Montana at Georgia

WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum

WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 3-0; Montana 0-3

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle, Dayne Bradshaw); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie).

You will not find this statistic listed in the boxscore and there is no mention of it in Georgia’s pre-game basketball notes, but according to head coach Tom Crean, it may be one of the biggest indicators of his team’s early success-deflections.

During the Bulldogs’ 98-65 over Jacksonville last Sunday, Georgia deflected 67 balls, the most by the team in Tom Crean’s two-plus years as head coach.

So, why is that a big deal?

For a team looking to tighten up its play on the defensive end, the more times you are able to disrupt the opposition in transition or in the midst of running their offense, the better off you’re going to be.

"I learned a long time ago that the definition of a deflection is a barometer of active defense,” Crean said. “You have active feet, hands, mouths, bodies moving and playing to their length and aggression on and off the ball. Do that and then you have a chance, and it is not about getting steals as much as its about getting deflections.”

Stressing the importance on deflections is not a new phenomenon. Crean has preached the significance for years. It just appears to have taken the Bulldogs a couple of years to completely understand why.

Last season, Georgia was next-to-last in scoring defense in the SEC, allowing 75.6 points per game.

“I think it’s more of a different mindset on the defensive end than it was last year,” point guard Sahvir Wheeler said. “We’re making a conscious effort to hold each other accountable and I think accountability, especially on the defensive end, is one of the biggest things you need in order to be a good defensive team.”

Grad transfer Justin Kier has only been with the Bulldogs a few months since transferring from George Mason. He laughed when asked how often Crean stressed stresses deflections.

“We hear it a LOT; he emphasizes it before a game just to keep it on our mind,” Kier said. “I learned about deflections from him, I learned that deflections lead to better offense and it starts the defense. When you attack and try to get deflections it just means you are engaged, which is what we’re always involved in the day or so before a game.

“It’s a very good key and I’m glad he emphasizes that. It gets us started; when you are eager to get deflections that means you’re eager to play great defense.”

Considering the Bulldogs (3-0) will be smaller than most of the teams they play, including Tuesday night’s opponent Montana (0-3), being intense and active on defense will be a necessity.

“Obviously, we're not real big and we don't have that skyscraper size inside that's going to wipe out shots and take advantage of the rim that way, so we've got to do it other ways,” Crean said. “One of the keys to this game, activity wise, is going to be our ball pressure, because this team is really good at getting the ball inside and playing one-on-one basketball. We have to do a better job of activity out front, bringing pressure to the game, activity, length and being aggressive when it goes inside."

According to Wheeler, it is all about becoming a more complete team.

“We still have some work to do as does every team, but I like where we’re going and where everyone’s head is on the defensive end because we know on offense, we’re able to score with the best of them,” Wheeler said. “Obviously, offense is our game, getting out on transition, and having fun, distributing and sharing the ball, but on defense I’ve seen so much of a different start with the 67 deflections and all. We can only get better from that.”

Kier believes the Bulldogs will do exactly that.

“It (67 deflections) didn’t surprise me, but I know we can get more, honestly. To have 30-something one half and 30-something the second, I think one of those halves we can get 40,” Kier said. “If we play really well, I think we can be in the 70-80 range. If we end up doing that consistently, we’re going to win a lot of ball games.”

How big of a deal has it been for Sahvir Wheeler to record three straight double-doubles with points and assists as the counting stats?

With some help from the SEC office, it was determined that no SEC player has recorded three-straight point-assist double-doubles dating back to at least through the 2000-01 season. In fact, only two league players – Florida’s Chris Chiozza and Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis – have recorded back-to-back point-assist double-doubles in the last five seasons.

Wheeler’s 12 assists against Florida A&M equaled the fourth-best single-game assist tally in 116 seasons of Georgia Basketball. It also was the most by a Bulldog since G.G. Smith also had a dozen assists against Vanderbilt on Jan. 3, 1999.

Montana travels to Athens with an 0-3 record after a pair of last-second, one-point setbacks at Southern Utah last weekend to open Big Sky play.

Montana began the season with a 10-point loss at Southern Cal on Nov. 29. Last Thursday and Saturday, the Grizzlies fell in the closing seconds of contests in Cedar City, Utah.

Kyle Owens leads a trio of double-digit scorers at 14.0 points per game, while Michael Steadman is chipping in 10.7 rebounds per gameand Cameron Parker adds 10.3 points per game Owens also paces the Grizzlies on the boards, hauling down 6.7 rebounds per game.