Georgia Bulldogs lose final minute thriller to LSU, 89-85

The Georgia Bulldogs tried their hardest to pull off a shocking win of the LSU Tigers in the final minute despite being down big, ultimately falling to LSU, 89-85.

The Georgia Bulldogs learned three things in their close lose in the final minute of their SEC road game against the LSU Tigers Tuesday night, 89-85.

1.) Ben Simmons is an incredible basketball player and is undoubtedly the best player in the SEC. The true freshman should go No. 1 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft and might stand as the best player in the NCAA today. Simmons had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and three steals in his only regular season game against the Dawgs.

2.) Georgia absolutely needs to find an inside presence if the Dawgs want to win games in conference play. Three of its big men (Mike Edward, Houston Kessler, and Yante Maten) fouled out before the Georgia Bulldogs went on their near miraculous comeback attempt in the final minute of the game.

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3.) UGA can and will have to rely on its backcourt trio of J.J. Frazier, Kenny Gaines, and Charles Mann if they want to win games if they can’t get points in the paint with their frontcourt.

Georgia committed 33 fouls against LSU, allowing the Tigers to shoot 55 free throws. Fortunately for the Dawgs, LSU wasn’t spectacular at the line on Tuesday night (37-55, 67.3%). Then again, UGA did worse at the charity stripe than LSU (15-24, 62.5%).

It’s actually pretty remarkable that the Georgia Bulldogs were able to hold their own against LSU despite getting close to nothing from its low post players. Of Georgia’s 85 points, Frazier, Gaines, and Mann accounted for 65 of the Dawgs’ points.

J.J. Frazier led the trio with 26 points on 10-18 shooting. Though he wasn’t feeling it from three (3-10), Frazier did lead all scorers in this four-point loss to the LSU Tigers. He also had two rebounds and an assist.

Gaines had 20 points on 7-15 shooting despite dealing with some type of cramp or lower leg injury. One could see a trainer trying to work something out on his lower body in the second half. Gaines also had two assists, a rebound, and a steal.

Mann had 19 points in a near double-double. He shot well from the field (6-10) in his concerted efforts to attack the paint and get to the free throw line. The problem was that Mann was only 7-12 on his free throw attempts. He did however have nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Next: Georgia Bulldogs win over Hogs in overtime, 76-73

UGA will travel back to Athens for a few days before heading back out on the road to face the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas for the Georgia Bulldogs’ first taste of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Hopefully Georgia’s competitiveness helps them get a rare road win on Saturday. Go Dawgs!