University of Georgia Athletics
Catchings Catches Fire Against Tide
March 04, 2026 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Kanon Catchings was feeling it Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Georgia men's basketball sophomore poured in a career-high 32 points in the Bulldogs' 98-88 upset of No. 16-ranked Alabama. He hit seven 3-pointers, the most by a Bulldog this season, went 12-for-20 from the field, and also grabbed six rebounds, had two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
"It's been a while," the 6-foot-9 forward said when asked if he remembered the last time he'd had a similar scoring night. "But I feel like I still shoot, try to shoot every day, and try to go into every game with a mindset that I'll have a game like that."
Catching's previous high this season was 23 points at LSU on Feb. 7, when he hit five 3s. He also had a 23-point game last season when he played at BYU. Against Alabama, Catchings was aggressive from the beginning, playing like someone who believed he could score every time he touched the ball.
"His body language exuded confidence," Georgia head coach Mike White said. "He wasn't second-guessing himself. He didn't have any of those delayed decisions."
After forward Kareem Stagg scored Georgia's first two baskets of the game, a dunk and a layup, Catchings got his night started with a steal and a dunk. It was a night of many dunks for the Bulldogs, who lead the nation in slams and had six on Tuesday.
"Whenever he dunked it, man, I told him, 'Can't nobody mess with you,'" Marcus Millender said.
Catchings went nearly 10 minutes before he scored again. His next bucket, a 3-pointer from the left corner with 8:59 to play in the first half, came on an inbounds pass from guard Jordan Ross. He quickly followed that with another steal and dunk. And then, after guard Jeremiah Wilkinson got another steal, Catchings hit a 3 from the right wing to make it 28-20. Georgia (21-9, 9-8 SEC) finished with seven steals and outscored Alabama 21-15 in points off of turnovers.
Far from done, Catchings hit a baseline jumper to make it 34-26, another 3 from the left corner to put Georgia up 41-32, a floater in the lane for a 43-36 lead, and then he closed out a 20-point opening half with a 3 from the left corner after Millender drove inside in the closing seconds and kicked the ball out to him, giving the Bulldogs a 50-43 lead at the break.
White said he tried to get some more guys going in the second half, namely Wilkinson, Georgia's leading scorer this season. Wilkinson had an off shooting night, going 2-for-12 and finishing with 9 points.
"In retrospect, maybe we should have called (Catchings') number a bit earlier in the second half. He might have had a few more," White said. "Kanon gets 32 because our shot selection was better, so much better than it was a couple of months ago. We're passing it well, and we're spacing it well. Guys are executing what we do as opposed to 'let me go get one up.' Getting better this time of year is fun to watch."
Catchings' first basket of the second half was a turnaround jumper that gave Georgia a 59-51 lead. On a night when he hit some spectacular, difficult shots, his one assist was also a highlight-reel play. With Georgia leading 70-64, he drove inside and delivered a behind-the-back pass to center Somtochukwu Cyril for a dunk and an eight-point lead with 10:14 to play.
Three-pointers were huge for both teams in this one. Georgia went 13 of 29 from long range, including 7 of 11 in the second half, while Alabama went 16 of 42. When Alabama (22-8, 12-5) made a 3 with 9:38 to go, cutting Georgia's lead to 72-67, it started a run of nine 3s out of the next 10 made baskets. Catchings had three in that stretch, Wilkinson hit one, and Millender, who had 12 points and six assists, hit two.
Catchings' performance was the headliner, but this was overall one of Georgia's best games of the season. Facing a tough Alabama squad that was second in the SEC standings coming into the game, the Bulldogs shot 53.0% from the floor, went 15 of 17 from the free-throw line, outrebounded the Crimson Tide 40-30, had 25 second-chance points (to Alabama's 9), and while the 3s were falling all over the place, Georgia still outscored Alabama in the paint, 40-18.
The Bulldogs close out their regular season Saturday at Mississippi State.
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Staff Writer
Kanon Catchings was feeling it Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Georgia men's basketball sophomore poured in a career-high 32 points in the Bulldogs' 98-88 upset of No. 16-ranked Alabama. He hit seven 3-pointers, the most by a Bulldog this season, went 12-for-20 from the field, and also grabbed six rebounds, had two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
"It's been a while," the 6-foot-9 forward said when asked if he remembered the last time he'd had a similar scoring night. "But I feel like I still shoot, try to shoot every day, and try to go into every game with a mindset that I'll have a game like that."
Catching's previous high this season was 23 points at LSU on Feb. 7, when he hit five 3s. He also had a 23-point game last season when he played at BYU. Against Alabama, Catchings was aggressive from the beginning, playing like someone who believed he could score every time he touched the ball.
"His body language exuded confidence," Georgia head coach Mike White said. "He wasn't second-guessing himself. He didn't have any of those delayed decisions."
After forward Kareem Stagg scored Georgia's first two baskets of the game, a dunk and a layup, Catchings got his night started with a steal and a dunk. It was a night of many dunks for the Bulldogs, who lead the nation in slams and had six on Tuesday.
"Whenever he dunked it, man, I told him, 'Can't nobody mess with you,'" Marcus Millender said.
Catchings went nearly 10 minutes before he scored again. His next bucket, a 3-pointer from the left corner with 8:59 to play in the first half, came on an inbounds pass from guard Jordan Ross. He quickly followed that with another steal and dunk. And then, after guard Jeremiah Wilkinson got another steal, Catchings hit a 3 from the right wing to make it 28-20. Georgia (21-9, 9-8 SEC) finished with seven steals and outscored Alabama 21-15 in points off of turnovers.
Far from done, Catchings hit a baseline jumper to make it 34-26, another 3 from the left corner to put Georgia up 41-32, a floater in the lane for a 43-36 lead, and then he closed out a 20-point opening half with a 3 from the left corner after Millender drove inside in the closing seconds and kicked the ball out to him, giving the Bulldogs a 50-43 lead at the break.
White said he tried to get some more guys going in the second half, namely Wilkinson, Georgia's leading scorer this season. Wilkinson had an off shooting night, going 2-for-12 and finishing with 9 points.
"In retrospect, maybe we should have called (Catchings') number a bit earlier in the second half. He might have had a few more," White said. "Kanon gets 32 because our shot selection was better, so much better than it was a couple of months ago. We're passing it well, and we're spacing it well. Guys are executing what we do as opposed to 'let me go get one up.' Getting better this time of year is fun to watch."
Catchings' first basket of the second half was a turnaround jumper that gave Georgia a 59-51 lead. On a night when he hit some spectacular, difficult shots, his one assist was also a highlight-reel play. With Georgia leading 70-64, he drove inside and delivered a behind-the-back pass to center Somtochukwu Cyril for a dunk and an eight-point lead with 10:14 to play.
Three-pointers were huge for both teams in this one. Georgia went 13 of 29 from long range, including 7 of 11 in the second half, while Alabama went 16 of 42. When Alabama (22-8, 12-5) made a 3 with 9:38 to go, cutting Georgia's lead to 72-67, it started a run of nine 3s out of the next 10 made baskets. Catchings had three in that stretch, Wilkinson hit one, and Millender, who had 12 points and six assists, hit two.
Catchings' performance was the headliner, but this was overall one of Georgia's best games of the season. Facing a tough Alabama squad that was second in the SEC standings coming into the game, the Bulldogs shot 53.0% from the floor, went 15 of 17 from the free-throw line, outrebounded the Crimson Tide 40-30, had 25 second-chance points (to Alabama's 9), and while the 3s were falling all over the place, Georgia still outscored Alabama in the paint, 40-18.
The Bulldogs close out their regular season Saturday at Mississippi State.
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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