NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On a night when Anthony Edwards failed to score double figures, Rayshaun Hammonds and Jordan Harris combined for 43 points, as the 13th-seed Georgia Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the SEC Tournament by beating Ole Miss, 81-63.
The Bulldogs (16-16) will face No. 5 seed Florida Thursday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. Ole Miss ends its season at 15-17.
"We just stayed together, stayed composed, and had faith in each other," Hammonds said. "Coach told us that every time we came to the huddle. We got it."
Hammonds led Georgia with 22 points, followed by Harris with 21, making up for the off-night by Edwards, who came in as the nation’s top-scoring freshman with 19.5 points per game.
Sahvir Wheeler added 15 points for the Bulldogs, who, with the win, avenged a 70-60 loss to the Rebels in Athens on Jan. 25. Edwards finished with six despite playing all 40 minutes.
"There were probably five or six times I thought about taking him out, then I overruled myself," Crean said. "Bottom line, he knew it was tough for him. But the four assists, the plus-18, not hunting—making a couple of tough ones, for the most part moving, kicking. We asked a lot out of him," head coach Tom Crean said. "He had the Breein Tyree matchup. That's not an easy matchup. Anthony did a lot of things that impacted the game and the win, certainly."
For fans planning on coming to Nashville for Thursday's game, don't.
Wednesday night, the Southeastern Conference has announced it will conduct the 2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament with only essential staff, limited family, and credentialed media in attendance at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the remainder of the week, beginning on Thursday, following the recommendation of the NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel related to conducting sporting events closed to the public.
"We'll adjust. Same for the other team," Crean said. "We'll do everything we have to do to adjust. In this world now, it's the new normal. The new normal that comes quickly, right? We'll be some of the first to figure it out."
Tyree led Ole Miss 18 points, followed by Devonte Shuler with 17 and KJ Buffen with 11.
After a scoreless first half, it didn’t take Edwards long to get on track in the second half, as he nailed a quick three pointer from the wing to extend the Georgia lead to 16.
The Rebels would get no closer than nine after that.
Georgia led 41-30 at the half.
Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Hammonds and Harris were both on their game.
Hammonds scored seven points in the first three minutes; he scored 14 in the game’s first 20 minutes, followed closely by Harris with 11 points.
It didn’t hurt the Bulldogs that Tyree started slowly for Ole Miss, before a pair of three-pointers helped the Rebels close within 35-30, with 1:20 left on the clock. However, the Bulldogs would close out strong, getting a second three-pointer by Hammonds and a running shot just past the half-court line at the buzzer by Sahvir Wheeler to extend the margin to 11.
