Tom Crean joked that his cell phone was lighting up shortly after his team's 98-88 win over Texas.
On Friday, he teased beat writers saying how he and his Bulldogs were anxious to try and avenge Georgia's Sugar Bowl loss in the Superdome. After beating the Longhorns Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum before a Stegeman Coliseum crowd of 10,374, one of the first messages he received came courtesy of football coach Kirby Smart.
"I was just having fun with that," Crean said. "But I'm all Georgia now. I felt bad when they lost that game."
It's been a tough few weeks for Crean's basketball squad.
Georgia has struggled since opening SEC play, losing five of its first six conference games before upending the Longhorns of head coach Shaka Smart.
But for one of the few times this year, the Bulldogs (10-9) were able get able to get some major offensive production from their perimeter game, overcoming a season-high 26 turnovers to pick up a much-needed victory.
"This was huge, against a good team like Texas, absolutely. And in a showcase?" Crean said. "Coming off where our confidence hasn't been as high, and being fatigued, this is a huge deal. What it does, it helps resonate with them that if they're doing right, and if they're bearing down and moving without that ball, we're going to get better."
Turnovers aside, the Bulldogs shot the ball better than they have all year. In fact, it was an effort for the record books.
Georgia's 66.7 percent effort from the field (32 of 48) was the fourth-best field goal percentage in 114 years of Georgia basketball. Of that total, the Bulldogs were 12 of 17 from three-point range (70.6 percent), the third-highest three-point percentage in the history of the school.
"We cut well which opened up a lot of shots for us," guard Tyree Crump said. "They were focused on me which really opened things up for our post players. Also, Turtle Jackson and Teshaun Hightower hit some three for us. Texas couldn't focus on one guy. They had to worry about all of us."
Texas certainly had no answer for Crump,
The junior - who made his second start this year - topped the Bulldogs with 21 points, including a career-best 6 of 9 effort on threes.
"If I can get one, I see the basket is open, I just go," Crump said. "It doesn't matter what, I think it's a good shot. Now, Coach may sometimes think it's a bad shot, but if I feel like I can make it, I'll take it."
Teshaun Hightower and Nic Claxton both added 18 for Georgia, followed by Rayshaun Hammonds with 14 and Turtle Jackson chipping in with 13 for Georgia.
"This game was huge for us, I can't even tell you how bit this game was," Claxton said. "Just for us to build confidence. We've been playing extremely hard every day. We still have a lot to work on, but we needed this win."
Texas (11-9) was led by Courtney Ramey with 19 points, followed by Kerwin Roach with 16, Dylan Osetkowski with 15, Jaxson Hayes with 14 and Jase Febres with 11
Tied at 46, the Bulldogs opened the second half quickly, hitting 8 of their first 11 shots, including a slam by Claxton to go up 66-58 with 12:52 to play.
Texas would climb within four on a leaner by Dylan Osetkowski but just when it seemed the Longhorns might have the momentum, the Bulldogs would answer.
Credit Claxton for that. Another slam was followed by a three-pointer from just to the left of the key gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 81-71, forcing a timeout by Texas with 5:46 to play. The rout was on.
Both were clicking offensively to start the game.
The Bulldogs connected on 16 of 27 attempts (59 percent) with Texas hitting on 27 of 32 attempts, including a quartet of three-pointers—two by Ramey—for a 21-13 lead.
However, Georgia would answer, going on a 13-2 run to go up by seven before the Longhorns rallied late to tie the score at 46 going into halftime.
"This wasn't masterful, bu that's the thing. This is a great of example to show we are getting better," Crean said. "We've got a lot of improving to do. On the defensive edn of the ball, we understand that if we move without the ball, we're cutting and the ball is finding energy, we're hard to guard. When guys are cutting and looking for each other like that, it's hard to scout and know what you're going to take away."
Georgia returns to action Tuesday at Arkansas.
NOTES: Georgia played the game without Jordan Harris after his collision with Claxton in Wedneday's game at LSU. ... Hammonds had to leave for the locker room after getting hit on his right elbow, but later returned. ...The Southeastern Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and ESPN have agreed to extend the SEC/Big 12 Challenge six more seasons. The annual event matches all 10 of the Big 12 members against 10 of the 14 programs from the SEC. Each conference has the opportunity to host five games every year. The Challenge will continue to be played on a common Saturday bye date during the conference schedule. The SEC is coming off a 6-4 win in the 2018 Big 12/SEC Challenge after a 5-5 tie in 2017. ... Through 11 home games this season, Georgia has averaged 8,761 fans, which is the most since the 2003-04 season. • Georgia leads the Texas series 8-5, including a 4-0 mark at home. ... From the free throw line, Georgia went 22-for-28 (78.6%), while Texas was 10-for-15 (66.7%).
