Miami did not make last year’s Final Four by accident.
Georgia found that out Friday afternoon, as the No. 12 Hurricanes simply had too much offense and surged past the Bulldogs in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship, 79-68.
A 12-0 run in the first half put the Hurricanes (4-0) in control and Miami never looked back.
“At any time throughout the game, this Miami team is capable of reeling off a bunch of points in a hurry,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “And you know, you watch it on TV last spring, you watch it on film here over these past few days, now seeing it live, it really hits home how good these guys are offensively.”
Blue Cain scored 18 for Georgia (2-2), Noah Thomasson added 14, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim finished with 13 for the Bulldogs. Georgia is 5-22 over the last five years against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25.
The Bulldogs will play either Providence or Kansas State on Sunday.
Matthew Cleveland scored 18 points, Nijel Pack added 16, while Wooga Poplar finished with 13 points and 11 boards for the Hurricanes. The Bulldogs started the game quickly, using an early 10-0 run to go up 19-11 midway through the first half before Miami rallied back.
Cain accounted for seven of the 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 5:24 left to put Georgia up 26-24.
But after Miami regained the lead, the Bulldogs never led again.
“I thought we did a decent job playing with a ton of energy defensively,” White said. “I thought we played really, really hard. Obviously, we’ve got to be better offensively.”
The Hurricanes outscored Georgia 21-6 in the final 7:25 of the half to take a 39-29 lead into the break, the 12-0 run coming as part of that stretch. The lead eventually reached 20 on two occasions in the second half, and Miami’s margin was double figures for the final 18:23.
