For one of the first times this season, frustration was seen emanating from the court for Georgia during its 80-64 loss to Ole Miss.
The looks on some the players' faces told a story: The Bulldogs at times were just going through the motions on defense, failing to hustle and quite simply not playing to the standard needed to be a successful in the SEC.
Head coach Tom Crean didn't disagree with that assessment.
"The frustration is really self-inflicted, and that’s why there’s a lack of mental toughness. Because when you’re mentally tougher, and you’re growing your mental toughness, you don’t have the self-inflicted wounds as much," Crean said. "They (Ole Miss) played well, they played aggressive, and they’ve got a great back court. They were obviously pretty good last year but that’s our No 1. Issue. It’s not getting fixed overnight."
The loss dropped Georgia to 10-13 overall, 1-9 in the SEC, the Bulldogs' worst start in conference play since 2009.
Crean didn't hold back with his comments after the game.
"It's all on me. I’m the one who decided to keep these guys. It’s all on me. I get it. The last thing I could do when making decisions by keeping guys in the program in the spring, is now get overly mad at them because I’m the one who made the decision. I live with that every day," Crean said. "It’s not that they’re not great kids, but very few programs, when there’s a takeover, a lot of those guys move on. That’s what happens in a job change. So, I’m not going to complain. I’ve just got to do whatever I can to fix it. That’s not a knock on them. It is what it is."
A frustrated Nicolas Claxton did't disagree with what Crean had to say.
"Coach Crean put the blame on himself, but at the end of the day, we’re the ones going out and playing, turning the ball over and not playing hard, not giving enough fight," said Claxton, who was held scoreless in the first half and finished with just eight points. "At the end of the day, it’s on the players."
There weren’t many positives to take from this one.
Rayshaun Hammonds, Tyree Crump, and Jordan Harris led the Bulldogs with 10 points each. No other Bulldog finished in double-figures.
Breein Tyree led Ole Miss (16-7, 6-4) with 33.
Defensive breakdowns and the ever-present turnovers continue to cause major problems. Against the Rebels, Georgia committed 20 turnovers—the fifth time this year the Bulldogs have finished with at least 20.
However, Georgia’s issues didn’t—and don't—end there.
Ole Miss’ ability to continually receive open looks and easy drives made the Rebels’ afternoon easier than perhaps it should have been.
"The way we practice is not coming forth in the games," Crean said. "But mental toughness—there’s a big umbrella for mental toughness. There’s a lot of things that fall under that, and we’re not there right now."
The first half was even worse.
Georgia committed 16 turnovers—mistakes that helped Ole Miss go into the locker room with a 45-33 lead.
The Bulldogs didn’t start the game slowly. They jumped out to an 18-8 advantage, thanks largely to Hammonds, who scored a quick 10 points.
Unfortunately, that’s when the meltdown began.
Along with the turnovers, more bad defense by the Bulldogs enabled the Rebels to take control. At one point, Ole Miss outscored the Bulldogs 32-10 before a late three-pointer by Crump trimmed the deficit to 10 with 1:36 left.
But thanks to three more turnovers over the final 1:13, the Rebels were able to take advantage and went into halftime up 11.
