Bulldogs Face Sooners In SEC Tourney Opener

Wednesday, March 12

Nashville, Tenn.

9:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Oklahoma

March 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia Basketball SEC Tournament Game Notes
Georgia (20-11, 8-10 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (19-12, 6-12 SEC)
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Bridgestone Arena (19,395)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst; Molly McGrath, reporter)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 106 or 190 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)

The Starting 5...

The Georgia Bulldogs, who enter postseason play riding an SEC-best four-game winning streak, will face Oklahoma in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Bulldogs improved to 20-11 with last Saturday's victory over Vanderbilt, just the sixth time in 119 seasons that UGA has reached the 20-win plateau during the regular season.
Georgia also secured its second straight 20-win campaign, just the fifth time the Bulldogs have put together back-to-back 20-win efforts.
The Bulldogs appear primed to earn an NCAA Tournament bid on Selection Sunday, which would be Georgia's first appearance in "March Madness" since 2015.
Georgia has played eight games versus AP top-10 teams, the most of any program in the nation. Almost half – eight of 18 – of UGA's games during the 2025 calendar have been against top-10 squads.

The Opening Tip

Georgia will face Oklahoma in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena. The Bulldogs arrive in Nashville riding an SEC-best four-game winning streak.

Georgia is 20-11, reaching the 20-win mark during the regular season for just the sixth time in 119 seasons (along with 1931, 1986, 1997, 2011 and 2015). The Bulldogs also secured their second-straight 20-win effort, marking the fifth back-to-back 20-win campaigns for UGA.

Those accomplishments have Georgia poised to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015. The Bulldogs are featured in all 103 projections tracked by bracketmatrix.com, including a No. 10 seed by ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

The Bulldogs' balanced offense features seven players who have led Georgia in scoring in one or more games.

Freshman Asa Newell, who was named to the SEC's All-Freshman team on Monday, paces the Bulldogs both in scoring at 15.1 ppg and on the boards at 6.5 rpg. Among SEC leaders, Newell is No. 16 in scoring, No. 13 rebounding, No. 3 in field goal percentage (.540), No. 3 in offensive rebounds (3.1 orpg) and No. 7 in double-doubles (six).

Silas Demary Jr. was named SEC Player of the Week last Monday and a National Player of the Week last Tuesday after averaging 23.5 points in wins over No. 3 Florida and at Texas. He also is scoring at double-digit pace of 13.1 ppg the Bulldogs – including 19.3 ppg over the last eight games – and sports team-high averages of 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg and 31.3 mpg.

Blue Cain is contributing double figures in league play, upping his average of 8.2 ppg against non-conference competition by 2.0 ppg to 10.2 ppg versus SEC teams.

UGA's SEC Tournament History

Georgia has compiled a 49-61 record in 64 SEC Tournaments. The Bulldogs are 40-42 in SEC Tourney action since the event resumed in 1979 after a 27-season hiatus from 1953-79.

Georgia won SEC Tournament titles in 1983 and 2008 and also finished as the runners-up in 1940, 1981, 1988 and 1997.

The Bulldogs have reached the semifinals 15 times, most recently doing so in 2016.

Scouting The Sooners

Oklahoma arrives at its first-ever SEC Tournament at 19-12 overall and 6-12 in SEC play. The Sooners were one of the nation's last four remaining undefeated teams at 13-0 before league competition began.

After dropping heart-breaking, last-second decisions to No. 17 Kentucky and Ole Miss, Oklahoma rallied to win its final two regular-season outings. The Sooners topped No. 15 Missouri and defeated Texas in Austin

Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore provide the Sooners with the SEC's most potent 1-2 scoring punch. Fears is averaging 16.3 ppg, while Moore is at 16.2 ppg...literally one bucket shy of his teammate's tally. Among the league's scoring leaders, Fears and Moore are ranked No. 10 and No. 11, respectively.

Fears is ranked among SEC leaders in five statistics. In addition to scoring, he is No. 6 in assists (4.2 apg), No. 8 in free throw percentage (.851), No. 12 in field goal percentage (.433) and No. 15 in steals (1.6 spg).

Series History With Oklahoma

Georgia and Oklahoma split the only two meetings in the series' brief history, a pair of contests separated by 37 seasons.

Two months and one day ago on Jan. 11 in Athens, Dakota Leffew and Asa Newell each scored a team-high 15 points to lead Georgia in a 72-62 win over No. 17/16 Oklahoma before a raucous sold-out Stegeman Coliseum crowd.

A Justin Abson hook shot put the Bulldogs up 51-50 with 10:36 remaining and ignited a 9-2 surge by Georgia to grab the lead for good.

With the win, the Bulldogs garnered back-to-back victories over ranked foes for the first time since January 2007. Georgia also defeated No. 6/7 Kentucky, 82-69, last Tuesday.

Oklahoma won the initial meeting between the Bulldogs and the Sooners, a 93-90 decision on Christmas Day 1987 at the Chaminade Christmas Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The No. 12-ranked Sooners improved to 10-0 led by 30- and 26-point performances from Mookie Blaylock and Harvey Grant. Toney Mack poured in 32 points to lead Georgia, while Alec Kessler added a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The contest was the sixth and final outing of a two-legged road trip that included wins over New Orleans, UAB and the Japan All-Stars in the Phenix NCAA Ball on Dec. 18-20 in Tokyo, followed by a win over La Salle and a setback to Virginia in the opening rounds in Hawaii.

Last Time Out

Silas Demary Jr. and Asa Newell scored 15 points apiece and graduate guards Dakota Leffew and Tyrin Lawrence added 14 and 13 points, respectively, to lead Georgia in a 79-68 win over Vanderbilt before a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum last Saturday.

Lawrence was key early and Leffew was vital late as the Bulldogs reached the 20-win plateau during the regular season for just the sixth time in 119 seasons. Lawrence scored nine first-half points to lead Georgia during the period. Leffew put up all of his points following intermission, including 10 in a 15-0 run to ice the victory.

"Great win for our team, for our program," head coach Mike White said. "That's four in a row in the best league in the history of college basketball. I feel really good about the way that we played, we continue to grow and get better, it's a really big win for us."

There's "Brutal," And then There's This

Georgia has played an almost unfathomable schedule, particularly in January and February. Of the outings since the New Year began, nearly half of them – eight of 18 – have been versus top-10 foes.

The Bulldogs played eight games versus top-10 foes. The most of any team in the nation as outlined below.

Georgia has played 14 games against top-25 competition. The second most of any team in the nation as outlined below.

The Bulldogs have played five road contests against top-10 teams. The most of any team in the nation. In fact, only 18 of 364 D-I teams even played five games versus top-10 opponents this season.

Georgia has two top-10 wins – the same as combined total of current top-10 teams Duke (1), St. John's (0), Michigan State (0) and Texas Tech (1).

Prior to this season, Georgia had never played four ranked opponents in a row. The Bulldogs have played five straight top-25 foes twice during SEC play this season.

Top-10 AP Opponents
Rk.	Team	Games
1.	Georgia	8
	Kentucky	8
3.	Alabama	7
	Auburn	7
	Mississippi St.	7
6.	Arkansas	6
	Colorado	6
	Missouri	6
	Vanderbilt	6
	West Virginia	6

Top-25 AP Opponents
Rk.	Team	Games
1.	Alabama	16
2.	Georgia	14
	Auburn	14
4.	Oklahoma	13
	S. Carolina	13
6.	Kentucky	12
	Mississippi St.	12
	Tennessee	12

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, with a high of No. 27 by Bart Torvik.

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 186.0 spots during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

The Metric Improvement
	21-22	24-25	DIFF
Torvik	193	27	+166
NET	223	30	+193
KenPom	219	33	+186
SOR	246	34	+212
BPI	208	38	+170
KPI*	225	36	+189
Avg.	219.0	33.0	+186.0

Paul Harvey's Take On the Bulldogs' Losing Skid

The simplistically easy – and maddeningly overutilzied – narrative about Georgia's record from Jan. 15-Feb. 22 has been:
• The Bulldogs lost nine of 11 games.

While that's factually accurate, more thorough examination reveals:
• Eight of those nine losses were to top-25 teams.
• Six of those losses were to top-10 teams.
• Five of those Ls were to top-10 teams on the road.

"And now you know the rest of the story. Good day!"

Silas Steps Up Production In A Major Way

Sophomore Silas Demary Jr. has been a mainstay for Georgia since arriving on campus, starting 67 of 68 games with "Senior Day" last season as his only non nod. The Raleigh, N.C., native, has taken his game to another level in the past eight games.

In outings against No. 22 Mississippi State, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 21 Missouri, No. 1 Auburn, No. 3 Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, Demary Jr. has averaged 19.3 points, 3.5 assists and 35.6 minutes per game.

He recorded career highs of 23 points and seven assists against No. 22 Mississippi State. Demary Jr. logged a career-most "40-" minutes at No. 8/9 Texas A&M, playing all but 18 seconds of the first half. He then topped that mark by playing every second versus No. 21/22 Missouri. Demary Jr. improved his scoring high with 26 points against the Longhorns.

Asa Ascends Among UGA's Top Scoring & Rebounding Freshmen

Asa Newell has joined Georgia's all-time top-10 leaders in scoring and rebounding among freshmen as outlined below.

Newell is No. 5 on the scoring ledger, inching past two-time NBA Champion and current Orlando Magic standout Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the win over Florida.

The four-time SEC Freshman of the Week has 202 boards. During the game against the Gators, Newell passed Charles Claxton, father of current Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton and pushed the previous No. 10 – three-time NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves – off the first-year rebounding list.

UGA's Top-Scoring Freshmen
Rk.	Player	Pts.	Season	GP	Avg.
1.	Jacky Dorsey	645	1974-75	25	25.8
2.	Anthony Edwards	610	2019-20	32	19.1
3.	Jumaine Jones	515	1997-98	25	14.7
4.	Litterial Green	481	1988-89	31	15.5
5.	Asa Newell	468	2024-25	31	15.1
6.	Cedric Henderson	433	1984-85	28	15.5
7.	KCP	422	2011-12	32	13.2
8.	Walter Daniels	404	1975-76	27	15.0
9.	D.A. Layne	381	1998-99	30	12.7
10.	Terry Fair	368	1979-80	27	13.6

UGA's Top-Rebounding Freshmen
Rk.	Player	Rebs.	Season	GP	Avg.
1.	Jumaine Jones	299	1997-98	35	8.5
2.	Jacky Dorsey	296	1974-75	25	11.8
3.	Terry Fair	271	1979-80	27	10.0
4.	Charlie Dorsey	223	1974-75	25	8.9
5.	Lucius Foster	220	1975-76	27	8.1
6.	Trey Thompkins	206	2008-09	28	7.4
7.	Lavon Mercer	204	1976-77	27	7.6
8.	Asa Newell	202	2024-25	31	6.5
9.	Cedric Henderson	199	1984-85	28	7.1
10.	Charles Claxton	190	1991-92	29	6.6

Blue Ups Production, Efficiency

Sophomore Blue Cain has increased his offensive production by a significant margin since SEC competition began.

After contributing 8.2 ppg in Georgia's 13 non-conference games, Cain scored 10.2 ppg in league play.

He has done so by primarily improving his shooting percentages – from .375 overall and .310 from 3-point range in non-conference to .438 and .368 versus SEC opponents.

Bulldogs' Defense Improves At Historic Level Under White

The season before Mike White arrived, Georgia finished the year ranked No. 328 nationally in defensive efficiency according to kempom.com. As of Monday, these Bulldogs were No. 24 in that same metric.

Georgia's almost unfathomable ascension of 304 spots over three seasons is the second-largest leap ever during the kenpom era, which began in 1997. Only UCF, which climbed 311 positions nationally – from No. 319 in 2015 to No. 8 in 2018 – has a larger three-year improvement than the Bulldogs during those 29 years as outlined below.

D-Up, D-Up, D-Up
School	Yr.	Rk.	Yr.	Rk.	Diff.
UCF	'15	319	'18	8	311
Georgia	'22	328	'25	24	304
Grand Canyon	'15	336	'18	50	286
Wofford	'07	324	'10	45	279
Harvard	'09	302	'12	29	273
Little Rock	'22	336	'25	67	269
Manhattan	'11	310	'14	46	264
McNeese	'21	353	'24	89	264
S. Utah	'17	349	'20	86	263
N. Colorado	'15	349	'18	94	255

Georgia Elite At Protecting The Rim

Georgia entered this week ranked No. 11 nationally in blocks per game, swatting an average of 5.3 opponent attempts every outing.

Individually, Somto Cyril is ranked No. 50 nationally – No. 6 among freshmen – at 1.7 bpg. Cyril has blocked three or more shots in seven games, including five in consecutive outings against Notre Dame and Buffalo.

Two more Bulldogs have five blocks in a game this season. Dylan James notched five rejections in Georgia's upset of then-No. 22/20 St. Johns and Asa Newell did so at No. 4/4 Alabama.

Asa Equals Ant For UGA's Most SEC FOTW Honors

Asa Newell was selected as the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season on Feb. 10, tying Anthony Edwards for the most SEC FOTW certificates ever secured by a Bulldog.

Newell also was honored on Nov. 18 (after he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in a pair of wins over Georgia Tech and North Florida) Dec. 9 (after posting game-high tallies of 20 points and 11 rebounds in Georgia's 69-48 victory over Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge) and Jan. 13 (after he averaged 16.0 ppg and was Georgia's leading scorer in wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma).

That's just a portion of the accolades Newell has received.

On Feb. 7, Newell was named a top-10 candidate for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabar Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The award annually honors the nation's top center.

Newell is the third Georgia player in the past nine years to be a top-10 candidate for one of the position player of the year awards, following Anthony Edwards (Jerry West Award in 2020) and Yante Maten (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award in 2017).

On Jan. 29, Newell was featured on The Athletic's Freshman All-America squad along with Cooper Flagg from Duke, Dylan Harper from Rutgers, Kasparas Jakucionis from Illinois and Tahaad Pettiford from Auburn.

Bulldogs Get A Heavy Dose Of The Madness In SEC Play

For Georgia, the entire 2025 calendar has been chocked full of NCAA Tournament competition. The SEC has had 12, 13 or even 14 teams projected to receive bids to the "Big Dance" throughout conference play.

Of the Bulldogs' 18 SEC games, 14 were against teams featured in the latest edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology. Of those, nine – exactly half of UGA's 18 SEC outings – have been against projected top-5 seeds – No. 1 Auburn (twice), No. 1 Florida (twice), No. 2 Alabama, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 5 Missouri.

Dogs Are "Stegtacular" At Home

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

The Bulldogs were 15-3 in Athens this 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.

The Bulldogs posted a scoring margin of +16.0 at home, with 12 of 15 victories coming by double figures.

The Bulldogs won their first 11 home contests, building a 13-game home winning streak dating back to last season. 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 as outlined below.

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.

With a 41-13 home mark since becoming Georgia's coach, White is a combined 48-14 (.774) in Stegeman. He is a perfect 27-0 versus non-conference competition at home with the Bulldogs.

Home Winning Streaks
Rk.	Season	No.
1.	1930-31 & '31-32	25
2.	1938-39 & '39-40	20
3.	1988-89, '89-90 & '90-91	15
4.	2001-02 & '02-03	13
5.	2023-24 & '24-25	12
	1997-98 & '98-99	12
7.	1984-85 & '85-86	11
8.	2023-24	10
	2022-23	10
	2007-08	10

Bulldogs' Beginning In Best since 1931

Georgia's 12-1 start to the 2024-25 campaign was the Bulldogs' third-best ever and their best in 94 seasons as outlined below.

Georgia also opened 1930-31 at 12-1 and eventually extended that to a 23-1 record before losing to Maryland in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament and finishing 23-2. That campaign was the last of Coliseum namesake Herman Stegeman's 12 seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.

Bulldogs' Best Beginnings
Rk.	Season	Rec.
1.	1930-31	23-1
2.	1923-24	13-1
3.	2024-25	12-1
4.	2001-02	11-1
	1996-97	11-1
	1929-30	11-1
	1947-48	11-1
	1920-21	11-1
9.	1995-96	10-1
	1994-95	10-1

Georgia Inks Another 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.

Stagg, is a 6-8, forward from Chesapeake, Va., who is in his second season at the IMG Academy.

Wilkins, a 6-9, forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School is the son of former Bulldog and hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins.

Asa Equals Nique's Scoring Mark For Debuting Dogs

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

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."

Wilkins wasn't the only elite company Newell joined among the best Bulldog initial outings. Georgia's top-10 list of freshman debuts also includes current NBA stars Anthony Edwards and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as outlined below.

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	Wofford	11/11/11

Six Dogs Were Top-100 Prospects

Georgia's 13 scholarship players includes a half-dozen Bulldogs who were ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects in their class.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all were tabbed among the top 100 players in the Class of 2023. Their 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.

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 247 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).

#CommitToTheGrades

The Bulldogs enjoyed their strongest academic semester ever during the fall of 2024, producing a team grade point average of 3.28. That was not only the program's highest mark ever, but also the second-highest GPA among UGA's nine men's athletic programs last fall.

All told, 12 Georgia players posted a 3.0 or higher in the fall. Tyrin Lawrence led the way with a 4.0, followed by four players between a 3.50-3.99 and seven between a 3.0-3.49.

JU Win Supplies Superlatives

The Bulldogs' fourth-best shooting performance ever topped a list of stellar stats in a 102-56 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 30. The Bulldogs:

• Scored their most points under Mike White;
• Posted a red-host 66.7 field goal percentage that ranks No. 4 among UGA's best performances ever;
• Knocked down 14 3-pointers, matching UGA's sixth-most ever;

Georgia's field goal percentage (.667) also is the best effort by any SEC team this season.

White Leads Coaches With Wins In Every NCAA & NIT Appearance

The Bulldogs surge to the NIT semifinals last season improved Mike White's strong effort in postseason play. White is now a combined 16-9 in the NCAA and NIT – 6-4 in the NCAAs and 10-5 in the NIT.

While at Florida, White was the only SEC coach to lead his teams to NCAA bids in every tournament between 2017-21, headlined by the Gators' 2017 "Elite Eight"run. White was one of only five coaches to win a game in each of those NCAA tourneys along with Bill Self, Mark Few, Jay Wright and Leonard Hamilton.

In the NIT, White has records of 5-3 at Louisiana Tech, 2-1 at Florida and 3-1 at Georgia, including an impressive list of road wins at Ohio State (2016 & 2024), Florida St. (2013), GEORGIA (2014), Texas A&M (2015) and Wake Forest (2024).

White is the only active power conference coach with more than five NCAA and NIT appearances and a perfect record in opening-round games and one of only six with multiple bids to those tourneys without a first-round setback as outlined below.

White's postseason success dates back to his career as a four-year starter at Ole Miss. He helped the Rebels to their first back-to-back NCAA bids in 1997 and 1998 and added a third straight in 1999. White lists dribbling out the clock against Villanova for the first Ole Miss NCAA Tournament win ever during his senior season as the most memorable moment of his playing career.

Opening Round Perfection
Coach, Current School	NCAA	NIT	Tot.
Mike White, Georgia	4-0	5-0	9-0
Chris Beard, Ole Miss	5-0	0-0	6-0
Chris Collins, Northwestern	3-0	0-0	3-0
Hubert Davis, N. Carolina	2-0	0-0	2-0
Shaneen Holloway, Seton Hall	1-0	1-0	2-0
Jon Scheyer, Duke	2-0	0-0	2-0