Bulldogs To Meet Grand Canyon In Holiday Hoopsgiving

Saturday, December 14

Atlanta, Ga.

6:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

Grand Canyon

Bulldogs To Meet Grand Canyon In Holiday Hoopsgiving

December 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (8-1) vs. Grand Canyon (6-2)
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Venue: State Farm Arena (19,050)
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Richard Hendrix, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 390 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, Producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia returns to action on Saturday following an 11-day break from competition during Final Exams. The Bulldogs will face Grand Canyon at 6:00 p.m. in the third game of Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 – their best start since 2006-07 – and coming off a 69-48 win over Notre Dame which helped the SEC to an almost unfathomable 14-2 record in last week's SEC/ACC Challenge.
Georgia's astronomical ascent with college basketball's metrics has continued during Mike White's third season in Athens. Since White's arrival, the Bulldogs have ascended an average of 187.7 spots among six of the most popular computer formulas – kenpom, NET, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR.
Asa Newell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Newell is UGA's first multi-time FOTW honoree since Anthony Edwards during the 2019-20 campaign.
Entering this weekend, Georgia ranked among the nation's top-40 teams in 11 statistical categories, headlined by being No. 3 in rebound margin (+13.2 rpg) and No. 4 in blocked shots (6.1 bpg).

THE OPENING TIP

Following an 11-day break from games during Final Exams, the Georgia Bulldogs return to action on Saturday to face Grand Canyon at 6:00 p.m. in the third game of a Holiday Hoopsgiving tripleheader at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The event also features Auburn taking on Ohio State at 1:00 and Florida meeting Arizona State at 3:30.

Georgia is 8-1 on the season, matching the program's best start since the 2006-07 campaign.

The Bulldogs' strongest attributes have been controlling the glass and protecting the rim. Entering this weekend, Georgia led the SEC in both rebound margin and blocks and nationally ranked No. 3 in boarding margin (+ 13.2 rpg) and No. 4 in rejections (6.1 bpg).

Georgia's balanced office features five players who have led the Bulldogs offensively in one or more games this season. Three more have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those eight Bulldogs have combined to produce 38 double-digit performances in nine games.

Asa Newell, who on Monday was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time in five weeks this season, leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). Among league leaders, Newell ranks No. 14 in both scoring and rebounding, as well as No. 4 in field goal percentage and No. 12 in blocks (1.2 bpg).

Three more Bulldogs are scoring at a double-digit pace for Georgia – Silas Demary Jr. at 13.7 ppg, Dakota Leffew at 13.6 ppg and Tyrin Lawrence at 11.4 ppg.

Scouting The Antelopes

Grand Canyon, which has earned NCAA Touranment bids during three of the last four seasons, is currently 6-4 on the season.

The Antelopes are riding a four-game winning streak and defeated Life Pacific, 100-52, in their last action last Saturday to give fifth-year head coach Bryce Drew his 100th victory at GCU.

Tyon Grant-Foster and JaKobe Coles provide Grand Canyon with a potent 1-2 scoring punch, putting up 16.0 ppg and 15.9 ppg, respectively. Ray Harrison adds 12.9 ppg, while Collin Moore chips in 10.6 ppg. Duke Brennan, who missed the first four games of the season due to an injury, leads the Antelopes on the boards at 8.0 rpg and is litterally one point shy of averaging double figures at 9.8 ppg.

Bulldogs Face Grand Canyon For First Time

Saturday's game will be the first ever between Georgia and Grand Canyon on the hardwood.

In fact, the Bulldogs have only played one game against the nine teams that currently comprise the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Georgia defeated Seattle, 103-58, on Nov. 28, 1986 in the opening game of an NCAA Tournament campaign for the Bulldogs. Toney Mack scored 25 points and Eric Burdette added a double-double of 22 points and 13 boards to lead Georgia that night. Those Bulldogs earned an NCAA bid but fell to Kansas State, 82-79, in overtime in the opening round. That matchup was a scoring duel among future NBA stars Willie Anderson (35 points) from UGA and Mitch Richmond (34 points) from KSU.

Georgia does have some history with Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who was 1-3 against the Bulldogs during three seasons as Vanderbilt's head coach from 2016-19.

Last Time Out

Asa Newell's double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds led Georgia in a 69-48 win over Notre Dame last Tuesday at Stegeman Coliseum as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Bulldogs helped the SEC secure a 14-2 edge in matchups between the two leagues.

Dakota Leffew added 16 points, Silas Demary Jr. chipped in 11 points in an efficient 5-of-7 shooting night and Tyrin Lawrence dished out a career-high seven assists with no turnovers.

Newell scored 11 points in the final 5:45 of the first half as Georgia pushed a five-point lead to 12 at the break. Notre Dame closed within 47-41 before the Bulldogs ended the night on a 22-7 surge.

The Bulldogs committed only five turnovers, their fewest since a 78-62 SEC Tournament win over Vanderbilt on March 7, 2018 when the Commodores were coached by...Bryce Drew.

"I love how we shared it," head coach Mike White said. "We had 19 assists to five turnovers. That's two games in a row where we've completely flip-flopped our turnover-assist ratio (43-to-17) to what it had been up until that point (99-to-107). So we're getting better in that category. We defended the three at a really high rate. I like the way we moved it. It wasn't perfect but, man, I'm very, very proud of the effort."

Dogs Among Best In Boards, Blocks...And Lots Of Other Things

Georgia ranks among the nation's best in controlling the glass and protecting the rim this season. As of Friday, the Bulldogs led the SEC in both rebounding margin and blocked shots. Nationally, Georgia was No. 3 with a rebounding margin of +13.2 and No. 4 in blocks at 6.1 bpg.

Rebounding wise, the Bulldogs have won the board battle in all nine games this season, including two of the biggest rebound margins in program history. On Nov. 10, Georgia out-rebounded Texas Southern, 53-23, a school-record of +30. The Bulldogs' +25 effort against Alabama A&M on Nov. 19 equaled the seventh-biggest single-game edge for UGA.

From a swats perspective, three Bulldogs are averaging at least one block per game, with Somto Cyril at 1.7 bpg, Asa Newell at 1.2 bpg and RJ Godfrey at 1.0 bpg. Georgia swatted 12 shots against Texas Southern on Nov. 10, the Bulldogs' most in a single game since also block a dozen attempts by Vanderbilt on Jan. 9, 2019.

Those rebound margin and blocks categories headline a long list of no less than 11 stats where the Bulldogs rank among the nation's top-40 as outlined below.

A Top-40 Team In...
Rk.	Category	Stat
3.	Rebound Margin	+13.2
4.	Blocked Shots	6.1
22.	FG Percentage	.499
23.	3-Point FG Defense	.275
25.	Scoring Margin	17.9
29.	Free Throw Makes	18.0
35.	Free Throw Attempts	24.7
36.	Rebounds Per Game	4.09
37.	Effective FG Percentage	.564
38.	Scoring Defense	64.4
39.	FG Defense	.388

Bulldogs Better Under White

Georgia has made considerable improvement under Mike White from both semantic and quantifiable perspectives.

From traditional "game notes" verbiage you will read:

• Georgia upped its regular-season win total by 10 victories in White's first campaign, the second-largest increase of any Power conference team that season.

• Last season, the Bulldogs earned their first postseason bid since 2017 and while advancing to the NIT semifinals, reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2016.

• Georgia is currently ranked among the nation's top-40 teams in virtually every metric published, including No. 22 in the NCAA's NET.

From a numerical perspective, Georgia's progress has been even more impressive.

Among six of the most-utilized college basketball metrics, the Bulldogs have ascended an average of 187.7 spots during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

The Metric Improvement
	21-22	24-25	DIFF
SOR	246	19	+227
NET	223	22	+201
KPI*	225	38	+187
KenPom	219	36	+183
BPI	208	36	+172
Torvik	193	37	+156
Avg.	219.0	31.3	+187.7

Georgia's Hoopsgiving History

The Bulldogs will be making their second appearance in the five-year history of Holiday Hoopsgiving.

Two years ago on Dec. 18, 2022, Braelen Bridges scored 18 points in 18 minutes to lead Georgia in a 77-62 victory over Notre Dame at State Farm Arena.

Bridges was 9-of-9 from the field en route to a performance that earned him SEC Player of the Week honors the next day.

Georgia surged ahead late in the first half and outscored the Irish by 10 points in the second stanza. After leading 41-36 at the intermission, the Bulldogs doubled that advantage in the first five minutes of the second half. The Irish pulled within three at 58-55 with 7:43 left, but Georgia answered with an 11-0 run that ended any doubt.

Bulldogs' Schedule Has "March Madness" Feel To It

Though the NCAA Tournament won't tip off until March 18, it is worth noting that Georgia joined the projected field for "March Madness" in ESPN's Nov. 26 edition Bracketology.

Following a split in games against No. 15/15 Marquette and No. 22/20 St. John's at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, Georgia moved from fourth in the "next four out" the previous week to the second of the "last four in" on Nov. 26. The Bulldogs have since inched up to a No. 10 seed.

Regardless of the current forecast, the Bulldogs will have plenty of chances for quality wins from now until March. Georgia will play 16 of 31 regular-season games – 51.6 percent – against teams pegged to receive bids by ESPN this week, including Grand Canyon.

Three of Georgia's non-conference foes are listed in the most recent bracket – Marquette as a No. 1 seed, St. John's as a No. 7 and the Antelopes as a No. 12.

The Bulldogs will face the other 11 SEC teams predicted to make the field a total of 13 times, including home-and-homes with Auburn, a No. 1 seed, and Florida, a No. 3 seed. The remaining SEC teams and their seeds are Tennessee (No. 1), Alabama (No. 2), Kentucky (No. 2), Texas A&M (No. 4), Mississippi State (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 6), Oklahoma (No. 8), Texas (No. 9) and Arkansas (No. 11).

Asa Again Earns SEC FOTW Honors

Asa Newell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 9 after posting game-high tallies of 20 points and 11 rebounds in Georgia's 69-48 win over Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Newell's efforts represented his second 20-point outing and second double-double this season, and he also matched his season high with two assists in the victory.

Newell was also tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 18 after he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in wins over Georgia Tech and North Florida.

Newell is one of 10 Bulldogs who have earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors a combined 15 times since the award's inception in 1988. He is the first Georgia player to claim the accolade multiple times since Anthony Edwards earned four certificates during the 2019-20 campaign.

Lots Of Bulldogs Leading The Way

No less then five Georgia players have led the Bulldogs offensively during the first nine games of the season, while six Dogs have topped Georgia's rebounding count in outings to date.

A different Bulldog topped 20 points to lead Georgia's scoring efforts in first three games of the campaign. Asa Newell put up 26 points in the opener against Tennessee Tech, Dakota Few notched 23 digits versus Texas Southern and RJ Godfrey poured in 21 points against North Florida. Silas Demary Jr. was the Bulldogs' leading scorer at Georgia Tech but fell a bucket shy of extending the 20-point scoring streak with 18 points.

Georgia was one of only four Power conference programs with a different 20-point scoring leader in each of the season's first three games along with Butler, Maryland and Stanford.

Since then, Blue Cain joined the leading scoring list with 17 points against No. 15 Marquette.

On the boards, Newell has led Georgia three times, Somto Cyril and Demary Jr. both have done so twice and Cain, Godfrey and Tyrin Lawrence have produced the most boards once each.

Lots Of Superlatives In North Florida Victory

The fourth-best shooting performance in school history topped a list of stellar stats Georgia posted en route to a 102-56 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 30 at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs:

• Scored their most points during Mike White's three seasons in Athens;
• Connected on 34-of-54 shots from the field, a red-hot 66.7 percent effort that matched the No. 4 effort in school history;
• Knocked down 14 3-pointers, matching UGA's sixth-most ever;
• Shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from behind the arc, their best percentage under White.

Georgia's overall field goal percentage (.667) and 3-point percentage (.583) are currently the best efforts by any SEC team during the 2024-25 season.

Bulldogs' Home Non-Conference Win Streak Reaches 23

Georgia's victory over Notre Dame extended the Bulldogs' non-conference winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum to 24 games.

In fact, Georgia is perfect against non-conference opposition at home under Mike White, compiling an 8-0 record in 2022-23 and a 10-0 mark in 2023-24 before starting this season 6-0.

White Is Stellar In Stegeman

Mike White's success at Stegeman Coliseum is not confined to his tenure with the Bulldogs.

White was 7-1 in the arena as a visiting head coach before arriving in Athens. He led Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and was 6-1 against the Bulldogs in the venue at Florida from 2015-22.

With his 32-10 home mark since becoming Georgia's head coach, White is a combined 39-11 (.780) as a head coach in Stegeman.

Dakota Scoring In Stegeman

Dakota Leffew certainly seems to like shooting in Stegeman Coliseum.

The graduate transfer Hampton, Ga., who played the last four seasons at Mount St. Mary's, is averaging 16.9 points in seven games played in Athens.

Leffew put up a game-high 26 points for Mount St. Mary's in a 94-82 setback in Athens on Dec. 20 last season. Leffew has scored 18, 23,10, nine,16 and 16 points in the Bulldogs' six five home games this season.

Within those contests, Leffew is shooting .532 from the field (41-of-77), including .480 (24-of-50) from 3-point range, and .800 (12-of-15) from the free throw line in the arena.

Asa Equals UGA Freshman Mark

Asa Newell's 26-point outburst against Tennessee Tech tied Dominique Wilkins for the highest offensive output ever by a Bulldog freshman in their collegiate debut as outlined below.

Wilkins also put up 26 points in his initial outing for Georgia against Troy State on Nov. 30, 1979.

Newell started quickly, scoring his first 10 points over the opening 7:10 of the contest. He reached 20 points with 15:09 left in the contest and then garnered his first double-double with a rebound at the 14:13 mark of the second half. Newell matched Wilkins' tally with an offensive rebound and putback with 2:20 remaining.

When asked by media postgame if he knew of Wilkins' legacy, Newell quickly replied: "Yes, for sure. The human highlight reel. I've got a jersey of Dominique back at the crib."

Top Debuts By Bulldog Freshmen
Pts.	Player	Opponent	Date
26	Asa Newell	Tennessee Tech	11/4/24
26	Dominique Wilkins	Troy State	11/30/79
24	Anthony Edwards	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Sahvir Wheeler	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Terry Fair	Troy State	11/30/79
18	Jeremy Price	Jacksonville St.	11/9/07
18	D.A. Layne	Mercer	11/13/98
17	Rayshaun Hammonds	Bryant	11/10/17
17	Sundiata Gaines	W. Kentucky	11/23/04
15	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	Woffford	11/11/11

Georgia Staff Inks Third-Straight Top-15 Recruiting Class

Mike White announced on Friday, Nov. 15 that high school standouts Jackson McVey, Kareem Stagg and Jacob Wilkins inked papers to join the Bulldogs next season.

The trio was ranked No. 11 nationally by Rivals.com, as well as No. 12 by 247Sports.com, giving Georgia its third straight top-15 recruiting class of prep prospects. The Bulldog signees in the Classes of 2024 and 2023 were ranked No. 10 and No. 15, respectively, by both outlets.

McVey, is a 7-1, center from Ellijay, Ga., who is playing at Overtime Elite this season. Nationally, McVey is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN.com, and he has been ranked as one of the nation's top-25 center prospects in the On3.com composite and by ESPN.com.

Stagg, is a 6-8, power forward from Chesapeake, Va., who is in his second season at the IMG Academy. A consensus four-star prospect, Stagg is ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects by 247Sports.com (No. 73), Rivals.com (No. 86) and On3.com (No. 92).

Wilkins, a 6-9, small forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School is the son of former Bulldog and hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins. Jacob is a four-star recruit ranked among the nation's top-50 players by every major recruiting service – No. 35 by Rivals.com, No. 45 by ESPN.com, No. 49 by On3.com and No. 50 by 247Sports.com.

Dominique Wilkins, a two-time All-American and 1981 SEC Player of the Year, led Georgia to its first-ever postseason bids with the 1981 and 1982 NITs. Though he played only three seasons at Georgia, Wilkins departed Athens as the Bulldogs' career scoring leader with 1,688 points, a 21.6 ppg average over 78 outings. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft before enjoying an illustrious career primarily with the Atlanta Hawks that included being a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection.

Trio Posts First Double-Doubles

RJ Godfrey, Asa Newell and Blue Cain both recorded the first double-doubles of their collegiate careers in the first two games of the season. Godfrey and Newell did so in the season opener, while Cain followed suit in the next contest against Texas Southern.

Godfrey put up 10 points and 10 boards against Tennessee Tech and then posted career highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds versus North Florida. After not recording a double-double in 69 GPs as a freshman and a sophomore, Godfrey did so in two of his first three outings as a Bulldog.

Newell reached double figures in scoring in just 7:10 into his college career and took all of 25:47 to secure his double-double.

Cain grabbed a career-most 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points against TSU.

UGA Features Six Top-100 Prospects

Georgia's 15-player roster includes no less than a half-dozen Bulldogs who were ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects in their recruiting classes.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all were tabbed among the top 100 players in the Class of 2023. Their highest The highest rankings featured Cain at No. 53 by On3.com, Demary at No. 56 by Rivals.com and James at No. 78 in the 247Sports.com composite.

As a class, they were ranked No. 11 by Rivals.com, No. 15 in the 247Sports.com composite, No. 18 by On3.com and No. 20 by 247Sports.com.

Somto Cyril, Savo Drezgić and Asa Newell were featured among the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2024, with highs of No. 11 for Newell by On3.com, No. 43 for Cyril by 247Sports.com and No. 53 for Drezgić by On3.com.

Newell finished No. 14 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, placing him alongside from impressive names. Newell is the fourth-highest signee for Georgia since the website began its composite ledger in 2003, trailing only Anthony Edwards (No. 2 in 2019), Lou Williams (No. 6 in 2005 before declaring for the NBA Draft) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (No. 11 in 2011).

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

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