Much like Kirby Smart’s football team did in October, Georgia’s basketball team silenced Texas in an 83-67 upset with massive postseason implications Saturday night in Austin.
The Bulldogs (18-11, 6-10 SEC) jumped out to a 46-29 halftime lead over the Longhorns and cruised from there, taking a crucial step toward the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015.
UGA took control with a 19-7 run about halfway through the first half. Georgia led 9-8 when Asa Newell sparked the run with his first bucket at the 11:55 mark.
Dakota Leffew and Silas Demary Jr. both nailed 3-pointers during the run. The Bulldogs shot 7 of 12 from the field and claimed a 28-15 lead by the 5:55 mark.
UGA shot 17 of 30 from the floor and 5 of 10 from 3-point range in the half. Blue Cain led the Bulldogs at the half with 13 points, including a flashy 3-pointer right before the buzzer.
It was Demary who led the night, though, dropping a career-high 26 points with four rebounds, an assist and two steals. The sophomore point guard has averaged 20.3 points over the last six games.
“Confidence spreads, it just does, and when you’ve got a guy or two or three that step up with confidence to create their own shot ... it spreads,” UGA coach Mike White said.
Demary also shot 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He has made 18 of his 45 shots from behind the arc over the last three weeks.
The Bulldogs won the turnover battle 13-10, the rebounding battle 36-27, and outscored Texas in the paint 32-26.
“If you’ve got 20 turnovers in this game, you’re almost playing with a conscience offensively,” White said. “You’re playing on your heels, ‘I hope I don’t turn the ball over.’”
White’s defense also kept future NBA first-round guard Tre Johnson in check. The freshman phenom entered Saturday averaging 20.9 points per game but was limited to 12 against Georgia, shooting 3 of 7 from the floor.
White credited Blue Cain, who primarily guarded Johnson in the win. The veteran SEC coach also recognized how bigs like Newell, RJ Godfrey, Justin Abson and Somto Cyril helped limit the Longhorns’ superstar.
“Our attention to detail with the defensive scout was on point,” White said. “The screens off of the ball, our bigs did a good job. The screens on the ball that they set for him, our bigs did a job probably as good as our bigs collectively have done to help us on the perimeter defensively.”
It was UGA’s first SEC road win, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was a true NCAA Tournament bubble battle on the first day of March, as Texas entered the game as the “Last Team In” on ESPN’s Bracketology, while Georgia was the “First Team Out.”
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi said it was the first time he could remember his “Last Team In” and “First Team Out” facing off in March.
The Bulldogs, who had previously slid out of the tournament picture according to many national projections, reestablished themselves after upsetting the Longhorns (16-13, 5-11) and No. 3 Florida on Tuesday.
UGA finished the week 2-0 for the first time since beating ranked opponents Kentucky and Oklahoma in early January.
Georgia improved to 4-11 in Quad 1 games this season. Texas is a top-75 team in the NET rankings, making the road game a Quad 1 opportunity for the Bulldogs.
Texas slowly started digging back into UGA’s lead through in the last 11 minutes of action. Georgia led 67-40 with 11:30 left.
The Longhorns jumped on a 12-2 run, cutting the lead to 69-52 with 7:31 left. Texas kept gnawing away, but Demary and Newell did enough down the stretch to seal the win.
Georgia will fight for one more SEC road win at South Carolina at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (TV: SEC Network).
The Gamecocks (12-17, 2-14) have the worst record in the SEC but have won two of their last three games. South Carolina beat Texas 84-69 last Saturday before toppling Arkansas 72-63.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
