ATHENS – In the end, it won’t change much in terms of Georgia’s season narrative. But Tuesday night’s 69-66 victory over a 20-win Ole Miss team was mindful of the promise the Bulldogs displayed earlier this season.
The final score was closer than it should have been, thanks to some last-minute missteps and a three-quarter-court shot made by Rebels guard Jaylen Murray. That made it hard to remember that Georgia was ahead 11 with 2:45 to play and still up seven inside the final minute.
But the things the Bulldogs did for the other 37:15 of the game were solid and stood as a reminder that Mike White can still coach and his team has not checked out on him.
“It was big; it was big,” White said of Georgia winning its regular-season finale at home. “Moreso, there was an emphasis on, ‘hey, you’ve got a chance to get to 16 wins ; chance to get some momentum.’ We talked about all those things. But, more importantly, we wanted to play well, get a little better, continue to build.”
Georgia’s victory – which came against White’s alma mater – snapped a three-game losing streak and matched last year’s win total with at least two games to play. The Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11 SEC) will conclude the regular season by traveling to No. 13 Auburn on Saturday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network). The Bulldogs won’t be given much of a chance at Neville Arena, seeing how the Tigers handed them their worst home loss of the season just two weeks ago.
But if the Dogs can somehow pull off a monumental upset – and Ole Miss loses its final game at home against Texas A&M – Georgia could move up to the No. 10 seed for the SEC tournament and play on Thursday in Nashville.
Such was far from the minds of the celebratory Bulldogs. They made rounds through the Stegeman Coliseum stands to personally thank as many fans as possible for coming out to watch them on day 4 of UGA’s spring break.
“To go out with a ‘dub’ is huge,” said graduate guard Noah Thomasson, who scored a team-high 15 points in his last game at ‘The Steg.’ “I appreciate the fans and the community for what they’ve done for me. They’ve made this feel like home for me even though I’ve only been here for a couple of months. This is a place I’ll always come back to. Georgia changed my life.”
As good as Thomasson was, it was Georgia’s “bigs” that made the difference on a night the Bulldogs were facing two centers over 7-feet tall and a bunch of other impressive athletes. Led by graduate Russel Tchewa, Georgia outscored the Rebels in the paint 36-22 and outrebounded the visitors 39-30. Tchewa notched his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, with eight of his points coming in the final five minutes of play. He also recorded five assists.
But it was freshman Dylan James who captivated both the crowd and the Bulldogs’ bench. The 6-9 freshman from Winter Haven, Fla., responded to getting his first start of the season by coming a rebound short of a double-double of his own. Eight of his 10 points came on four dunks.
“It was awesome,” White said of the energy James brought to the game. “He fit in. He looked like a good SEC player. It’s one of the most rewarding things in coaching when you see a player develop like he has.”
Said James: “Coach tells me all the time just to stay ready, stay locked in. Eventually we’re going to need you.”
With the regular season waning fast, White went with a young starting lineup. In addition to James, the Bulldogs started Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain at guard. It was the first time since the 2020 SEC tournament that Georgia started three freshmen (Anthony Edwards, Sahvir Wheeler and Toumani Camara).
It was a costly loss for the Rebels. In their first season under coach Chris Beard, they were hoping to get the selection committee’s attention with a .500 record in SEC play. Tuesday’s loss likely will take them out of consideration without a deep run in the conference tournament.
Playing short-handed – senior starter Jabri Abdur-Rahim showed up with his left foot in a walking boot – the Bulldogs were able to muscle their way to an eight-point lead in the game’s opening 8:20. They did so mostly by beating the Rebels on the boards 19-11, with eight on the offensive end.
But sloppy UGA ball-handling kept Ole Miss in the game. Unforced turnovers on three straight possessions late in the half let the visitors whittle down the lead to one possession late in the half. Georgia led 35-32 at halftime.
It took Ole Miss only 1:13 of the second half to grab its first lead at 37-35. But the Bulldogs responded with a 12-4 run highlighted by a Justin Hill 3 and an RJ Melendez rebound and length-of-the-floor driving layup.
A couple of quick Ole Miss scores followed by a flagrant foul called on Tchewa with 52 seconds to play saw Georgia’s 11-point lead whacked down to two points on Murray’s 3-pointer with 49.2 remaining. Tchewa’s layup off a feed from Hill gave Georgia the breathing room it needed and Ole Miss missed two 3s and a layup down 4.
“We just won a game against a really talented, well-coached team, a team that’s going to play in the postseason,” White said. “A quality SEC win after going 4-for-21 from 3. We haven’t won a lot of games like that.”
Thanks to the late missteps, it was the 12th game of the season that has been in a one-possession contest in the final 90 seconds. Georgia improved to 5-7 in those games, and 5-4 in games decided in the last 30 seconds.
That’s another sign of the progress that has been made despite a similar record to the previous season. Georgia’s overall scoring average of 74.9 is up from 68.5 last season, as is the scoring margin to plus-1.1 a game from minus-3.0 last season
In conference play, there is more reason for encouragement. White’s first two seasons with the Bulldogs are comparable to ones logged by some of the SEC’s best teams. Tennessee, which can clinch the regular-season championship with wins in its final two games, went 14-22 in the SEC in its first two seasons under Rick Barnes. Bruce Pearl went 9-27 in the league in years 1 and 2 at Auburn and finished 13th, 13th and 11th in the SEC the first three.
Comparatively, Georgia is 11-23 over the same span in conference play under White. Sure, it was not the expectation this season, but it can’t be considered a referendum on White’s resident coaching ability.
Certainly, South Carolina’s early success in year 2 under Lamont Paris (24-5, 12-4) and at Florida (20-9, 10-6) in Todd Golden’s second season can be frustrating in comparison. But it’s too early to say whether those are trends or anomalies.
But White remains confident what he’s building at Georgia will be made to last.
“I was locked in on beating Ole Miss,” White said. “I’m locked in on watching a ton of Auburn film tomorrow and trying to figure out how we can stay in the game for a while against a team that’s got a chance to make a really big run. We’re going to finish as strong as we can.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to get it done and be even better next year. We’re better than we were a year ago.”
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