What does Georgia have to do in order to win another game in the SEC?
For the second time in four days, the Bulldogs took one of their SEC West rivals to the brink, only to find a way to lose, dropping a 72-71 decision to Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday.
Although no stuffed toy was involved as was the case in Wednesday’s one-point loss to Mississippi State, this latest defeat was no less frustrating.
With just under six seconds left the play, Georgia in-bounded on its side of the court. But after Nicolas Claxton bobbled the pass, a desperation three-point attempt by Tyree Crump bounced off the rim, securing the win for the Rebels.
For the Bulldogs – who trailed by as many as 10 points – the loss was their eighth straight.
“The bottom line is the last plays never do it,” head coach Tom Crean said. “It’s the way we fought and the way we came back, being down 10. This is the first time where the defense really, really set the entire tone for the night and the day with our comeback and fueled so much offense. So, I’m proud of them. I’d just love to see these guys get a result that they’ve come so close to earning in so many different ways.”
The question is, will they?
Perhaps Georgia’s best opportunity will come March 6 at home against Missouri. The Bulldogs (10-17, 1-13) host Auburn on Wednesday, followed by a weekend trip to Florida. Georgia then hosts the Tigers before ending the regular season at South Carolina.
Crean, to his credit, prefers to stay as positive as he can.
“It’s all about measuring improvement, and I’d like to be able to measure it in the ‘win/loss’ column, but that’s not happening as quickly right now. The bottom line is that we are getting better, and we’ve got to stay with that because you have no chance to get the win if you’re not getting better,” Crean said earlier this week.
Senior Turtle Jackson said he’s been impressed with how his teammates are handling what’s obviously been a difficult first year from a win-loss standpoint.
“I think, personally, everybody’s doing great, having a very cheerful manner in practice. I mean, our practices have been unbelievable. Like, yesterday, it was just great. (Crean) still brings positivity that’s out of this world because his mindset is just so ‘go, go, go,’ which makes him a great coach,” Jackson said. “He’s not worried about records. He’s not worried about media. He’s not worried about anything outside of basketball, which is our main focus, too."
For those looking for bright spots, junior Jordan Harris finished Saturday’s loss with a career-high scoring performance, scoring 15 points to surpass his former career-high of 13. Sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds led the way with 16 points, followed by Claxton with 13.
Georgia trailed 39-29 at the half before coming back to take a 43-41 lead.
The Bulldogs ultimately led by as many as six before the Rebels went on a 9-0 run to go back in front 64-56 only to have Georgia tie the game at 69 with 1:36 to play before coming up short yet again.
“They’ve got to keep understanding that everything that we’re going through— the process, so to speak — is what’s going to give them the chance at that results, so you cannot back off. You just cannot back off, because practice is mere games on many different levels, and that’s something that we have to continue to build on,” Crean said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who work very hard and it’s our job to make sure that when they look at me as a head coach or at our coaching staff, that they see energy coming right back at them. But the standards that comes with that, when it comes to the effectiveness that you want to play with, practice with, we can’t get away from that either.”
