ATHENS — Georgia basketball will try for its best start in 94 years Saturday and will face SEC fire while doing so.
The Bulldogs (12-1) are looking to send a message to a talent-stacked SEC with a conference-opener upset at No. 24 Ole Miss (noon, SEC Network).
The game begins a daunting conference slate for UGA that features seven consecutive ranked opponents to start the new year. Georgia also is shooting for its first ranked SEC road win under third-year coach Mike White.
White’s last win against a ranked team in the SEC came in his first conference opener in 2023, when Georgia beat No. 22 Auburn 76-64. Nobody from that game remains on UGA’s roster, but the Bulldogs will start conference play with several veterans who have seen the SEC’s elite competition.
Four of Georgia’s five starters this season — Silas Demary Jr., Tyrin Lawrence, Blue Cain and RJ Godfrey — all have faced some of the SEC’s tougher teams in recent years.
Demary and Cain both impressed as freshmen last season and finished SEC play firmly planted in Georgia’s starting five. Lawrence was a key scorer for Vanderbilt through SEC play, and Godfrey totaled 27 points and eight rebounds in three games against SEC opponents last season at Clemson.
A four-year starter at Ole Miss himself, the significance of that experience is not lost on White. Entering his 11th SEC season as a head coach, he also voiced the importance of handling adversity.
“I feel good about our guys’ mindset that they’ve embraced that mentality,” he said. “Regardless of what happens tomorrow in the first four minutes of the game, the first round, the second round, the third round, our guys will stay true to the process and continue to execute to the best of our ability.”
Those SEC veterans already have been key leaders in the days leading to the Ole Miss game.
Demary, who started 17 of UGA’s 18 SEC games last season, believes Georgia is ready to challenge so many of the country’s top teams in January.
“I’m definitely more confident and more aware of how competitive this league is,” Demary said. “I feel like last year, at times, we showed we could be a competitive part in the league. This year, we’ve got some even better parts and an even better culture, and we’re just ready to take the SEC on.”
Demary has intensified that culture over the past few days, according to freshman Asa Newell. The 6-11 superstar said Demary has brought the SEC’s intensity to practice since Georgia’s 79-72 win over South Carolina State on Sunday.
“One hundred percent, I feel like Silas has been doing a fantastic job getting us going,” Newell said. “He always says, ‘It’s SEC play. It’s time to really lock in and tune up.’”
The Bulldogs will enter Oxford, Mississippi, as 5.5-point underdogs. Georgia is 78-47 against Ole Miss all-time but is 27-28 on the road.
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