Sophomore Sahvir Wheeler will be the first to tell you it's not about him.

However, when you've accomplished what he has in Georgia’s first three games, it's kind of hard to ignore.

For the third straight game, Wheeler turned in his third double-double, scoring 21 points to go with 10 assists, to lead the Bulldogs to an easy 98-65 win over Jacksonville.

“It’s just a product of the offense, constantly pushing the pace, to keep making plays, and to make sure the open guy gets the ball,” Wheeler said. “Those 10 assists, those back-to-back-to back double-double games—that’s all a credit to them.”

Whatever the reason, Wheeler continues to dish out assists at a breakneck pace.

Coming into play Friday, not a single SEC player had reached the 10-assist plateau. Wheeler has now done it three straight times. It's believed to be the first time that's happened in the history of Georgia basketball.

“He’s a charismatic kid. He’s a leader, and he’s growing in his leadership all the time,” head coach Tom Crean said. “In football, you can't have a moody quarterback; you can't have a moody catcher in baseball, and you can't have a moody point guard. You want to have someone who gets people excited, and they want to be around him. Sahvir is that.”

Grad transfer Justin Kier can appreciate his new teammate.

Although the former George Mason standout said he has played with some fast players, he has never played with anyone quite like Wheeler before.

“I’ve played with a lot of fast point guards, but I don’t think I’ve played with anyone who can handle the ball and go that fast,” Kier said. “I’ve played with a lot of quick point guards who just dribble down the court fast. But as you see with him every night, east to west and north to south—it’s incredible.”

As Wheeler goes, so goes the the Georgia offense.

All total, six players finished in double figure for the Bulldogs, with Toumani Camara adding 17 points, Christian Brown 14, P.J. Horne 12, Kier 11, and Tye Fagan 10.

“I don’t know if we'll get six guys in double-figures every night," Crean said. “But whether it’s four or five, that’s huge for us, because that’s the way we’re built.”

Defensively, the Bulldogs played arguably their best game of the young season.

Jacksonville (3-1) came in converting 46 percent of its three-point attempts, but against the Bulldogs, shot just 17 percent (4 of 23). Georgia outrebounded the Dolphins 48-33, but there was one other stat that Crean was even more proud of.

“We had 67 deflections—something we’ve never done here,” Crean said. “That’s a monstrous thing to us. The stats say Sahvir had a double-double; well, he had a triple-double, because he had 10 deflections.

“Toumani had 14 for the second game in a row. Those are the things that are tremendously important to us. Fifteen steals are great, but the deflections, the charges, getting hands on loose balls, getting tips—those are huge for us, because we're not a big team. We're going to walk in with a size advantage many nights, but we can't walk in with a hustle disadvantage, or an activity disadvantage."

A fast start by Wheeler jump-started the Bulldogs.

In the first half, the Houston sophomore converted 5 of his 9 shots for 15 points, helping Georgia jump out to a 46-36 lead.

He was not alone.

Camara added 10 first-half points for the Bulldogs, who used a 15-1 run midway through to go up 28-12.

A three-pointer by Kier—who sat out last Wednesday’s game against North Georgia—helped spark the run, which the Bulldogs capped by hitting 5 of 6 shots.

Jacksonville would get back under 10 on a three-pointer by Dontarious James. But after twice getting as close as eight, Georgia would find a way to push the margin back to double-digits.

Boxscore

...Camara tied his career high points in his second double-digit game of the season and fifth of his career.

...Georgia outmatched Jacksonville in the rebound game in all categories. Total rebounds JU: 33/ UGA: 48, defensive rebounds JU: 23/ UGA: 32, and offensive rebounds JU: 10/ UGA: 16. Georgia is first in the SEC in defensive rebound percentage and second in offensive rebound percentage.

...The defensive play in tonight’s game was alive with 15 steals for Georgia. This is the most by the Bulldogs under Crean’s tenure as the head coach.

...P.J. Horne had his second double-digit points performance of the season and the 16th of his career.

...Camara posted his second double-figure scoring game of the season and 10th of his career.

...Fagan recorded his second double-digit scoring output of the season and fifth of his career.

...Kier notched his first double-figure point contest as a Bulldog and the 52ns of his career.

...Brown scored a career-high 14 points and recorded his second double-figure game as a Bulldog

Georgia returns to action Tuesday night with a home game against Montana. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.