Five things we learned from Georgia's win over Tennessee
The losing streak has mercifully come to an end for Georgia (14-11, 5-7 SEC) as the woes of late-game collapses were no more as the Bulldogs beat Tennessee 76-75 on Saturday in Knoxville.
Georgia was finally able to finish, and it came after a significant comeback in the second half of action. Here are five things we learned in the action-packed victory.
1) Frazier shoulders Georgia’s load to victory – In the midst of a big run and the once 14-point lead being cut to six, Turtle Jackson was dribbling the ball near the half-court stripe and senior guard J.J. Frazier ran back from the perimeter and demanded the basketball.
Frazier let the Volunteers know that he was ready to take over and he certainly did so. The 5-foot-10 point guard pieced together an impressive performance in the final stages, making numerous circus shots and making his presence known. Frazier led the comeback for the Bulldogs, finishing with 29 points and six assists.
2) Crump starts and makes case for more playing time – Georgia head coach Mark Fox made some shocking moves to his starting lineup, starting freshman Tyree Crump and sophomore Mike Edwards. Crump’s impact was felt almost immediately, nailing a 3-pointer for Georgia’s first points on Saturday. He remained on the floor for the first two-and-a-half minutes of action, then his action was a bit more intermittent. However, Crump took advantage of the given opportunities, finishing with 13 points, shooting 3-of-5 from behind the arc in 16 minutes. While Crump was on the floor, it also seemed as if he was a complement to Frazier’s season-high performance. The freshman’s effect on the game certainly will make Fox consider to start him again.
3) Fox’s technical provides spark – Against Alabama, Fox was ejected for a double technical foul. Such an infraction has sparked teams to make significant rallies at times, but that wasn’t the case against the Crimson Tide as the Bulldogs 80-60 at home. On Saturday, Fox was able to stay in the game and it drove his team to victory. After forward Yante Maten picked up his fourth foul on a questionable call, Fox was whistled for the technical with 16:17 remaining and the Bulldogs trailing 49-36. From that point, the surge of energy from Frazier took over and Georgia outscored Tennessee 40-26 to claim the victory.
4) Bulldogs decrease turnovers – The turnover bug had hurt Georgia significantly throughout its three-game losing streak. In an effort to decrease the miscues, Fox indicated that his team may try to slow down the pace even further. It didn’t seem like Georgia’s offense was slowed down too much, but the turnovers were certainly minimized. Entering action, the Bulldogs had averaged 14 miscues and had 20 turnovers on many different occasions throughout conference play. Georgia only had 11 turnovers on Saturday, and only five in the second half as the Bulldogs made their comeback. Along with the total falling below the team’s average, a good number of the turnovers were of the screen and offensive foul variety which didn’t allow Tennessee an opportunity in transition. Progress is progress, and Fox will look for those numbers to continue decreasing downward.
5) Maten’s production stalled by foul trouble – Georgia’s leading scorer wasn’t able to be an offensive leader on Saturday as foul trouble was troublesome for Maten. He only logged 17 minutes of action and only totaled seven points. A few of the calls on Maten were certainly questionable and it forced Georgia to find other answers offensively. In Georgia’s first match-up with Florida, Maten experienced similar foul trouble and his team couldn’t finish off its rally to claim a road victory against a top-tier opponent. The Bulldogs were 0-3 when Maten has fouled out this season, and Frazier’s performance was integral in Georgia not claiming a fourth loss without having the junior available for 40 minutes.
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