Since Georgia took down Georgia Tech at home a couple of weeks ago, they have been extremely busy. They had a feast week tournament in Charleston, where they faced Xavier and Clemson, had a tune-up game in Tennessee Tech, before they headed down to Tallahassee to play Florida State last night.
So what have they shown/proven over the last couple of weeks?
They can score
Georgia has scored more than 90 points in 6 of their 8 contests. Their leading scorer, Jeremiah Wilkinson, is averaging 17.1 points per game. Blue Cain is not far behind, averaging 15.4 points per game. They currently have 6 players averaging at least 8 points a game, which is an improvement from last year. When you start looking at the team from last year, one thing is apparent: this team has a higher scoring floor and ceiling.
Recapping Georgia’s trip to Charleston
It was a trip that I would guess allowed Mike White to learn a lot more about this team.
On Friday, November 21st, Georgia took on Xavier in what turned out to be a defensive battle for the Bulldogs. Blue Cain led the way, scoring 16, but was awful from behind the arc, going 1-7. Georgia had to rely on its depth to get the scoring done, as Cain was the only starter to reach double digits. But the resiliency and ability to win in a different way, that wasn’t scoring 100+, should give Mike White some optimism about this team moving forward.
However, on Sunday, the Dawgs lost 97-94 to Clemson in the championship game. They got beat by former teammate RJ Godfrey, who put up 12 points on an efficient 4-6 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds. That last stat was crucial for the Dawgs as they got out-rebounded by 10 and had Clemson grab 7 more offensive rebounds. In a game where your margins are that tight it’s hard not to look at that stat as defining the outcome.
Georgia’s non-conference schedule is much weaker this year, so that loss hurts more than the loss to Marquette did last year. Not to mention, they will not have a win as they had against St. John’s in the non-conference last year to back it up.
ACC-SEC Challenge
The SEC as a whole has struggled thus far in the ACC-SEC challenge, but Georgia had no such problems. The Dawgs throttled the Seminoles 107-73. While Florida State is not projected to be a large factor this season, the Dawgs entered as short favorites on the road. An emphatic win such as this is a strong statement from Mike White and the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs were once again great in their ability to score. They took one fewer shot than Florida State did. They shot 57% from the floor and 37% from behind the arc.
The stat that was key in their loss to Clemson was heavily in their favor Tuesday night. They out-rebounded Florida State by 21 and had 2 more offensive rebounds than the Seminoles. Given that Georgia has only one true Center in Somto Cyril, rebounding will be a stat to watch for the remainder of the season.
What we have learned about Georgia
Chaos dependent. That seems to be the play style, fast and loose in hopes of creating chaos. They shoot a high volume of threes, bring full-court pressure out of a made basket consistently, and don’t want to rely on half-court offense to win them games.
It is a strategy that Mike White seemed to try and implement over the last couple of years, but his personnel didn’t really fit that play style. I think with the transfer portal additions made this year, mixed with the freshmen they brought in, they have a lot more length and speed in combination.
I talked about Somto Cyril being the only center, and this style of play is why. Back-up center Justin Abson is smaller than Cyril, but he makes them more athletic and versatile when he is on the floor. At times, this play style feels like a gamble, but it also raises the Bulldogs’ ceiling when it comes to competing in the SEC.
