What an unusual game. Georgia manhandled Auburn for most of the basketball game despite a game marred by 60 combined fouls, 3 technicals, 70 free throw attempts (3rd most in SEC history) and 49 three point attempts. A foul was called every 40 seconds overall and every 30 seconds in the second half. It was at times encouraging and painful.
Despite all that Georgia showed long stretches of solid offensive basketball. Everything didn't work like you'd want, but we did a variety of things well including:
- -- Takais Brown recognized the double team faster and more often than before. Better ball movement resulted from his kick outs. Better ball movement almost always results in better shots.
-- Solid penetration. Gaines dominated the game. He had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and only 3 turnovers while playing 40 ironman minutes. His play on drives to the basket consistently resulted in either foul shots or quality looks by our big men. Given that Auburn had 5 players foul out, I'd say he did a great job.
-- Singleton played a pretty solid game. He had 9 points in 21 minutes. However, his poor hands resulted in no rebounds despite several balls hitting him in the mitts. He did show more awareness and competency around the basket offensively.
Kudos to Billy Humphrey and Sundiata Gaines for going the distance and putting in 40 minutes each. The extra minutes were caused by Levi Stukes getting in early foul trouble, and Felton appearing to be pissed at Woodbury for defensive lapses.
Also kudos to Bliss who threw down a nasty dunk in traffic and later executed a perfect touch shot from an inbounds pass with 1 second on the shot clock. Dave had a good game.
What's Next:
Georgia's RPI now sits at 52 per RealtimeRPI.com. UGA is now tied with Kentucky for third place in the SEC East. The Ole Miss game on Wednesday will be a huge test for the Bulldogs on the road. For a good look at the remaining schedule, check out this post on the UGASports.com b-ball message board.
See Also:
-- Photo Album - Georgiadogs.com
-- Dawgs Demolish Auburn - AP
-- Bulldogs Happy After Long Day - AJC
-- SEC Standings - ESPN
-- Dawgs Top Tigers - DawgPost.com
-- Box Score - ESPN
PWD
2 comments:
A big part of the reason Gaines and Humphrey were able to go the distance is because of all the stoppages caused by fouls. If not for the near-record amount of fouls, they probably don't go for the full 40.
I don't know that I'd characterize Auburn as "wretched" -- clearly they're not there yet, but they've gotten good enough this season to absolutely humiliate just about any other team in the SEC (except for probably Florida) if they're not careful. Alabama knows this.
Auburn's not good enough to call this a "statement" win or anything like that, but it's got to be seen as very encouraging that Georgia dominated them like this, particularly without Mercer. Auburn is the kind of team that will jump up and take advantage of openings when other teams give them, and the fact that Georgia didn't is a semi-big deal at this stage.
Post a Comment