KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia hung with No. 6 Tennessee through 20 minutes before falling apart in a 74-56 loss at a hostile Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday night.
The No. 23-ranked Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2 SEC) held a 26-25 halftime lead before the Volunteers (16-1, 3-1) exploded in the second half with a 26-4 scoring run.
The same Tennessee team that shot 27% from the field in the first half made 11 of its first 15 second-half shots.
The SEC’s top two scoring defenses controlled the first half, leaving few quality shots. Then the Volunteers defense started playing its best offense, using a full-court press to force turnovers and create easy scores.
“We had one just glaring possession where we’ve got three guys in press attack and two guys not in press attack, and that’s unacceptable,” UGA coach Mike White said. “But then we had four or five others where it was just better defense than offense.”
Tennessee scored 19 points off Georgia’s 19 turnovers. It was UGA’s largest losing margin this season.
Senior point guard Zakai Zeigler led the Volunteers’ defense with six steals, breaking the school career record with his 213th. Zeigler also helped ignite Tennessee’s offense with 16 points, shooting 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Asa Newell led Georgia with 13 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs also struggled on the glass, an area where they are typically the dominant team. Tennessee outrebounded Georgia 35-29, including 18 offensive rebounds.
“Really throughout the game, whether it was first half or early second half, we did a poor job blocking them out,” White said. “We didn’t match their intensity on the glass.”
Slow starts to the second half have killed Georgia in both of its SEC road games this season.
Much like they did on Wednesday, the Bulldogs held a 28-26 halftime lead over No. 24 Ole Miss in their SEC opener. Then came the early second-half collapse, as Ole Miss took control for good with an 18-4 run.
“Early second half, we were just different defensively, and we found ourselves in a hole there pretty quickly,” White said. “Then we got a little stagnant offensively, which allowed (Jahmai) Mashack and Zeigler to crawl into our guards and beat us.”
Georgia traded blows with Tennessee through a physical first half with 15 total fouls. Tennessee’s biggest lead of the half was an early 5-2 advantage.
The Volunteers led for the first 10 minutes before UGA jumped on the biggest run of the half. Blue Cain tipped in a bucket at the 7:17 mark for an 18-17 lead before both offenses went silent for nearly three minutes.
Newell completed the 4-0 run for UGA with a pair of free throws at the 3:32 mark.
Newell had another 4-0 run of his own for Georgia’s biggest lead of the half, a 26-21 advantage. The 6-foot-11 forward hit two more free throws before following with a strong layup with 1:12 remaining.
The Volunteers hit right back, hitting two late baskets to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 26-25 at the half.
The toughest week of Georgia’s schedule closes at 1 p.m. on Saturday when No. 1 Auburn comes to Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs will look to extend their home winning streak to 14 games against the Tigers (16-1, 4-0).
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