Georgia Bulldogs get first SEC win, beat Mizzou 77-59
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs bounce back in their second SEC game of 2016 by defeating the Missouri Tigers convincingly Wednesday night at home, 77-59.
The Georgia Bulldogs had to improve in perimeter defense on Wednesday night if they didn’t want to start SEC play with an 0-2 record. After letting the Florida Gators shoot over 40% from three in Gainesville in Saturday night’s defeat, the Dawgs held Mizzou to 3-19 shooting from beyond the arc (15.8%) to beat the Tigers, 77-59 at Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia had an outstanding shooting night versus Mizzou, shooting 54.7% from the field, an outstanding 57.9% from three, and 80.0% from the charity stripe. The Dawgs had four starters in double figures scoring.
Junior guard J.J. Frazier led the way with 16 points on 5-11 shooting, including 4-6 from three. Frazier also had game-high six rebounds, four rebounds, and one block. Sophomore power forward Yante Maten had 15 points on 6-7 shooting, six rebounds, and three assists. While his five turnovers weren’t great, his low post moves on offense were something else. He might stand as the best big man in the SEC behind only consensus 2016 No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons out of LSU.
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Charles Mann had a great game on offense. He had 14 points on 5-9 shooting, 2-3 from three and game highs in both rebounds (six) and assists (six). Kenny Gaines had 11 points on 4-9 shooting, including 3-8 from three.
Houston Kessler had seven points and three rebounds to round out the starting lineup. While he shot 3-8 from the field, he seems to have more confidence with his shot as SEC play gets under way. Freshman big man Derek Ogbeide played a strong game off the bench with four points, six rebounds, and a block. He is still raw offensively, but in a matter he could become another huge offensive force down low for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Overall, this was an absolute dominance of Missouri by the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA was up by double digits almost instantaneously and never really looked back in their SEC home opener. Again, it seems that the Dawgs will stand as a tremendously difficult team to beat at home this season. Both loses at Stegeman this year have been by a single basket.
The Georgia Bulldogs can celebrate their first SEC win of 2016 for a few days, but will have to travel to Oxford, Mississippi to play at the brand-new Pavilion on Saturday night when they take on the 10-3 (0-1) Ole Miss Rebels.
Next: Georgia Bulldogs host Mizzou for SEC home opener
The Pavilion at Ole Miss just opened for conference play, as the Rebels closed out the Tad Pad in the non-conference part of the 2015-16 NCAA season. Tipoff for that game is at 8:30 PM ET and the game will again air on the SEC Network. A great team win for the Dawgs tonight!