A year ago, on Selection Sunday, Georgia hired Mike White as the Bulldogs' next coach. The 2022-2023 year was not all bad for the Dawgs, but it wasn'tgreat, either. So let's channel our own Sergio Leone and look back at the good, the bad and the ugly in terms of Georgia basketball.
THE GOOD:
Georgia has a record of 16-16 and went 6-12 in conference play. Last season, the Bulldogs won six games the whole season, with just one SEC win. The 16 wins were their most since Tom Crean's second season with the Bulldogs.
On January 4, Georgia defeated No. 22 Auburn 76-64. The Bulldogs forced the Tigers to shoot under 35 percent for the game (24-for-69) and held a former Dawg, K.D. Johnson, to just three points.
On February 11, Georgia defeated Kentucky 75 to 68. The Wildcats also shot below 40 percent in the game (25-for-65). Georgia is now 2-2 against Kentucky in their last four meetings.
On December 18, Georgia defeated Notre Dame 77-62 in Atlanta, showing fans the Bulldogs can defeat the Fighting Irish in more than just football.
Georgia ended with 13 wins at home. That was the fourth most wins that the Bulldogs have had at Stegeman in a single season.
From February 4th to the 11th, Georgia committed 10 or fewer turnovers. It was the first time Georgia had a streak of three games with 10 or fewer turnovers since 2015.
Individually, a few Bulldogs shined as well.
Braelen Bridges finished his career (counting two seasons at UIC) with a field goal percentage at 59.9 percent. In his two seasons at Georgia, the big guy shot 60.3 (267-for-443). The Georgia career record for field goal percentage is 60.2 percent held by Lavon Mercer. Bridges fell short of the 350 made field goals to take over the record, but his numbers are still pretty impressive. Bridges also led the Dawgs with four double-doubles this season (he had five in his first three seasons combined). He also eclipsed both the 1,000-point mark and the 500-rebound mark in his 100th career game (January 11th against Mississippi State). He ended up with 1,154 points and 587 rebounds in his career.
Jailyn Ingram also passed a milestone. The seven-season collegian ended up with 1,510 career points. He also ended with 720 rebounds, 219 assists and 106 steals.
Justin Hill has 1,014 points in his career as well as 307 assists. Hill had at least four assists in a game 13 times this past season.
Terry Roberts led Georgia scoring 13.2 points per game. He had five games this season with 20 or more points. He is currently seventh in the SEC with 4.0 assists per game and 13th in the conference with 1.5 steals per game.
Kario Oquendo was second on the team, averaging 12.7 points per contest. Four times in 2022-2023, he ended up with at least 20 in the point column.
Mardrez McBride made 5-of-7 three-pointers against South Carolina on January 28th and in the game after, he went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc against Auburn. He became the first Bulldog since Kenny Gaines in 2016 with back-to-back games with at least five three-point field goals made.
Jabri Adbur-Rahim had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Notre Dame for his first career double-double.
THE BAD:
Georgia's most promising freshman, KyeRon Lindsay, had a double-double against Miami of Ohio. He played ten games for the Bulldogs, but on December 21st entered the transfer portal.
Georgia led 42-34 at halftime against Kentucky on January 17th but ended up losing 85-71. Oscar Tshiebwe had 37 points and 24 rebounds in the game. The 37 points were the most against the Bulldogs since Michael Devoe put up 37 for Georgia Tech in 2021. The 24 rebounds were the second most allowed by the Bulldogs all-time. Vanderbilt's Clyde Lee grabbed 27 boards against Georgia in 1965.
On January 7th, Colin Castleton blocked seven Bulldog shots. That was the most swats against the Dawgs since Michale Kyser had seven for Louisiana Tech during the N.I.T. in 2014.
On November 22nd, Georgia allowed UAB's Jordan "Jelly" Walker to score 31 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. He currently has six 30-point games this season.
THE UGLY:
Georgia started the season 13-4, but lost 12 of their next 15 games for a 16-16 record. The Dawgs lost their last six games. Georgia is currently 12th in the SEC in field goal percentage and 11th in three-point field goal percentage.
Georgia led 39-34 at halftime at Georgia Tech on December 6th. The Yellow Jackets ended up winning 79-77 and now have two straight wins over the Bulldogs. It was Georgia's first loss to their in-state rival on the road since 2014. The football team has not lost to Georgia Tech on the road since 1999.
Georgia lost both matchups with Florida this season. Mike White's old team also has a 16-16 record this season.
Georgia allowed 108 points to top-ranked Alabama on February 18th. It was the first time that the Bulldogs allowed 100 points in game since allowing 115 to the Crimson Tide two seasons earlier.
Georgia scored just 41 points against No. 4 Tennessee on January 25th. The last time the Bulldogs scored that low was when they allowed 41 to Vanderbilt in 2012 in the SEC Tournament.
Georgia allowed its opponents to shoot 50 percent from the field in seven games this season. The Dawgs also allowed their opponents to make at least 10 three-pointers seven times this season.
Offensively, Georgia shot under 40 percent from the field 12 times this season, including two games in which they shot under 30 percent. Ironically, the Bulldogs won five times out of the 12 poorly-shot games.
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Cover photo by Tony Walsh and Georgia Sports Communications
