Dogs Look To Continue Strong Road Performances

Saturday, January 24

Austin, Tex.

1:00

University of Georgia

Texas

January 23, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

No. 21/22 Georgia (16-3, 4-2 SEC) vs. Texas (11-8, 2-4 SEC)
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Moody Center (10,763)
Location: Austin, Texas
TV: SEC Network (Lowell Galindo, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, analyst)
Streaming: SECN+
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network; Sirius 81 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5

Georgia travels to Texas on Saturday looking to continue its hot streak on the road. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five road outings dating back last season's March 1 win in Austin.
Georgia entered this weekend ranked in the top-25 in 14 of 28 stats tracked by the NCAA including leading the nation in scoring offense (94.8 ppg), fastbreak points (24.0 ppg), free throws made per game (21.2 ppg) and blocks (7.4 bpg).
The Bulldogs are producing 47.7 percent (45.2 ppg) of their scoring either in a hurry – No. 1 nationally in fastbreak points (24.0 ppg) – or standing still – No. 1 nationally in free throw makes (21.2 ppg).
Houston native Marcus "Smurf" Millender is six points shy of 1,000 for is career, scoring 309 points at South Alabama in 2023-24, 461 at UT San Antonio in 2024-25 and 224 at Georgia this season.
Somto Cyril is shooting 77.4 percent from the field, on pace to shatter Georgia's single-season record of 64.3 by Lavon Mercer in 1978-79. As of Friday, Cyril ranked second nationally in dunks with 52.

Keeping An Eye On…

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

Smurf Millender is…
• 6 points from 1000 for his career
Blue Cain is...
• 1 3-pointers from No. 19 Sundiata Gaines
• 3 3-pointers from No. 18 Rashad Wright
• 6 3-pointers from No. 17 Turtle Jackson
• 12 3-point attempts from No. 18 Ty Wilson
Somto Cyril is...
• 3 blocks from No. 13 Terry Fair
• 5 blocks from No. 12 Derek Ogbeide
• 11 blocks from No. 11 Trey Thompkins

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

Somto Cyril is...
• 2 blocks from No. 9 Charles Clayton ('94)
• 3 blocks from No. 8 Antonio Harvey ('91)
• 5 blocks from No. 7 Yante Maten ('16)
• 20 blocks from No. 6 Lavon Mercer ('80)

The Opening Tip

Georgia travels to Austin to face Texas in its second road outing of the week. The Bulldogs are 16-3 overall and 4-2 in SEC play following Tuesday's win at Missouri, where the Tigers were undefeated this season (11-0) including wins over Florida and Auburn.

For the second consecutive week, Georgia is ranked No. 21 by the AP and No. 22 in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs' active streak of six straight weeks ranked is their longest since an 11-week span during the 2002-03 campaign.

Georgia's statistical data for the 2025-26 campaign has been incredibly impressive.

As of Friday, the Bulldogs were leading the all 365 Division I teams in scoring offense (94.6 ppg), fastbreak points (24.0 ppg), free throws made per game (21.2 ppg) and blocks (7.5 bpg). Among the 28 statistics tracked by the NCAA, Georgia was ranked in the top 10 in seven categories and in the top 25 in 14.

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. 1 nationally in adjusted tempo (74.4) and No. 5 in average offensive possession length (14.7).

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 80 double-figure scoring outputs this season.

Jeremiah Wilkinson is averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg, while Blue Cain is contributing 14.0 ppg, Marcus "Smurf" Millender is chipping in 11.8 ppg and Kanon Catchings is putting up 10.2 ppg. Somto Cyril is averaging 9.7 ppg and leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (6.2 rpg), blocks (2.9 bpg) and field goal percentage (.774).

Scouting The Longhorns

Texas slipped to 11-8 overall and 2-4 in the SEC with Wednesday's loss at Kentucky. The Longhorns' two league wins are extremely impressive, a 92-88 decision at No. 13 Alabama and an 80-64 victory over No. 10 Vanderbilt, snapping the Commodores' perfect 16-0 start to the 2025-26 campaign.

Dailyn Swain literally does everything for Texas, leading the Longhorns in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg), assists (3.3 apg) and steals (1.7 spg).

Texas' balanced offensive attack also includes Matas Vokietaitis averaging 15.2 ppg, Tramon Mark contributing 13.3 ppg and Jordan Pope chipping in 12.9 ppg.

Series History With Texas

Georgia owns an 9-5 lead in all-time matchups with Texas, including a 3-1 mark in Austin.

The Bulldogs and Longhorns most recent meeting was on March 1 last season also in Austin, with Georgia securing an extremely impressive 83-67 wire-to-wire victory.

The Bulldogs scored on a Blue Cain steal and layup 15 seconds into the game and never trailed. Georgia led 46-29 at halftime and expanded that margin to 27 points on three occasions, lastly at 67-40 with 11:30 remaining.

The Longhorns closed the gap to 74-60 with 3:29 left, but Silas Demary Jr. answered with a baseline jumper as the shot clock expired to take the wind out of Texas' comeback sails.

The win was the second of a four-game streak to end the regular season that also included Florida, South Carolina and Vanderbilt to lock up Georgia's first NCAA Tournament bid in a decade.

Last Time Out

Marcus "Smurf" Millender's three-point play with 5.5 seconds remaining lifted No. 21/22 Georgia to a 74-72 victory at Missouri on Tuesday, snapping the Tigers' 11-0 home start to the season.

The back-and-forth contest featured no less than six ties and 10 lead changes, lastly on Millender's driving layup. He finished the contest with a game-high 18 points to lead four Bulldogs in double digits. Somto Cyril entered the game shooting 54.3 percent from the line but converted on 9-of-11 attempts at the charity stripe against Missouri.

"They were undefeated at home, and I just reminded our guys, we have a number by our name," head coach Mike White said. "It's great for our fans. It's great for our program, and the trajectory of where we're headed as a program and all those things. We've earned it. We were still the underdog tonight coming into Missouri on the road in the SEC. You just did that when being the home team's worth a bunch more points."

Dogs Off To Second Or Third Best 20-Game Start

Depending on Saturday's outcome, Georgia will match either its second- or third-best 20-game start in 121 seasons of basketball.

With a win, the Bulldogs would equal their best 20-game beginning in 86 years, since 1939-40.

Even with a loss, the Bulldogs would match their best record 20 games into a season in 24 years, since 2001-02.

Millender, Others Approaching Millennium Mark

Marcus "Smurf" Millender, Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson all are on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season.

Millender, a Houston native, enters the Texas game with 994 points – 309 as a freshman at South Alabama, 461 as a sophomore at UT San Antonio and 224 in his junior campaign as a Bulldog.

Cain and Wilkinson have scored 858 and 820 points, respectively. At their current scoring averages, both Bulldogs would reach 1,000 points in 11 games (March 3 against Alabama).

Cain would become the first player to score 1,000 points exclusively for Georgia since Yante Maten reached that plateau on Jan. 4, 2017.

Bulldogs Are Nation's Top Offensive Team

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, putting up 94.8 points per game.

In fact, the Bulldogs' average of 99.0 ppg on January 1 was the highest by any Division I basketball team 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.

Much of Georgia's production – roughly 47.7 percent (45.2 of 94.8 ppg) – has come either in a hurry or while standing still.

The Bulldogs led the nation in fastbreak scoring at 24.0 ppg as of Friday.

Georgia also was the top D-I team in free throw makes per game at 21.2 ppg.

Georgia's scoring has been consistent.

In 38 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 33 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 19 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in 12 outings and surpassed the century mark in a school-record seven contests.

Georgia Among Nation's Top-10 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 seven in the top 10 as outlined below.

Top-10 Stats
Statistic	Rk.	No.
Scoring Offense	1	94.8
Fastbreak Points	1	24.0
Blocks Per Game	1	7.5
FTs Made Per Game	1	21.2
FTAs Per Game	5	27.8
Bench Points	8	37.1
Scoring Margin	9	+18.9

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 80 double-digit performances. Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson lead that pack with 16 tallies each, Smurf Millender with 12; Kanon Catchings with nine; Somto Cyril with eight; Jordan Ross with six; Jake Wilkins with five; 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.

Smurf's Game Gets Bigger In Last 14 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 14 contests.

The stretch is sandwiched by dramatic game winners. Millender canned a clutch 3-pointer with 11 seconds left against Xavier in the opening round of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic on Nov. 21 and converted a three-point play with 5.5 seconds left at Missouri on Jan. 20.

Millender has now put out double-digit scoring tallies in 11 of 14 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 13.6 ppg in the Bulldogs' last 14 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 53.0 percent (62-of-117) of his field goals, including 47.6 percent (30-of-63) of his 3s, thereafter.

Wilkinson Putting Up Big Numbers For Bulldogs

Jeremiah Wilkinson leads Georgia with eight 20-point outputs this season, including a pair of 30-point performances.

Wilkinson has three 20-point tallies in SEC play, popping for 31 in a 104-100 win over Auburn; putting up 32 versus Ole Miss, the single-game high of any Bulldog this season; and scoring 20 against Arkansas.

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

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.

Kanon Takes Off In SEC Outings

Kanon Catchings' production has increased dramatically over the last five games.

After averaging 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 38.8 from the field and 24.2 from 3-point range in the first 14 games of the season, Catchings has upped each effort to 15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 43.3 FG pct. and 40.0 3FG pct. in the quintet of most recent contests.

The sophomore from Brownsburg, Ind., notched four double-figure scoring tallies in the first 14 games before recording five double-digit point performances his last five outings.

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 entered this weekend a much improved No. 115 in assists (15.3 apg) and No. 107 in assist-to-turnovers (1.35).

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 163 passes-to-points while committing just 84 turnovers – equating to 8.6 apg and a stellar ratio of 1.94 assists-to-TOs.

Abson, Cyril Supply Top Shot-Swatting Duo

Georgia is leading the nation in blocks per game entering this weekend, largely due to two Bulldogs also being among the top-30 shot swatters in the country.

As of Friday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and was No. 2 nationally at 3.0 bpg and Justin Abson was at No. 3 in the league and No. 26 in the country at 2.1 bpg.

Cyril's numbers are bolstered two career-high outputs in SEC play – six swats against Auburn which was followed by a eight-block outing versus Arkansas.

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 4 nationally in defensive blocks percentage according to KenPom.com, swatting away 17.0 percent of the opponents' shots from the field.

Somto's Almost Unfathomable Surreal Stretch

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 then had 18 points at South Carolina.

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 8-of-8 at South Carolina.

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 Texas 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.

Dunkyard Dogs, Cyril Ranked Second In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia entered this weekend ranked second nationally in percentage of its field goals this season on dunks at 19.5 – 126 of 610 the Bulldogs' total FGs – as outlined to the right.

As of Friday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and ranked No. 2 nationally with 52 dunks followed by Kareem Stagg with 17; Jake Wilkins with 15; Jeremiah Wilkinson with 11; Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings with nine apiece; Justin Abson with eight; and Dylan James with five.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	N. Carolina	20.0
2.	Georgia	19.5
3.	Arkansas	17.5
4.	Duke	16.7
5.	Indiana	16.0
	Kentucky	16.0
7.	Wake Forest	15.3
	Florida	15.3
9.	Kansas	15.2
10.	Providence	14.6

White Quickly Takes Losing Teams To The Top 25

When Georgia climbed into the polls last January, it represented the third program Mike White took from a losing record the season prior to his arrival to a top-25 ranking in less than three years.

The Bulldogs were 6-26 in 2021-22 and joined both editions of the Jan. 20, 2025, polls 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.

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