MBB Game Notes: Dogs To Face Gators For 224th Time

Wednesday, February 9

Gainesville, Fla.

6:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Florida

February 08, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (6-17, 1-9 SEC) vs. Florida (15-8, 5-5 SEC)
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 | 6:30 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center (10,151) in Gainesville, Fla.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, pbp; Mark Wise, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: XM: 190; SXM App: 961
History: UF 118-101 (Full History)
Last Meeting: L 63-70 (2/20/2021)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Tom Crean
47-66 in 4th season at UGA
403-297 in 22nd season overall
3	Kario Oquendo	13.4	4.1
(6-4; 215; Soph., Titusville, Fla.)
10	Aaron Cook	10.5	2.5
(6-2; 185; Grad.; St. Louis, Mo.)
11	Jaxon Etter	5.7	3.0
(6-4; 205; Jr.; Woodstock, Ga.)
20	Noah Baumann	9.0	3.9
(6-6; 210; Sr.; Phoenix, Ariz.)
23	Braelen Bridges	12.5	5.9
(6-11; 240; Sr.; Atlanta, Ga.)

No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Florida Gators
Coach: Mike White
138-83 in 7th season at UF
239-123 in 11th season overall
4	Anthony Duruji	9.7	4.3
(6-7; 209; Sr.; Germantown, Md.)
12	Colin Castelton	15.5	8.9
(6-11; 240; Sr.; DeLand, Fla.)
22	Tyree Appleby	10.8	2.2
(6-1; 163; Sr.; Jacksonville, Ark.)
24	Phlandrous Fleming Jr.	10.5	4.0
(6-5; 2-5; Grad.; Athens, Ga.)
44	Niels Lane	0.8	1.1
(6-5; 206; Soph.; Freehold, N.J.)

TEAM COMPARISON

2021-22 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	FLORIDA
Points Per Game	71.0	71.1
Opp. Point Per Game	77.2	63.9
Scoring Margin	-6.2	+7.2
Field Goal Pct.	.443	.427
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.463	.435
3-Point Pct.	.320	.305
3-Pointers Per Game	6.4	7.9
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.338	.314
Free Throw Pct.	.740	.726
Free Throws Per Game	16.1	15.4
Rebounds Per Game	34.3	34.3
Opp. Rebound Per Game	34.9	34.0
Rebound Margin	-0.6	+0.3
Assists Per Game	14.1	12.9
Turnovers Per Game	14.3	13.0
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.01	0.99
Turnover Margin	-3.3	+2.5
Steals Per Game	5.1	9.0
Blocks Per Game	2.5	5.7

The Starting 5...

Braelen Bridges' current FG percentage of .617 is No. 3 among UGA's all-time season leaders.
Aaron Cook entered this week ranked No. 13 nationally in both total assists (133) and assist average (6.0 apg).
In 6 20-point outings, Kario Oquendo has connected on 56.3 percent of his FGs and 81.0 percent of his FTs.
Jaxon Etter has drawn 21 charges in 22 games played...and 29 in his last 33 GPs dating to last season.
UGA's seven first-year transfers combined to score 4,782 points at their previous schools.

The Opening Tip

Georgia and Florida will meet for the 224th time on the hardwood on Wednesday evening when the Bulldogs venture to Gainesville.

The Gators are Georgia's most frequent for, by a pretty wide margin. Trailing Florida are two more of UGA's biggest rivals – Georgia Tech with 197 contests and Auburn with 195.

The Bulldogs and Gators have met multiple times during 87 of the previous 91 seasons dating back more than nine decades to the 1930-31 campaign.

In fact, UGA and UF contested double home-and-home series – meeting four times each season – from 1930-31 through 1941-42.

Of the four seasons Georgia and Florida failed to meet twice during that span two were during World War II (when they didn't play at all in 1942-43 and 1943-44) and the others were in 2013-14 and 2014-15. That was after Missouri and Texas A&M joined the SEC and the league schedule included one permanent home-and-home foe, pairing Georgia with South Carolina and Florida with Kentucky.

Georgia and Florida will meet for the 225th time in 17 days in Athens.

The Bulldogs are in the midst of a stretch of games with four outings against projected NCAA Tournament teams in a five-contest span.

Last week, Georgia hosted Arkansas and Auburn, who occupied No. 7 and No. 1 seeds in Tuesday's edition of ESPN.com's bracketology, respectively.

After facing Florida, a No. 12 seed in the most recent bracket projections, Georgia will trek to Baton Rouge to face LSU, a No. 7 NCAA seed, next Wednesday.

After the Bulldogs wrapped up January by playing five of seven games away from Athens, February features a much more home-heavy slate.

Georgia opened SEC play with a heart- breaking, 81-79 home setback to Texas A&M on Jan. 4. The Bulldogs' next seven contests included trips to Lexington, Starkville, Auburn, Columbia (of the South Carolina variety) and Nashville.

February began with last week's midweek matchup with the Razorbacks and is followed by a quartet of Saturday home dates for Georgia.

Keeping An Eye On... Entering Today's Game:

Aaron Cook is...
• 8 assists from 450 for his career
• 7 steals from 200 for his career

Among UGA's single-season assist leaders:
• 6 assists from co-No. 15s Sahvir Wheeler (2020) and Willie Anderson (1988)
• 7 assists from No. 14 J.J. Frazier (2017)
• 10 assists from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines (2008)
• 11 assists from No. 12 Gerald Crosby (1985)
• 12 assists from No. 11 Pertha Robinson (1996)
• 15 assists from co-No. 9s G.G. Smith (1998) and G.G. Smith (1997)

Series History With Florida

Florida enters Wednesday's game with a 118-105 advantage in the series between UGA and UF, including a 67-39 edge in Gainesville.

In the most recent matchup last Feb. 20 in Gainesville, Florida topped the Bulldogs, 70-63, at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

The Gators used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to garner a 37-23 halftime lead.

Georgia used a late surge to pull within two possessions but could get not closer. After trailing 64-49 with 3:57 left, the Bulldogs embarked on a 11-2 run to close within 66-60 just 146 seconds later.

Georgia gained possession down six with 39 seconds left but couldn't complete the improbable rally.

Scouting The Gators

Florida improved to 15-8 overall and 5-5 in the SEC with last Saturday's overtime victory over Ole Miss. The Gators are on three-game winning streak, which began with an 81-72 decision over Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. That contest wrapped up a busy week which featured three games in five days as Florida made up a postponed outing at Ole Miss originally scheduled for Dec. 29.

Colin Castleton paces the Gators in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (8.9 rpg) and blocks (2.8 bpg). He returned to action last Saturday following a six-game absence due to a shoulder injury.

Tyree Appleby is chipping in 10.8 ppg, while Athens native and Cedar Shoals High School graduate and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. is contributing 10.5 ppg.

Last Time Out

Georgia's valiant upset effort came up two painful points shy last Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 74-72 decision to No. 1 Auburn at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.

Kario Oquendo poured in a game-high 25 points for Georgia, who also received double-digit contributions from Braelen Bridges (14 points), Jaxon Etter (13) and Aaron Cook (10).

After trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Bulldogs exploded on a 17-6 run after the intermission to pull within 48-47 at the 15:16 mark.

Georgia eventually grabbed a 58-56 lead on a pair of Jabri Abdur-Rahim free throws at the 8:20 mark. Neither team led by more than two points over the final 5:32 of the contest, a span which featured six ties.

Auburn scored the game-winner on a layup by Wendell Green Jr. with 3.3 seconds remaining.

Kario Likes The Bright Lights

Kario Oquendo's 25-point outing against No. 1 Auburn continued his trend of producing big games against the best opposition.

Last season at Florida SouthWestern College, Oquendo averaged 13.5 points while shooting 55.4 percent from the field. In Buccaneers' four contests against ranked opponents, those stats jumped to 22.0 points and 63.6 percent.

This season, Oquendo is averaging 13.4 points and connecting on 46.9 percent of his shots from the floor. In outings against No. 19 Memphis, No. 13/16 Kentucky and No. 1 Auburn, Oquendo averaged in 23.7 ppg and shot 55.6 percent (25-of-45).

In seven outings versus ranked foes as a collegiate basketball player, Oquendo is averaging 22.7 points and converting on 60.0 (60-of-100) of his field goals. FYI, Oquendo did not play at No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 19 due to a lower body injury.

Cook Joins UGA Assist Top 20

With nine assists against Auburn on Feb. 5, "Super senior" Aaron Cook ascended into Georgia's top-20 single-season leaders for passes to points.

Cook moved to No. 17 on that ledger during the Auburn game and enters the Florida contest just $1.50 – as in 15 dimes – away from Georgia's top-10 single-season leaders.

UGA Season Assist Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	GP
9.	148	G.G. Smith	1998	35
	148	G.G. Smith	1997	33
11.	145	Pertha Robinson	1996	30
12.	144	Gerald Crosby	1985	31
13.	143	Sundiata Gaines	2008	34
14.	140	J.J. Frazier	2017	34
15.	139	Sahvir Wheeler	2020	31
	139	Willie Anderson	1988	35
17.	133	Aaron Cook	2022	22
	133	Gerald Robinson	2011	33
	133	Litterial Green	1989	31

More Dish Marks Are Coming

Cook also is on pace to produce one of the best assist averages ever by a Bulldog.

The current No. 2 mark in Georgia history is 6.3 apg by Pertha Robinson in 1994-95, and there is a wide gap between Cook's current average (6.0 apg) and the No. 3 standard in the Bulldogs' record book of 4.8 apg by Sundiata Gaines in 2006-07.

B.B. Is Consistent, Efficient

Braelen Bridges is the Bulldogs' most consistent point producer and among the nation's most efficient.

Bridges has posted double-digit scoring outputs in a team-best 17 of Georgia's 23 games, and he has notched nine points in three of the other five outings.

The Atlanta native is shooting a sizzling 61.7 percent from the field, connecting on 111 of his 180 shots.

Bridges' effort almost puts him in elite company in the SEC and nationally. To be ranked among statistical leaders in field goal percentage, a player has to make a minimum of 5.0 shots per game.

With 111 field goals made, Bridges is four buckets shy of that standard...or he would lead the SEC and rank No. 8 nationally entering this week.

Dogs Capitalizing At The Line

Georgia has among the nation's top teams at getting to the line...and then making the most of those trips.

The Bulldogs enter this week ranked No. 9 nationally in free throw makes (370) and No. 13 in free throw takes (500). Overall, Georgia is second in the SEC and No. 75 nationally in free throw percentage at .740.

The Bulldogs are the SEC's most efficient team at the line in league play. The Bulldogs have connected on a sizzling 78.3 percent (177-of-226) of their free throws against conference foes.

History In The Making

Three Bulldogs are in the midst of producing the most efficient shooting percentages overall, from 3-point range and at the line in Georgia history as outlined below.

Braelen Bridges' now has the third-best season field goal percentage ever by a Bulldog at .617. The minimum to be included is 100 made field goals, which Bridges met during 7-of-8 effort at Vanderbilt on Jan. 29.

Christian Wright is currently ranked No. 13 among Georgia's season free throw percentage leaders ledger at .836. He inched past the 50 free throws made minimum to be featured on the leaders' ledger on Feb. 2 against Arkansas.

Noah Baumann has 48 3-pointers on the season, two off the minimum to be included in Georgia's records. He is connecting on 42.1 percent of his shots from behind the arc, which would rank No. 8 among Georgia's season leaders.

UGA Season FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FG-FGA
1.	.643	Lavon Mercer	1979	146-227
2.	.632	Bob Lienhard	1970	215-340
3.	.617	Braelen Bridges	2022	111-180
4.	.611	Lavon Mercer	1980	121-198
5.	.591	Jim Youngblood	1967	140-237
	.591	Derek Ogbeide	2018	101-171

UGA Season FT Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	FT-FTA
1.	.910	Channing Toney	2005	61-67
5.	.859	Juwan Parker	2018	73-85
10.	.839	Terrance Woodbury	2009	78-93
11.	.838	Marshall Wilson	1991	83-99
12.	.837	Dick McIntosh	1967	72-86
13.	.836	Christian Wright	2022	51-61
	.836	Levi Stukes	2007	51-61

UGA Season 3FG Pct. Leaders
Rk.	No.	Player	Season	3FG-3FGA
1.	.449	Bernard Davis	1994	80-178
2.	.442	Jody Patton	1991	69-156
3.	.436	G.G. Smith	1998	81-186
4.	.435	Dustin Ware	2011	57-131
5.	.434	Litterial Green	1992	62-143
6.	.429	Levi Stukes	2007	85-198
7.	.425	Jarvis Hayes	2003	54-127
Next up: .421 (48-114) – Noah Baumann

Etter's production is Better

Walk-on Jaxon Etter's contributions this season have skyrocketed over those during his first two seasons in Athens.

Etter has more than tripled his career averages for points and rebounds while upping his playing time four fold.

The junior from Woodstock, Ga., began the 2021-22 campaign with averages of 1.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 6.1 minutes during his freshman and sophomore years.

This season, he his contributions have increased to 5.7 points, 3.0 boards in 25.4 minutes per contest.

Etter's scoring, shooting efficiency and playing time have increased even more in SEC action.

Etter's Non-Conference vs. SEC
Stat	N-C	SEC	Diff.
Minutes	24.0	27.1	+3.1
Scoring	5.2	6.3	+1.1
FG Pct.	.383	.590	+.207
3FG Pct.	.235	.688	+.453

We Know What You're Thinking

"Wait, what? Did that just say Jaxon Etter is shooting 68.8 percent from 3-point range in SEC play?"

Yes, yes it did.

Etter is 11-of-16 from behind the arc in conference games to date.

Entering this week, 12 SEC players were averaging at least 1.0 3-pointer per game and shooting 40.0 percent in league action. Etter's effort was the best in the league by a relatively massive margin of 16.2 percent

Top 3-Point Threats In SEC Play
Rk.	Player, School	GP	3FGs.	Pct.
1.	J. Etter, UGA	10	11	.688
2.	R. Chatman, VU	5	10	.526
3.	M. Murrell, OM	10	27	.450
	S. Vescovi, UT	10	36	.450
5.	T. Fagan, OM	10	13	.448
6.	D. Gordon, MIZ	9	10	.435
	J. Powell, UT	10	10	.435
8.	D. Mintz, UK	10	20	.426

Baumann Hits the Boards

With injuries to P.J. Horne and Jailyn Ingram, Noah Baumann has shifted to playing the traditional '4' spot for Georgia.

In his first outing doing so, Baumann grabbed 11 rebounds against Western Carolina. That was more than double his previous career-most of five in seven different outings including this year's season opener against FIU.

Joked Tom Crean: "I don't know if he's done that since grade school. Somewhere out West, he might have had 11 boards in a CYO game in the eighth grade."

The joke has since continued. After averaging 1.6 rpg in Georgia's first nine games, Baumann is contributing 5.2 rpg since Ingram's injury.

Noah Continues Scoring Trend

In five seasons of college basketball, Noah Baumann has established a trend of scoring most of his points from behind the 3-point arc...and doing so efficiently.

This season, 76.2 percent (48 of 63) of Baumann's made field goals have been 3s, and he is shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range.

Career-wise, 72.4 percent (194 of 268) of Baumann's made FGs are 3-pointers, and he is converting on a considerably better clip from outside the arc (.432) than inside that stripe (.376).

Etter Accepting Charges

Defensively, Jaxon Etter is like Visa...as in "everywhere you want (him) to be."

The junior walk-on took three charges against Western Carolina, the second game this season he's done so...the other outing being versus Ga. Tech.

Etter now has a team-high 21 charges in 22 games played this season...and has taken a few more that looked good to us.

Etter's offensive foul trend began last season when he drew eight in the final 11 games. That gives him 29 in his last 33 outings.

Cook Joins Elite List

At tipoff at Auburn, Aaron Cook became just the 18th player in NCAA Division-I men's basketball history to participate in 150 career games.

Cook played in 103 games in four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2016-20, including a redshirt campaign with six contests in 2019-20. He saw action in 30 games last season at Gonzaga during the Bulldogs' NCAA runner-up finish. Georgia's Jan. 19 game at Auburn was his 17th game with the Bulldogs.

While Cook's milestone is significant, it is obviously aided by his "super senior" status as a sixth-year player. Entering this season, Ohio State's David Lighty held the NCAA record with 157 games played and only 13 players had logged PT in 150 contests.

On Jan. 13, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon inched past Lighty's mark, and Cook became the fifth player in 2021-22 alone to reach the century-and-a-half mark.

Those numbers have only continued to grow. Entering this week, Bohannon was at 164 GP and 14 players had reached the 150 games played milestone this season.

Experience Has Traveled

The phrase "defense travels" is a well-known in the sports world.

The slogan "experience has traveled" may be more appropriate for Georgia Basketball this season.

When the campaign began, Georgia's lineup was anchored by five D-I transfers – sixth-year "super seniors" Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram, graduate transfer seniors Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges and sophomore Jabri Abdur-Rahim.

Even though Ingram has not contributed to its totals statistically since suffering a season-ending injury in the ninth outing of the year against Jacksonville on Dec. 7, that quintet has accounted more than 60 percent of Georgia's points and assists and the majority of the Bulldogs' production in virtually every stat.

D-I transfer contributions
Stat	Team	D-I Ts	Pct.
Minutes	4600	2534	55.1
Scoring	1633	979	60.0
Rebounds	713	403	56.5
Assists	324	215	66.4
Blocks	57	34	59.6
Steals	118	57	48.3

Bulldogs Battle Through

Georgia has only dressed 11 players for the last six games and will continue to due so for the foreseeable future.

In fact, the Bulldogs only had 10 players in uniform four times this season, including three SEC games, and had their "full roster" for six outings.

Georgia's roster was cut by from 14 to 15 following a preseason injury to P.J. Horne, one of two Bulldogs who started every game last season.

Since the season began, Jailyn Ingram suffered a season-ending injury against Jacksonville on Dec. 7, Jonathan Ned has been out with an ankle injury beginning with a Dec. 18 matchup with George Mason and Tyrone Baker broke on Jan. 18, the day before a road game at Auburn.

We won't count Horne since his injury was before the season, but the 14 other Bulldogs have compiled 46 DNPs this season. In addition to the quartet of injuries outlined above, Bulldogs scratched from the scorebook include:

• T. Baker vs. Virginia and Northwestern (illness);
• N. Baumann vs. Northwestern (illness);
• A. Cook vs. Memphis (illness);
• J. Etter vs. Gardner-Webb (injury);
• C. McDowell vs. Texas A&M and Kentucky (illness);
• J. Ned vs. Virginia and Northwestern (illness);
• K. Oquendo vs. Auburn (injury);
• D. Ridgnal vs. Texas A&M and Kentucky (illness).

Only three Bulldogs – Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges and Christian Wright – have played in every game.

Georgia has used seven starting fives, and Bridges is the only Bulldog who has gotten the nod for every contest.

Wright Scores Savvily

Christian Wright's recorded his second and third double-figure scoring outputs as a Bulldog in back-to-back road outings against No. 2 Auburn and South Carolina.

The freshman from The Skill Factory scored 16 points at Auburn and followed that 10 at South Carolina. His first double-digit performance was a 17-point outing against No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 1.

There has been a common theme in all three contests, Wright's ability to get to the free throw line.

Wright converted on 24-of-28 (.857) trips to the charity stripe in those contests. That's 55.8 percent of his 43 points. All told, Wright drew 22 fouls in that trio of games, while committing only four fouls himself.

Also of note, Wright committed only one turnover in 38 minutes against Memphis, which entered the contest averaging 18.0 turnovers forced per game.

Crean Inducted Into MU HOF

Tom Crean was inducted into Marquette University's M Club Hall of Fame on Sunday, Jan. 23.

Crean was the head coach at Marquette from 1998-2008 and during nine seasons compiled a record of 190-96. He led MU to the 2003 NCAA Final Four – its first since 1977 – and four additional NCAA appearances in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Crean earned Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in both 2002 and 2003 before leading Marquette's successful integration into a loaded BIG EAST in 2005.

Crean was also inducted to the M Club Hall of Fame as part of the 2003 Final Four Team. He recruited and coached Marquette All-Americans Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Lazar Hayward.

Cook Joins Elite List

At tipoff at Auburn, Aaron Cook became just the 18th player in NCAA Division-I men's basketball history to participate in 150 career games.

Cook played in 103 games in four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2016-20, including a redshirt campaign with six contests in 2019-20. He saw action in 30 games last season at Gonzaga during the Bulldogs' NCAA runner-up finish. Georgia's Jan. 19 game at Auburn was his 17th game with the Bulldogs.

While Cook's milestone is significant, it is obviously aided by his "super senior" status as a sixth-year player. Entering this season, Ohio State's David Lighty held the NCAA record with 157 games played and only 13 players had logged PT in 150 contests.

On Jan. 13, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon inched past Lighty's mark, and Cook became the fifth player in 2021-22 alone to reach the century-and-a-half mark.

Those numbers have only continued to grow. Bohannon recorded his 163rd GP on Monday night against Penn State and Creighton's Ryan Hawkins became the 10th player to reach the 150 games played milestone this season alone last Saturday.

Kario Hot When SEC Starts

Kario Oquendo opened SEC play with a trio of 20-point performances – 21 vs. Texas A&M, 22 vs. No. 13/16 Kentucky and 28 at Mississippi State.

The sophomore from Titusville, Fla., became the first Bulldog to do so since 2020 when Anthony Edwards put up 23 points at Missouri on Jan. 28, 29 against Texas A&M on Feb. 1 and 32 at Florida on Feb. 5.

Baumann Hits the Boards

Kario Likes The Bright Lights

Kario Oquendo has a history of producing big games against the best opposition.

Last season, he averaged 13.5 points while shooting 55.4 percent from the field for the Florida SouthWestern College.

In Buccaneers' four contests against ranked opponents, those stats jumped to 22.0 points and 63.6 percent.

The trend of big nights continued this season. Against No. 19 Memphis and No. 13/16 Kentucky, Oquendo averaged in 23.0 ppg and shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the floor.

In six outings versus ranked foes as a collegiate basketball player, Oquendo is averaging 22.3 points and connecting on 62.2 (51-of-82) of his field goal attempts. FYI, Oquendo did not play in Georgia's game at No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 19 due to a lower body injury.

Dogs Look To Regroup...Again

Georgia lost Jailyn Ingram to a knee injury during the Jacksonville game on Dec. 7. Ingram went down in a non-contact situation while trying to save a ball along the baseline with 14:21 left in the contest.

The "super senior" from Madison, Ga., and Morgan County High School was the Bulldogs' leading rebounder (6.0 rpg) and third-leading scorer (10.7 ppg).

Following an MRI on Dec. 8, Tom Crean confirmed the prognosis on Dec. 9 with a Tweet stating: "Unfortunately, Jailyn Ingram will have to have surgery to repair his ACL in his right knee. It's heartbreaking because Jailyn has been emerging in so many areas and has been a model of consistency day in and day out. He's an incredible young man... Jailyn has brought a spirit and seriousness to us. He is a guy that is in the gym most mornings before we would lift weights at 8:45 and was stabilizing for a young team. We plan to appeal for the waiver to get another year since he's under the 30% games played. Pray for him."

Ingram's injury was UGA's second season-ending setback. On Oct. 20, Crean announced an injury to P.J. Horne, one of just two Bulldogs to start every game last season.

Tweeted Crean: "It's with genuine sadness that I let you know that P.J. Horne will miss this season after undergoing surgery on his right knee this past weekend. In practice, he bumped knees in a scrimmage, lost footing and went down awkwardly. This is such a major blow to us because P.J. was playing so well and showing great leadership as our leading returning player, but more so because he is such a great person and one of the finest people I've ever coached."

Jabri's Contributions Soar

It's probably glossed over too much that this fall is the first time Jabri Abdur-Rahim has played extended minutes in nearly two years. He suffered a foot injury during his senior season at Blair Academy and only played in two games and only appeared in eight games last season at Virginia.

Jabri, who was ranked as one of the nation's top-40 prospects in the Class of 2020, showed signs of returning to form in three early-December outings.

Abdur-Rahim exploded for a career-high 20 points against Wofford and followed that with a 15 and 10-point showings versus No. 18 Memphis and Jacksonville, respectively. Equally impressive as the totals was the efficiency in which he scored.

In those three games, Abdur-Rahim scored more points, connected on more shots and upped his shooting percentages by massive amounts over his 14 previous career outings.

Abdur-Rahim's Increases
Total Points	32	45	+13
Scoring Average	2.3	15.0	12.7
FGs Made	9	13	+4
FG Percentage	.214	.650	+.436
3FGs Made	3	9	+6
3FG Percentage	.125	.600	+.475

Crean Captures Win No. 400

Tom Crean secured his 400th career victory with Georgia's upset of No. 18 Memphis on December 1.

Prior to arriving in Athens, Crean compiled 366 W's in his first 18 campaigns as a collegiate head coach. He earned the first 190 in nine seasons at Marquette from 1998-2008 and added 166 more at Indiana between 2008-17 before arriving in Athens and securing the final 44 of his 400.

Tom Crean's Milestone Wins
No. 1 – Nov. 20, 1999 – Marquette defeats Chicago State, 62-43, in Tom Crean's first game as a collegiate head coach.
No. 100 – March 6, 2004 – A three-point play with .8 of a second left lifts Marquette over No. 25 Louisville, 81-80.
No. 200 – Dec. 8, 2009 – Indiana knocks off Pittsburgh, 74-64, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
No. 250 – Nov. 20, 2012 – A day after beating Georgia, 66-53, in the first round, IU tops Georgetown, 82-72, to win the Progressive Legends Classic.
No. 300 – Dec. 20, 2014 – Indiana tops No. 23 Butler, 82-73, as Yogi Ferrell became IU's 48th 1,000-point scorer.
No. 400 – Dec. 1, 2021 – Kario Oquendo's 24-point outburst paces UGA in an 82-79 upset of No. 18 Memphis.

Wright Stellar In Upset

Freshman Christian Wright started at point guard against No. 18 Memphis for Aaron Cook, who was out of action due to an illness. That task was taller considering the Tigers entered the game forcing an average of 18.0 turnovers per game.

While Wright's career-high totals of 17 points, six boards and 38 minutes tallies drew significant attention, his turnover tally – a meager one TO – was the most significant digit in his linescore. And he did so logging the most PT of any Bulldog in any game this season to date.

Also of note, Wright drew seven fouls, including two on the offensive end, and converted on 6-of-7 free throw attempts.

The SportsCenter "Top-Quen"

Kario Oquendo has emphatically made his way in the top-10 plays on ESPN's SportsCenter twice this season.

On Nov. 16, Oquendo came in at No. 3 on SportsCenter's top-10 plays after his third highlight reel effort against S.C. State. He stole the ball at midcourt and windmilled home an uncontested dunk.

A posterized effort on Nov. 23 was tabbed No. 6. Oquendo, who's 6-4, gathered a steal in Northwestern's lane and drove the length of the floor before a thunderous dunk over a 6-9 Wildcat.

If you want to rate Oquendo's SportsCenter dunks, you can find the S.C. State slam at gado.gs/kariosctop1116 and the Northwestern effort at gado.gs/kariosc1123.

Cook Tops Millennium Mark

Aaron Cook blew past the 1,000-point career scoring mark on Nov. 16 against South Carolina State.

The "super senior" was eight points shy of entering the game and inched past the milestone with 2:21 left in the first half. He finished with 22 points, three off his career high versus Indiana State on Jan. 24, 2018.

Cook scored 845 points at Southern Illinois from 2016-20 and added 127 points during Gonzaga's en route to their NCAA runner-up finish last season.

Cook was presented the game ball from the S.C. State game in a ceremony prior to the George Mason game that featured his mother, Regina, and brother, Anthony.

Dalen, Kario Draw Attention

Kario Oquendo and Dalen Ridgnal are among the top JUCO transfers expected to make the biggest marks this season.

On August 25, bustingbrackets.com ranked the top-25 junior college players moving to the "high-major" level. Ridgnal was tabbed No. 2 on that ledger, while Oquendo was ranked No. 23.

On Nov. 1, college basketball guru Jon Rothstein tabbed his top-10 "JUCOs to watch," an unranked list that also included Ridgnal.

Welcoming A Slew Of Scoring

Of the 10 newcomers on the Bulldogs' roster seven are transfers – five D-I players (Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Noah Baumann, Braelen Bridges, Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram) and a pair from the junior college ranks (Kario Oquendo and Dalen Ridgnal).

Those players arrived in Athens having already scored 4,782 points at their previous schools, the largest addition of scoring by any D-I program this season as outlined below.

In their previous stops, the D-I quintet of the group also logged 8813 minutes in 404 games played, while grabbing 1283 rebounds, dishing 643 assists, swatting 116 blocks and collecting 304 steals.

Top Scoring Influx's In D-I hoops
Rk.	School	Players	Points
1.	Georgia	7	4782
2.	Duquesne	5	4695
3.	Florida	5	4144
4.	Arkansas	6	4125
5.	Penn State	7	5183
6.	Washington St.	4	3785
7.	SMU	4	3733
8.	Kentucky	4	3538
9.	Utah	6	3175
10.	Arizona St.	3	3132

On The Flip Side...

While Georgia welcomed a huge influx of college scoring from its newcomers, the Bulldogs returned a minuscule portion of their scoring from last season.

Minus P.J. Horne, the four returning Bulldogs accounted for only 1110 of Georgia's 2014 points a year ago, or 5.5 percent. Walk-on Jaxon Etter is the top returning point producer with 47 points.

"B" Is For Basketball Player

You may notice on Georgia's roster that the Bulldogs have gone away from listing traditional positions – guard, forward and center. All 15 players are now simply listed as "B" for "Basketball Player."

Tom Crean is a proponent for "position-less basketball."

"That's what they are," Crean said. "It's not valid to call them centers and power forwards and things like that as much with the way that we're trying to play. They're being trained as basketball players, every day... in the sense of how we train with the ball handling, the driving, the shooting – all those type of things. That's big to me."