No. 25 Bulldogs Set To Take On WCU At Stegeman

Thursday, December 18

Athens, Ga.

7:00

University of Georgia

Western Carolina

December 17, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

No. 25/RV Georgia (9-1) vs. Western Carolina (4-6)
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
TV: SEC Network + (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play; Litterial Green, analyst)
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 384 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5

The No. 25-ranked Georgia Bulldogs – America's most potent offense during the 2025-26 season – return to action on Thursday when they host Western Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs are a perfect 33-0 against non-conference competition at Stegeman Coliseum during Mike White's four seasons at Georgia and are 47-13 (.783) overall at home under White.
Georgia entered this week leading the nation's 365 Division I teams in scoring offense (98.3 ppg), scoring margin (+27.7), fastbreak points (27.6 ppg) and blocks (8.5 bpg).
As of Monday, the Dunkyard Dawgs had scored a nation-leading 22.4 percent of their field goals on dunks this season. Somto Cyril's 25 dunks led the SEC and ranked No. 6 nationally.
Georgia has topped the 100-point plateau in four of its first 10 games...one shy of the single-season program record of five century mark tallies during the 1990-91 campaign. In 20 halves of basketball, the Bulldogs have scored 40+ points 18 times.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press top-25 poll, will return to the friendly confines of Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday to host Western Carolina in the first outing of a four-game homestand.

Following the date with the Catamounts, the Bulldogs will entertain West Georgia next Monday in a 2:00 p.m. matinee before a week-long holiday break. Georgia will then face LIU on Dec. 29 and Auburn on Jan. 3 before returning to the road.

The Bulldogs are riding a 33-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at Stegeman that coincides with the arrival of head coach Mike White.

It would be hard to fathom a better beginning to the 2025-26 campaign for Georgia, at least statistically speaking.

The Bulldogs entered this week leading the all 365 Division I teams in scoring offense (98.3 ppg), scoring margin (+27.7), fastbreak points (27.6 ppg) and blocks (8.5 bpg). Among the 28 statistical categories tracked by the NCAA, Georgia was ranked in the top 10 in eight stats and within the top 25 in 15.

Georgia features the nation's deepest Power Conference rotation while playing at a breakneck pace among the quickest in college hoops.

Among the 79 Power Conference programs, the Bulldogs are the only team with a 11 players averaging double-figure minutes with everyone seeing action in every game. According to the oft-used metric KenPom.com, Georgia entered this week ranked No. 3 nationally in average offensive possession length (14.2 seconds), as well as No. 5 nationally in adjusted tempo (74.8).

Georgia's depth is not just in numbers but also in its offensive production.

Ten of the 11 Bulldogs playing double-digit minutes also have double-figure scoring outputs. Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain pace Georgia offensively, averaging 17.1 and 16.1 ppg, respectively. Marcus "Smurf" Millender and Kanon Catchings are just shy of double-digit averages, with Millender at 9.5 ppg and Catchings at 9.3 ppg.

Scouting The Catamounts

Western Carolina arrives in Athens with a 4-6 record. The Bulldogs and the Catamounts have faced one common opponent – Cincinnati. WCU began its season with a 94-63 setback to the Bearcats, while UGA secured an 84-65 victory in its most recent outing last Saturday.

Marcus Kell leads a trio of Catamounts scoring at a double-figure clip to date. He is averaging 13.4 ppg, while Julien Soumaoro contributes 13.0 ppg and Cord Stansberry chips in 11.7 ppg.

Series History With WCU

Georgia is a perfect 9-0 against Western Carolina, with each of those outings being played at Stegeman Coliseum.

The most recent meeting was the first contest of the Mike White era when the Bulldogs bested the Catamounts 68-55 on Nov. 7, 2022. Though Georgia never trailed, the game was as close as four points midway through the second half. After the Catamounts inched within 48-44, Kario Oquendo scored five points in a 7-0 surge to put the victory in hand. Frank Anselem-Ibe put up a career-high 11 points in his debut as a Bulldog.

Last Time Out

Blue Cain and Somto Cyril posted career-high scoring outputs of 22 and 13 points, respectively, as Georgia defeated Cincinnati on Saturday, 84-65, at State Farm Arena last Saturday at Holiday Hoopsgiving.

The Bulldogs started slow and trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half. Georgia rallied to knot the score at 37-37 at halftime and outscored the Bearcats 47-28 thereafter.

"The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated," head coach Mike White said. "Their defense, they're phenomenal. Allowing them that lead of 10 in the first half, not a very good sign there. At halftime, fixed it and played well offensively down the stretch."

Bulldogs Join AP Top 25

Georgia is No. 25 in this week's Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs were No. 26 in "receiving votes" in the coaches poll.

Georgia last appeared in the AP poll last season on Jan. 13 when the Bulldogs were No. 23 in both the AP and coaches polls. This is the first time Georgia has been ranked in the AP poll in consecutive seasons since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.

Bulldogs Are Nation's Top Offensive Team

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, scoring margin and fastbreak points. Through 10 games, the Bulldogs are putting up 98.3 points per game, producing a scoring differential of +27.7 ppg. Of that scoring, 27.6 ppg are on fastbreaks.

Though bolstered by reaching 120 points twice, Georgia's scoring has been consistent. In 20 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 18 times, with eight 50-point periods and three segments of 60 or more points.

Georgia played 102 games in Mike White's first three seasons in Athens. The Bulldogs reached 90 points nine times and 100 points twice. In 10 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in seven outings and surpassed the century mark in four contests.

A "Stegtacular" Home Court Advantage

Georgia's home court advantage? It's real and it's Stegtacular.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 47-13 home mark under Mike White and are a perfect 33-0 versus non-conference competition in Stegeman over his four seasons at UGA.

White's success at Stegeman is not confined to his UGA tenure. He was 7-1 in Athens as a visiting head coach, leading Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and compiling a 6-1 mark at Florida from 2015-22.

That makes White is a combined 54-14 (.794) as a head coach in Stegeman.

The Bulldogs were 15-3 in Athens last season, matching the program record for home wins in a single season. Georgia also won 15 home games during the 2013-14 and 2015-16 campaigns; however, those tallies include an NIT victory.

After producing just eight double-digit home winning streaks in Georgia's first 116 seasons of basketball, the Bulldogs have produced three double-digit winning streaks at Stegeman during Mike White's three seasons alone. Georgia currently owns an eight-game winning streak at Stegeman that began with two impressive victories last season over No. 3 Florida on Feb. 25 and Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale.

Georgia Features Nation's Deepest Power Conference Rotation

Georgia is the only Power Conference team in the country that features an 11-player rotation with those players averaging double-figure MP and also seeing action in every game.

Only two other teams among the 79 in the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and SEC have 10 players who have played in every game logging 10+ mpg – Clemson and Ole Miss.

Georgia Among Nation's Top-10 In Eight Stats

Peruse the NCAA basketball statistical leaders and you'll find a multitude of categories featuring the Georgia Bulldogs at or near the top.

Entering this week, Georgia was ranked in the nation's top-25 teams in 15 of the 28 stats the NCAA measures, including eight in the top 10 as outlined below.

Top-10 Stats
Statistic	Rk.	No.
Scoring Offense	1	98.3
Scoring Margin	1	+27.7
Fastbreak Points	1	27.6
Blocks Per Game	1	8.5
Rebounds Per Game	5	44.2
Bench Points	7	42.4
FTs Made Per Game	8	21.3
Steals Per Game	10	10.7

Dogs Enjoy D-I's Highest Scoring November since '18

Georgia's scoring average of 99.9 points per game entering December was the highest by any Division I team in a traditional season since 2018.

The Bulldogs' average was the biggest since The Citadel was putting up 100.0 points through its November games during the 2018-19 campaign. Editor's note: we skipped with 2020-21 campaign due to its late start...on Dec. 1, 2020, Murray State led the nation at 173.0 ppg after one contest.

Georgia Plays At One of the Nation's Quickest Paces

The Bulldogs average possession length on offense is 14.2 seconds, which according to KenPom.com was the third-fastest in the nation entering this week. The Bulldogs also ranked No. 5 by KenPom.com in "adjusted tempo" at 74.8 possessions per 40 minutes.

Dunkyard Dogs Leading The Nation In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia has scored a nation-leading 22.4 percent of its field goals this season on dunks – 78 of 338 the Bulldogs' total FGs – as outlined below.

Individually, Somto Cyril leads the SEC and as of Monday ranked No. 6 nationally with 25 dunks followed by Kareem Stagg and Jake Wilkins both with 12; Justin Abson and Jeremiah Wilkinson with seven each; Kanon Catchings with six; Blue Cain with five; and Dylan James with four.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	Georgia	22.4
2.	Duke	20.2
3.	N. Carolina	19.7
4.	Indiana	18.7
5.	Kentucky	18.1
6.	Louisville	17.7
7.	Michigan	16.8
8.	Arkansas	16.5
9.	Wake Forest	16.2
10.	Kansas	16.6

Dogs Are SEC's Best At Stealing, Swatting

With Georgia leading the SEC in both steals and blocks per game, it would be a reasonable assumption individual Bulldogs are also among the league's best in those statistics.

Within Georgia's SEC-best 10.7 steals per contest, Jeremiah Wilkinson is ranked No. 4 in the league (2.2 spg) and Blue Cain is No. 6 (2.0 spg). Also of note, Dylan James, who recorded 11 steals in 32 games last season, had 11 takeaways in the first nine contests this year.

The Bulldogs' nation-leading 8.5 blocks per game as a team features Justin Abson and Somto Cyril tied for second in the SEC at 2.5 bpg, which also ranked them tied at No. 18 nationally entering this week.

Double-Digit Dogs' Have Hit Double Figures

No less than 10 different Georgia Bulldogs recorded double-figure scoring outputs in the first nine games of the season.

Those Bulldogs have combined to produce 42 double-digit performances. Blue Cain leads that pack by scoring 10+ in each game, followed by Jeremiah Wilkinson with nine; Smurf Millender with five; Kanon Catchings and Jake Wilkins with four; Somto Cyril with three; Justin Bailey, Dylan James and Jordan Ross with two; and Kareem Stagg with one.

Seven of the aforementioned Bulldogs scored in double digits against Morehead State on Nov. 9.

That marked the first time seven Bulldogs hit the 10-point plateau in a single game since a 99-72 decision over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29, 1994 – a span of 979 contests. Georgia came within a bucket of repeating that feet against...Tennessee Tech when six Bulldogs toppe

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