What We Learned
Here are five things we learned from Georgia's 81-72 turnaround win over Tennessee.
1. Georgia grabbed another conference win. The Bulldogs move to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. Georgia didn’t play the cleanest game, or the flashiest, but it compensated for an awful first half with a stellar second half. The Bulldogs pulled out a win at home and avoided back-to-back losses – in fact, Georgia hasn’t lost two games in a row so far this season.
2. The Bulldogs were down, but not out, at halftime. Coach Mark Fox was impressed when Georgia, down 35-28 at the half, staged a comeback. Sixteen turnovers in the first and a mental hangover from a 72-71 loss to Ole Miss boded ill for the Bulldogs' chances. Georgia stumbled to a recovery by way of smarter passing and taking better shots according to Fox. He also mentioned it didn’t hurt that the crowd was in a game for the first time in a long time.
3. It looked as if Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier were elected Georgia’s offensive representatives. Frazier led the team with 28 points and Gaines wasn’t far behind with 23 points. This was the third time this season Frazier and Gaines have scored a combined 30 points or more in a single half. Though Charles Mann and Yante Maten both scored 10 points, it was the Frazier-Gaines veteran duo muscling Georgia back into the game in the second half. Of the pair’s combined 51 points, just 13 came in the first half. Rookie players, however, aren’t doing as much for Georgia. See below.
4.Bench players aren’t scoring. At least, not often. Georgia’s bench provided seven points against Tennessee. Granted, with the exception of junior forward Kenny Paul Geno’s 21 minutes of playing time, bench players mostly stayed there. Where it’s frowned upon to take shots. Georgia’s starting five of Maten, Derek Ogbeide, Mann, Gaines and Frazier also started the second half.
5. Turnovers and missed free throws kept it close, for a while. Sixteen turnovers and 45.5 percent free-throw shooting in the first half explains Georgia’s seven-point deficit. Fox said the team didn’t change much schematically in the second half, but players started making smarter decisions and playing cleaner.
