Georgia was able to claim its second road victory of the SEC slate on Wednesday, beating Ole Miss, 69-47.
Below are five things we learned in the Bulldogs’ victory.
Burnett’s injury costly for Ole Miss: The Rebels had depended on a star scorer throughout the past few seasons, and the load has been placed on Deandre Burnett this season after the departure of Stefan Moody. Burnett could have presented plenty of problems for Georgia, averaging 19 points per game entering Wednesday’s action. However, Burnett had a cold start from the field, then suffered a high ankle sprain which sidelined him for the remainder of the game. His departure left Ole Miss’ offense stagnant and gave Georgia the opportunity for a big victory. Burnett finished with 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting in only 13 minutes of action.
Georgia shuts down Saiz: Along with Burnett, Ole Miss has also seen plenty of production from dependable big man Sebastian Saiz, who has been a pest for Georgia in the past two seasons and has averaged a double-double this season. Thus, the Bulldogs decided to change it up and implement a rare double team, which successfully contained Saiz and limited his production. The senior finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
After the game, Georgia head coach Mark Fox indicated the change in defensive strategy.
“I could probably count on my hand how many times we’ve gone and doubled somebody in the post,” Fox said. “We just don’t do it. But we did it with him because he’s so good. He’s having a great year. At the end of the night, I thought we did a pretty good job.”
Harris provides spark after poor first half: Georgia guard Jordan Harris showed that he was a freshman at times on Wednesday, with some sloppy play and meaningless turnovers – such as passing to a teammate behind the midcourt stripe. However, that changed in the second half and provided a spark for the Bulldogs. On the defensive end, Harris collected two blocks, corralled a rebound and scored five points in a matter of minutes. Harris finished with seven points, but his quick spark allowed Georgia to separate itself after Ole Miss had made a final run.
Maten quietly posts solid performance, offense finds balance: Georgia forward Yante Maten had a few struggles on Wednesday night, and plenty of that was due to being baffled by Ole Miss’ 1-3-1 zone early on. Maten had only two points at the intermission, and while finishing with 15 points, it seemed as if he was quietly producing in the latter stages. Maten’s slow start opened up the potential for offensive balance, which came true for Georgia. The Bulldogs had three scorers in double-digits and Juwan Parker nearly joined Maten in the group of double-doubles, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Frazier rediscovers stroke: Georgia senior guard J.J. Frazier has experienced some struggles this season, not quite living up to his shooting expectations. On Wednesday, that changed as Frazier was Georgia’s leading offensive weapon, finding his stroke early on. Frazier finished with 17 points, and ten of those coming in the first half. Fox indicated postgame that Frazier had spent time working on the mechanics of his shot, and thus his offensive numbers have seen improvement.
Frazier went down with a hip injury in the final minutes on Wednesday after landing hard while driving to the basket. He seemed fine a few minutes later however, as he nearly re-entered action before Georgia built upon its lead.
