SEC Tournament
WHERE: Bridgestone Arena
WHERE: Nashville, Tenn.
WHEN: Wednesday 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 11-19; Missouri 14-16
TV/RADIO: SEC Network; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Tony Schiavone).
As Georgia opens play in the SEC Tournament Wednesday night against Missouri, one fact is abundantly clear.
If the Bulldogs harbor any hopes for an extended stay, Tom Crean’s team will have to shoot much better than it has the past two games.
“The most important thing for us right now, outside of getting better defensively and getting our rebounding back to where it needs to be, is not to lose our confidence on taking shots,” Crean said. “We’ve had a couple of games where shots we’ve made, shots we haven’t made are not going in, and we can’t lose that confidence to take those shots.”
Crean isn’t kidding about his team’s recent lack of shooting.
The Bulldogs shot just 26 percent (11 for 42) against South Carolina in Saturday’s regular-season finale, after shooting just 25.5 percent (13 of 51) last Wednesday against Missouri, a game that saw the Bulldogs finish with just 14 points in the first half.
It’s been a head-scratcher, for sure.
“I can’t put a finger on it,” junior guard Jordan Harris said Tuesday before the team traveled to Nashville. “We’ve been getting good looks, they're just not falling, obviously.”
So, what’s going on?
Crean was asked that very question. Apparently, it’s not so much about getting bad looks.
“I say a lot, it’s not about taking a good shot; it’s taking a good shot badly,” Crean said. “Sometimes you don’t get your foot into it. All the technical parts of the game, it’s very easy to point that out, harder to remember when you’re shooting it. But we’ve missed some open shots. We could probably do a little less off the dribble. I think that would help answer the questions. Be ready to shoot it instead of putting it back down on the ground.”
For those who have followed the Bulldogs (11-19), the team has had its share of offensive issues as they head into Wednesday night’s first-round game at Bridgestone Arena (7 p.m., SEC Network) against Missouri (14-17).
As a team, Georgia comes into play ranked ninth in the SEC in shooting at .443 percent, dropping even further in regards to shooting threes: 11th (.325 percent).
Neither the Bulldogs nor the Tigers were what you’d call proficient from beyond the line, when the two met last week. At one point, both Georgia and Missouri were an identical 0-for-13, respectively, from three-point range.
The Bulldogs finished the game just 3 of 20 while the Tigers were 6 of 21.
“They guarded us differently. There were guys whom they just didn't guard in the game, and so our job now is to have them make that many more adjustments without overthinking it, but make the adjustments that we’ve got to make, because obviously that worked well for them,” Crean said. “They took chances on our guys not being able to make plays, and they were right. We’ve got to do a much better job of dealing with that. We’ll make some adjustments and I’m sure we will, too.”
Harris said it wouldn’t hurt for he and his teammates to be more mentally involved. Four days earlier, the Bulldogs knocked off Florida for their biggest win of the year. Against a Tiger team many thought Georgia could beat, Harris and company came out flat. The result? A 64-39 flogging on Senior Night.
“The will to win is the biggest thing. The last time we went against them, we came up slack,” Harris aid. “The bench wasn’t as pumped as usual. Guys just weren’t themselves, and that’s the biggest thing we need to take to Nashville.”
If they can, then perhaps Wednesday’s outcome might be different.
At least that’s how Harris is approaching it.
“We think we’re like any other team in the tournament, that we can go in and win. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got, and try to get it done on both ends,” Harris said. “All we can control is our effort.”
NOTES: Nicolas Claxton was tabbed second-team All-SEC in balloting of league coaches announced Tuesday by the conference office. Claxton, a 6-11, 220-pound sophomore forward, is the only player to start all 31 games for Georgia this season. He leads the Bulldogs in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), blocks (2.4 bpg) and steals (1.1 spg). He is second on the team in assists (1.8 apg). Claxton also paces Georgia in double-digit scoring performances (20), double-figure rebounding efforts (12), and double-doubles (eight). Claxton joins his father, Charles, as an All-SEC performer for Georgia. Charles earned second-team honors in 1993 after leading the Bulldogs in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounding (7.9 rpg) and blocks (1.6 bpg). Nicolas and Charles are only the second father-son All-SEC hoops duo from the same school in league history. Vanderbilt’s Frank and Luke Kornet were named All-SEC in 1989 and 2017, respectively. … If Georgia beats Missouri, the Bulldogs will play Thursday afternoon against Auburn.
