weeks.

Bulldogs Are Nation's Top Offensive Team

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense and fastbreak points. The Bulldogs are putting up 96.4 points per game, including 24.8 ppg on fastbreak opportunities.

Getting to the free throw line – and converting – has bolstered the Bulldogs' output. As of Friday, Georgia ranked No. 1 nationally in free throws made and No. 2 in free throw attempts per game.

In fact, the Bulldogs' average of 99.0 ppg on January 1 was the highest by any Division I basketball team when on New Year's Day in seven years . . . since The Citadel was putting up 99.1 ppg when the calendar flipped from 2018 to 2019.

Though bolstered by reaching 120 points twice, Georgia's scoring has been consistent.

In 34 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 30 times, with 11 50-point periods and three segments of 60 or more points.

Georgia played 102 games in Mike White's first three seasons in Athens. The Bulldogs reached 90 points nine times and 100 points twice. In 17 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in 11 outings and surpassed the century mark in a school-record seven contests.

Georgia Among Nation's Top-5 In Seven Stats

Peruse the NCAA's statistical leaders and you'll find a multitude of categories featuring the Georgia Bulldogs at or near the top.

As of Friday, Georgia was ranked in the nation's top-25 teams in 14 of the 28 stats the NCAA measures, including six in the top 5 as outlined below.

Top-5 Stats
Statistic	Rk.	No.
Scoring Offense	1	96.4
Fastbreak Points	1	24.8
Blocks Per Game	1	7.4
FTs Made Per Game	1	21.8
FTAs Per Game	2	28.9
Bench Points	5	38.5

Dunkyard Dogs Leading The Nation In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia entered this weekend scoring a nation-leading 20.6 percent of its field goals this season on dunks – 122 of 554 the Bulldogs' total FGs – as outlined to the right.

As of Friday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and ranked No. 2 nationally with 50 dunks followed by Kareem Stagg with 17; Jake Wilkins with 15; Jeremiah Wilkinson with 11; Justin Abson, Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings with eight apiece; and Dylan James with five.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	Georgia	20.6
2.	N. Carolina	20.4
3.	Duke	17.0
4.	Indiana	16.9
5.	Kentucky	16.8
6.	Arkansas	16.3
7.	Florida	15.9
8.	Wake Forest	15.2
9.	Kansas	14.9
10.	Michigan	14.7

Dogs' Dishing, Ball Control Considerably Better

Mike White has called the 2025-26 Bulldogs one of the better passing teams he's coached.

A year ago, the Bulldogs ranked No. 262 nationally in assists per game at 12.5 and No. 298 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.96. This season, Georgia is a much improved No. 99 in assists (15.7 apg) and No. 82 in assist-to-turnovers (1.42).

A large part of that is the performance of the four guards Georgia added via the transfer portal during the offseason – Justin Bailey, Marcus "Smurf" Millender, Jordan Ross and Jeremiah Wilkinson. That quartet has delivered a combined 155 passes-to-points while committing just 73 turnovers – equating to 9.1 apg and a stellar ratio of 2.12 assists-to-TOs.

Wilkinson Putting Up Big Numbers For Bulldogs

Jeremiah Wilkinson recorded 30-point outings Georgia in both of the Bulldogs' first two SEC home dates.

Wilkinson popped for 31 points in a 104-100 win over Auburn and then topped that with 32 versus Ole Miss, the single-game high of any Bulldog this season.

Big numbers have been a big part of the Powder Springs product's game.

Wilkinson has a team-leading seven 20-point performances for Georgia this season.

Last season at Cal, he notched 10 20-point tallies and a pair of 30-point efforts for the Bears en route to winning ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors. Wilkinson's 10 20-point games for Cal were the second most in program history by a freshman behind only Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Double-Digit Dogs' Have Hit Double Figures

No less than 10 different Georgia Bulldogs recorded double-figure scoring outputs in the first five games of the season.

Those Bulldogs have now combined to produce 72 double-digit performances. Blue Cain leads that pack with 15 tallies, followed by Jeremiah Wilkinson with 14; Smurf Millender with 11; Kanon Catchings and Somto Cyril with seven; Jordan Ross with six; Jake Wilkins with four; Justin Bailey and Dylan James with three; and Kareem Stagg both with two.

Seven of the aforementioned Bulldogs scored in double digits against Morehead State on Nov. 9. That marked the first time seven Bulldogs hit the 10-point plateau in a single game since a 99-72 decision over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29, 1994 – a span of 979 contests.

Abson, Cyril Supply Top-25 Swatting Duo

With Georgia leading the nation in blocks per game entering this weekend, largely due to two Bulldogs also being among the top-25 shot swatters in the country.

As of Friday, Somto Cyril was No. 2 in the SEC and No. 8 nationally at 2.7 bpg and Justin Abson was at No. 3 in the league and No. 23 in the country at 2.3 bpg.

Led by that duo, Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 5 nationally in defensive blocks percentage according to KenPom.com, swatting away 17.0 percent of the opponents' shots from the field before they have a chance to reach the bucket.

Cain Joins UGA's Free Throw Leaders

Blue Cain recently met the minimums to be included in Georgia's single-season and career leaders in free throw percentage. He enters the Arkansas game ranked No. 2 in career and No. 3 in season success rate among all Bulldogs.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia's career free throw leaders percentage leaders is 125 made attempts, which Cain achieved with two free throws at Florida on Jan. 6. Cain is now 130-of-156 and his 83.6 conversion rate is now the second-best ever by a Bulldog.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia's single-season free throw percentage leaders is 50 made attempts, which Cain reached with two makes at South Carolina on Jan. 19. Cain is currently 54-of-60 and his 91.1 conversion rate is the third-best ever by a Bulldog.

Smurf's Game Gets Bigger In Last Dozen Outings

Marcus "Smurf" Millender's season-high 24-point outing against Auburn in the SEC opener headlines a strong series of performances over the Bulldogs' last 12 contests.

The stretch began in dramatic fashion, with Millender canning a game-winning 3-pointer against Xavier in the opening round of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic on Nov. 21.

Millender has now put out double-digit scoring tallies in 10 of 12 games and distributed six or more assists in four of those contests. After averaging 6.8 points in Georgia's first five games, he is contributing 13.9 ppg in the Bulldogs' last 12 outings.

Millender's efficiency from the field also has increased dramatically. After shooting 26.2 percent (11-of-42) from the field and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range in the first five games, Millender has connected on 52.8 percent (57-of-108) of his field goals, including 46.6 percent (26-of-58) of his 3s, thereafter.

Somto's Surreal Stretch Is Almost Unfathomable

It would be hard to choose which of the following is most impressive about Somto Cyril's seven-outing stretch from Dec. 13 (vs. Cincinnati) to Jan. 10 (at South Carolina):

• Producing five career-high scoring outputs.
• Grabbing the most rebounds by a Bulldog since 2020.
• Swatting a career-high six shots against Auburn.
• Shooting a combined 90.0 (36-of-40) percent from the field.

Cyril matched his career-most points with 13 against Cincinnati, upped that to 14 versus Western Carolina, inched up to 15 against West Georgia and matched that tally in the SEC opener versus Auburn. At South Carolina, he improved his personal record again with an 18-point performance.

Cyril hauled in 15 rebounds West Georgia, which not only represented a career high but also was the most by any Bulldog since Toumani Camara's 17 boards against Montana on Dec. 2, 2020.

Cyril made the most of the overtime session versus Auburn, notching three of his career-high six blocks in those five minutes alone against the Tigers.

Cyril was perfect from the field in five of those seven contests, connecting on 6-of-6 field goals against Cincinnati, Western Carolina, West Georgia and Auburn and then making 8-of-8 attempts at South Carolina.

Cyril averaged 12.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks over those seven contests, numbers that took a hit by only playing 7:08 at Florida.

Bulldogs Match Second-Best Start Ever

Georgia's 13-1 record to begin this season equaled the second-best start in the Bulldogs' 121 seasons competition.

A "Stegtacular" Home Court Advantage

Georgia's home court advantage? It's real and it's Stegtacular.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 51-14 (.785) home mark under Mike White and are a perfect 36-0 versus non-conference competition in Stegeman over his four seasons at UGA.

White's success at Stegeman is not confined to his UGA tenure. He was 7-1 in Athens as a visiting head coach, leading Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory and compiling a 6-1 mark at Florida.

That makes White is a combined 58-15 (.795) as a head coach in Stegeman.

Georgia's 12-game winning streak at Stegeman was snapped with Wednesday's overtime loss to Ole Miss.

After producing just eight double-digit home winning streaks in their first 117 seasons of basketball, the Bulldogs have produced four double-digit winning streaks at Stegeman during White's four seasons alone.

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