Bulldogs Battle Tech for State Bragging Rights

Saturday, December 22

Atlanta, GA

12:00

University of Georgia

Georgia Tech

December 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (6-4) vs. Georgia Tech (6-4)
Saturday, December 22 at 12:00 p.m. ET
McCamish Pavilion (8,600) in Atlanta, Ga.
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; XM: 385; Internet: 976. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
TV: ESPNU (Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Jordan Cornette, analyst)
Video: SECN+

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
6-4 in 1st season at UGA
362-235 in 19th season overall
G	0	William Jackson	4.0	1.4
6-4; 185; Sr.; Athens, Ga.
G	1	Teshaun Hightower	7.9	2.6
6-5; 180; So.; Lithonia, Ga.
F	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	15.1	6.8
6-8; 235; So.; Norcross, Ga.
F	33	Nicolas Claxton	12.6	9.8
6-11; 220; So.; Greenville, S.C.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	9.2	6.2
6-9; 250; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Coach: Josh Pastner
40-39 in 3rd season at GT
207-112 in 12th season overall
G	10	Jose Alvardo	14.2	3.4
6-0; 176; So.; Brooklyn, N.Y.
G	00	Michael DeVoe	7.5	2.7
6-4; 188; Fr.; Orlando, Fla.
G	12	Khalid Moore	5.1	2.0
6-6; 200; Fr; Briarwood, N.Y.
F	5	Moses Wright	6.2	3.6
6-9; 221; So.; Raleigh, N.C.
C	1	James Bank III	9.4	9.3
6-9; 243; Jr.; Decatur, Ga.

TEAM COMPARISON

STATISTIC	GEORGIA	GEORGIA TECH
Points Per Game	78.9	70.2
Opp. Point Per Game	71.5	61.4
Scoring Margin	+7.4	+8.8
Field Goal Pct.	.475	.443
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.382	.381
3-Point Pct.	.347	.307
3-Pointers Per Game	6.9	5.9
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.315	.275
Free Throw Pct.	.714	.716
Free Throws Per Game	17.2	15.9
Rebounds Per Game	43.4	35.8
Opp. Rebound Per Game	35.7	34.3
Rebound Margin	+7.7	+1.5
Assists Per Game	15.3	13.3
Turnovers Per Game	16.9	14.9
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	0.91	0.90
Turnover Margin	-4.6	+0.5
Steals Per Game	5.6	8.3
Blocks Per Game	6.1	5.3

The Starting 5...

Georgia has already sold out 6 games this season, the most sellouts for the Bulldogs since they had 8 during the 2002-03 season.
Nicolas Claxton is the only SEC player to lead his team in points, boards, assists, blocks & steals in a game this season...and he's done it twice.
Derek Ogbeide enters the Georgia Tech game eight rebounds shy of catching No. 12 John Johnson among UGA's career leaders.
The crowd of 9,018 against Savannah State was UGA's largest for a home opener since Dominique Wilkins' sopho-more year in Athens.
UGA's coaching staff sports a combined 80 seasons of D-I experience (Crean-28, Scott-27, Dollar-23, Abdur-Rahim-12) with 38 postseason bids

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs make the approximately 90-minute drive from Athens to Atlanta - though at times traffic can more than double that time frame - to face Georgia Tech in the hoops version of "Clean Old-Fashioned Hate" on Saturday at noon.

Both the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets enter the contest with 6-4 records and coming off mid-week victories. Georgia defeated Oakland on Tuesday evening in Athens, while Tech topped Arkansas in Fayetteville on Wednesday.

Series History With The Jackets

Georgia Tech owns a 103-91 advantage in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets, including a 60-29 edge in contests on the Tech campus.

Georgia has won the last three meetings by double-digit margins.

Up Next: A Break Before UMass

Following today's game, the Bulldogs will disperse for the holidays before returning to action in eight days.

Georgia will host Massachusetts on Sunday, Dec. 30 in its final tune-up prior to opening SEC action at Tennessee on Jan. 5.

Dogs' Sellout Count Climbs To 6

The Tom Crean regime established some attendance records before the season began by selling out three games...a number that's now up to six sold-out contests.

On Oct. 24, Georgia announced sellouts for both the Florida and Kentucky games. That represented the earliest sellout(s) in UGA Basketball history. Two days later, the Bulldogs' matchup with Texas also became a sellout.

Prior to this year, Georgia had never sold out more than one home game prior to the opener.

Dates with LSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss also sold out in December, lining up the Bulldogs to have their most capacity crowds since the 2002-03 campaign. The last time the Bulldogs had six sellouts was during 2002-03 when they hosted eight capacity crowds.

It should be noted that the 2,000 free seats reserved for UGA's students must be filled at those games for capacity crowds of 10,523 to be in attendance at the Bulldogs' half-dozen "sellouts."

The Dogs Are Drawing

A combined 45,507 members of the Bulldog Nation have attended Georgia's first six home dates of the 2018-19 campaign.

That is the second-largest tally for the initial six outings at Stegeman Coliseum during the 2000s. In 2002-03, Georgia welcomed a total of 54,485 spectators for the first six home dates. It should be noted that the same span that season featured four weekend games and dates vs. No. 2 Pittsburgh and No. 21 LSU.

A Historic Opener

Georgia christened both the 2018-19 campaign and the Tom Crean era on Nov. 9 with an impressive evening on and off the court.

The Bulldogs secured a 110-76 victory over Savannah State, Georgia's most points in the 2000s. The last time the Bulldogs scored more than 110 points was in a 113-74 victory over Grambling on Nov. 27, 1999.

A crowd of 9,018 fans turned out at Stegeman Coliseum for the opener. That represented the most fans for a home opener since the Stegeman Coliseum's capacity became 10,523 in 1994. The last time the Bulldogs drew a larger crowd for their initial home outing was 37 years ago in 1981, which was Dominique Wilkins' sophomore year. A then-capacity crowd of 11,200 saw Georgia defeat Georgia Tech, 62-61, on Dec. 5, 1981.

"First things first, I want to say 'thank you' to everybody who was here," Crean said. "This is largest crowd on an opening night since they redid Stegeman Coliseum, and it was fun. It was fun to see the enthusiasm that people have had turn into bodies and live energy and loud fans. That was tremendous."

Also on the scoreboard front, Georgia's 59 first-half points were the Bulldogs' most in a half since putting up 60 in the second period against Jacksonville State 11 years earlier to the day...on Nov. 9, 2007.

Bulldogs Begin With Busy Stretch

Georgia played six games in the first 13 days of the 2018-19 campaign.

The season began with the Nov. 9 opener against Savannah State, a trip to Temple on Nov. 13 and a matchup with Sam Houston State on Nov. 16. The Bulldogs then played three games in as many days on Nov. 19-21 in the Cayman Islands Classic.

Bulldogs Face Tech In Atlanta

Georgia will face arch-rival Georgia in a Saturday matinée at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. Tip-off is slated for noon.

The Bulldogs arrive in Atlanta with a 6-4 record and coming off an 81-69 win over Oakland on Tuesday in Athens. A pair of double-doubles from sophomores Nicolas Claxton (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Rayshaun Hammond (17 points, 11 boards) led the way against the Grizzlies.

Hammonds, who recorded his first double-double as a Bulldog versus Oakland, paces Georgia at 15.1 ppg, while Claxton is chipping in 12.6 ppg and grabbing an SEC-best 9.8 rpg. Tyree Crump also is scoring at a double-digit pace of 11.0 ppg.

Georgia Tech also is 6-4 on the year, most recently defeating Arkansas, 69-65, on Wednesday night in Fayetteville.

Jose Alvarado is the Jackets' leading scorer at 14.2 ppg, and Brandon Alston contributes 10.6 ppg. James Banks III is averaging 9.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg. FYI, Banks is no relation to the James Banks who played for Georgia and was Most Outstanding Player of the 1983 NCAA East Regional where the Bulldogs knocked off St. John's and North Carolina before falling to N.C. State at the Final Four in Albuquerque.

Series History With The Jackets

Georgia Tech sports a 103-91 lead in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets, including a 60-29 advantage in games played on Tech's campus.

The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings, all by double digits. The last time the Bulldogs had three-consecutive double-figure wins over Tech was from 1912-14.

One year and one day ago in Athens, Yante Maten's 24 points - his fifth 20-point performance of the season - lifted Georgia to an 80-59 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia used a 15-4 run, ignited by a jumper and dunk from Maten, for a 26-17 edge and never trailed thereafter.

After leading by two at the half, the Bulldogs kept the momentum going in the second stanza with an 8-2 surge in the first four minutes. Georgia maintained a 10-plus point margin for the majority of the period. A layup by Turtle Jackson brought the lead to 21 with two minutes remaining.

Maten's 24 six rebounds put him at 696 total boards, sliding past Trey Thompkins in Georgia history and into the No. 10 spot among the Bulldogs' career leaders.

In the last meeting in Atlanta, the Bulldogs bested Tech, 60-43, on Dec. 20, 2016. The 17-point margin of victory was Georgia's most decisive win over the Jackets in Atlanta since a 55-38 decision on Dec. 6, 1980. As a matter of fact, to find a larger margin of victory, you have to go back to a 69-13 win on 1/19/09...that being 1909.

Maten and J.J. Frazier spearheaded the win. Maten contributed 16 points, while Frazier chipped in 15 points. In addition, Derek Ogbeide equaled what was then his career high with 11 points.

The Bulldogs led at the break 27-18 after holding the Jackets without a field goal for the final six minutes of the period and scoreless for the last 2:41.

Frazier opened up the second half with a transition 3-pointer to put Georgia up 30-18. Georgia Tech quickly added three baskets to pull within 30-24, but that would be the closest the Jackets would get.

Last Time Out...

Double-doubles from Nicolas Claxton and Rayshaun Hammonds led Georgia to an 81-69 win over Oakland on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Teshaun Hightower added 16 points, and Turtle Jackson chipped in a season-high 14 for the Bulldogs.

Georgia raced to an early 27-10 lead before the Grizzlies trimmed that margin 11 points at halftime and to 51-48 at the 14:06 mark of the second stanza.

Five-consecutive points from Hightower thwarted that surge; however, Oakland rallied again to close the gap to 66-64 with 4:57 remaining. Claxton and Hightower combined to score the first 11 points in a 15-5 Bulldog run to close out the contest.

Claxton Doing It All For Dogs

Nicolas Claxton not only leads the Bulldogs in rebounding, he also tops Georgia's production with its most assists, blocks and steals this season.

Through games of Dec. 19, Claxton (who leads the SEC in rebounding by more than a half-board per game), Matt Rafferty from Furman, Sandy Cohen from Wisconsin-Green Bay were the only Division I players in the nation who were leading their team in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals as outlined below. Team Leader in r, A, B & S

Player, School	Rebs.	Asts.	Blks.	Stls.
Nicolas Claxton, Georgia	98	23	28	13
Sandy Cohen III, Green Bay	70	64	13	27
Matt Rafferty, Furman	116	55	21	25

Claxton Doing It All ... Take II

Nicolas Claxton is the only player in the Southeastern Conference this season to - in the same game - lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals...and he's done so twice.

The sophomore from Greenville, S.C., native did so Nov. 27 against Kennesaw State with 16 points, 15 boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals. He again did versus Oakland on Dec. 18 with 17 points, 13 boards, three assists, three blocks and one steal.

The Deflection Objective

The deflection is an extremely key statistic for Georgia. Head coach Tom Crean regularly discusses the deflection and its significance.

"I was told a long time ago - and I don't think you can say it any better - deflections are barometer of active defense. It's any type of activity on the ball. It's a finger tip, a hand, blocked shots, chargers, a steal. That's what we're aiming for. I want our team at a deflection-to-turnover ratio of 3.5-to-1. To me, that is an optimal number."

"You will hear me talk a lot about it," Crean said in his press session following the Sam Houston State game. "Some of you will get tired of it, and some of you will buy into it."

The quote above gives a definition of the stat. The Bulldogs' season totals to date are below. Nicolas Claxton leads the team, including 18 deflections against Sam Houston State.

"I have only coached four other guys, and all four of them played in the NBA, that ever had more than 18 in a game," Crean said.

UGA Deflections
Player	Number
Nicolas Claxton	94
Rayshaun Hammonds	36
Tye Fagan	31
Jordan Harris	29
Turtle Jackson	26
Tyree Crump	27
E'Torrion Wilridge	26
Derek Ogbeide	24
Teshaun Hightower	23
Amanze Ngumezi	10
Ignas Sargiunas	8
JoJo Toppin	6
Connor O'Neill	2
Mike Edwards	1

Giving Some Credit Where It's Due

A couple of "specialty statistics" common to box scores track points off turnovers and second-chance points. In those instances, the player putting the digits on the scoreboard is awarded credit.

In an effort to better indicate "hustle stats," the lists in the next column credit the Bulldog who created the opportunity for those points to be scored instead of the player who capitalized on that chance.

For "points off turnovers," the points are awarded to the player whose steal created the subsequent points instead of the person who put the ball in the basket. A large number of those are credited to the team if a steal did not create the TO.

For "second-chance points," the points are awarded to the player who grabbed the offensive rebound that resulted in those points, not the player who ultimately scored them.

Points Off TOs (who stole it)
Player	No.
Nicolas Claxton	18
Tyree Crump	9
Jordan Harris	9
Teshaun Hightower	8
Turtle Jackson	8
E'Torrion Wilridge	7
Tye Fagan	4
Rayshaun Hammonds	3
Derek Ogbeide	3
Mike Edwards	2
Ignas Sargiunas	2
Team 77

2ND-CHANCE POINTS (who boarded it)
Player	No.
Nicolas Claxton	35
Derek Ogbeide	22
Rayshaun Hammonds	21
Tye Fagan	18
Team Rebounds	11
Amanze Ngumezi	8
Jordan Harris	4
Teshaun Hightower	4
Turtle Jackson	4
Ignas Sargiunas	4
JoJo Toppin	4
Tyree Crump	3
Christian Harrison	2
Connor O'Neill	2

Ogbeide Already Ranks Among Bulldogs' Best Boarders Ever

Derek Ogbeide began his senior season with 614 rebounds and ranked No. 17 among the Georgia's career leaders.

Ogbeide has since ascended to No. 13 on that ledger and is just eight boards shy of the current No. 12, John Johnson, and 17 away from No. 11 Trey Thompkins.

Bulldogs Are Shot Swatters

Through games of Dec. 19, Georgia ranked No. 10 nationally in blocked shots, averaging 6.1 rejections per game. Nicolas Claxton ranked No. 9 in the nation at 2.8 bpg.

Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3" Crump Tyree Crump has scored nearly two-thirds of his career points at UGA on shots from 20-feet, 9-inches from the basket...and beyond.

With a 23 3-pointers this season, Crump has now knocked down 86 3s for the Bulldogs, directly accounting for 258 of his 411 (62.8 percent) points at UGA. Those trifectas also account for 67.7 percent (86-of-127) of his made shots from the floor at Georgia.

Devils Were Dogs' Second Top-25 Foe

Arizona State represented the second ranked opponent for Georgia this season.

The Bulldogs also faced No. 16 Clemson in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic.

The last time Georgia played two ranked teams prior to the start of SEC play was during 2011-12. That season, the Bulldogs faced No. 1 Indiana (coached by guess who?) and No. 11 UCLA in back-to-back contests of the Progressive Legends Classic in Brooklyn on Nov. 19-20.

Hammonds Puts Up Rare Stat Line

Rayshaun Hammonds poured in a career-high 31 points while not turning the ball over once versus Illinois State.

Hammonds became the first SEC player this season to put up 30 points with no turnovers. Only two SEC players did so last season - Vanderbilt's Jeff Roberson and Terence Davis from Ole Miss.

Hammonds, Yante Maten and Jumaine Jones are the only Bulldogs to do so in the last 20 seasons as outlined below.

30 Points, 0 Turnovers
Player	Pts.	Opponent (date)
R. Hammonds	31	Illinois State (11/19/18)
Y. Maten	30	Charleston Southern (12/17/16)
Y. Maten	30	Kansas (11/22/16)
J. Jones	34	Kentucky (1/26/99)

Career-High Outings Against ISU

Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton exploded for career-high outputs of 31 and 22 points, respectively, against Illinois State.

Hammonds scored 31 points in 31 minutes. He scored 18 first-half points, almost topped his previous best effort of 21 points before intermission. Claxton did much of his damage after the break with 14 second-half points.

Excitement Surrounds Bulldogs

Tom Crean was hired as the Bulldogs' head coach on March 15 and has created an off-season buzz surrounding Georgia Basketball that it hasn't been seen since Dominique Wilkins' days in Athens during the early-80s.

Before this season, Georgia had never sold out more than one game before its opener.

This fall, the Bulldogs had three sellouts - Florida, Kentucky and Texas - in October.

In addition, the number of contributors and the amount donated to UGA's Basketball Enhancement Fund (BEF) set records by considerable margins. The BEF tally topped $1 million for the first time ever and as of Nov. 7 had bettered the previous watermark by just shy of 25 percent.

"I'm just looking forward to this enthusiasm that is being generated around the program being live, screaming bodies in the seats," Crean said prior to the season opener. "We want bodies that are there early, that are there during, that are loud at the beginning, that are helping us through it and that coming to have some fun."

UGA Loaded With Peach Products

Nearly three-fourths of Georgia's roster played high school hoops in the Peach State. Eleven of 15 Bulldogs - that's 73.3 percent to be exact - did so.

The list includes: seniors Christian Harrison (Woodward Academy), William "Turtle" Jackson (Athens Christian School), Connor O'Neill (Blessed Trinity Catholic High) and Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook High); juniors Tyree Crump (Bainbridge High) and Jordan Harris (Seminole County High); sophomores Rayshaun Hammonds (Norcross High) and Teshaun Hightower (Collins Hills High); and freshmen Tye Fagan (Upson-Lee High); Amanze Ngumezi (Johnson High) and JoJo Toppin (Norcross High).

Fagan Owns Unique Record

The first recruit to commit to Tom Crean at Georgia certainly brought a winning résumé.

Spring signee Tye Fagan helped Upson-Lee High School to back-to-back state titles and 63 consecutive victories as a junior and senior. The Knights' effort represents the third-longest winning streak in Georgia boys' high school hoops history.

"Any time you add a championship-winning player and person to your program, it's great," Crean said. "But I can't recall ever signing anyone that was 63-0. That's unique."

Georgia's loss at Temple on Nov. 13 represented Fagan's first setback representing his school since an Upson-Lee setback to New Hampstead on Feb. 17, 2016 in the first round of the 2016 state tournament.

Inaugural StegMania A Success

Tom Crean arrived in Athens with a distinct vision. One thing he wanted to create was an preseason event to display the new energy and enthusiasm around Georgia Basketball.

On Friday, Oct. 5, the first-ever StegMania drew a crowd of more than 5,000. It was, by all measures, a significant success.

UGA students lined up around the Coliseum to receive commemorative "StegMania" t-shirts. A lengthy autograph session with a distinct family feel wrapped up the festivities.

StegMania itself was packed with pyrotechnic player intros, a high-flying dunk contest, a dance battle with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, an impromptu performance of the hit song "Rolex" by hip-hop artists Ayo & Teo and a scrimmage with Crean "mic'd up."

"When you're brand new coming into something like this, you really don't have an expectation," said Crean after the event. "But if I would've had one, it would have exceeded it. When I saw people in line to get into the Coliseum, I got a lump in my throat. It was awesome because you never take it for granted. Hopefully, everyone walks out of here knowing that they matter."

The Leftiest Lads In The Land

The Bulldogs' roster features six - count 'em on two hands - left-handed players. Georgia's southpaws include Nicolas Claxton, Tye Fagan, Rayshaun Hammonds, Jordan Harris, Derek Ogbeide and JoJo Toppin.

We're relatively confident that tally is the most any NCAA Division I basketball team will suit up during 2018-19.

During the summer months, J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA sends out a laundry list of questions to the nation's Division I men's basketball SIDs. The inquiries can range from statistical - what school has the most 2,000-point scorers - to staff - who has the nation's most experienced coaching staff - to roster related - who has the most newcomers.

Round 1 of the email on September 5 including the following offering from Athens: "Georgia has six left-handed players. Does any other team in the country have as many or more players who are left-handed?"

Not that SIDs are bound to answer every request, but that question received no replies. So, the ask was modified for a second email correspondence sent out by Hamilton on September 26 to read: "Georgia has six left-handed players. Does any other team in the country have as four or more players who are left-handed?"

That led to Tennessee (D.J. Burns, John Fulkerson, Jalen Johnson and Yves Pons), Washington (David Crisp, Elijah Hardy, Bryan Penn-Johnson and Nate Roberts) and Winthrop (Adam Pickett, Jermaine Ukaegbu, Kyle Zunic and Raivis Scerbinskis) supplying lists of four.

While nothing is official, Georgia will claim the unofficial title of the leftiest team in America until proven otherwise.

And for full effect, the above headline should be read in a voice immitating Dan Magill, the greatest Bulldog of all time. If you're not familiar with Coach Magill, ask.