Bulldogs Hit the Road to Open Second Half of SEC Play Against Mississippi State
Starkville, MS – The Georgia Bulldogs hit the road to play 11th in the SEC Mississippi State Bulldogs at 9 PM EST tonight. After a difficult home loss to now No.15 South Carolina, UGA is 4-5 and 10th in the SEC while 14-8 overall. Mississippi State is also 14-8 overall but 3-6 in the conference.
Georgia suffered two back-to-back losses this previous week to No. 16 Alabama and No. 15 South Carolina and one the week before toFlorida to put the Bulldogs on their first three-game losing streak of the season. During the South Carolina game, senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahum dropped 20 points and went 100% from the line. Abdur-Rahim leads UGA scoring wise, averaging 13.4 points per game (ppg) and shooting 88.1% on 109 free throw attempts. In all three losses, Georgia was in a back and forth game until the opponent eventually took the lead and ran with it to get the win.
When asked about what UGA can focus on, Abdur-Rahim said, “We gotta stop trading baskets” and “do a better job at getting multiple stops in a row [...] to ignite our offense.” Graduate transfer Noah Thomasson is second behind Abdur-Rahim with 12.0 ppg, and junior guard R.J. Melendez follows Thomasson with 11.0 ppg. Melendez is one of five UGA players (Abdur-Rahim, freshman guard Silas Demary Jr., senior guard Justin Hill, and graduate center Russel Tchewa) whose scoring stats have increased in SEC play; Melendez averages 12.8 while in the conference. Georgia’s bench has also been efficient offensively, averaging 30.1 ppg to be ranked No. 17 nationally in bench scoring. Hill has been the leading distributor for the Dawgs, with an average of 3.7 assists per game.
Georgia averages 73.6 points allowed per game and 36.6 rebounds per game; Tchewa leads this defensive attack for UGA. The 7’0” center averages 6.9 rebounds per game. Melendez and Demary Jr. follow behind Tchea with 4.6 and 4.0 rebounds, respectively. Both the South Carolina and Florida games saw Georgia perform below-season averages, with 27 and 28 rebounds, respectively. But UGA is looking to bounce back tonight against Mississippi State.
Mississippi State is currently riding a two-game losing streak, with consecutive losses to Ole Miss and Alabama. The other SEC Bulldogs are averaging 74.2 ppg as a whole. After missing the first dozen games of the season, senior forward Tolu Smith leads Mississippi State with an average of 16.9 ppg and is shooting 59.4% from field goal range. In Mississippi State’s most recent game, a 33-point loss to No. 16 Alabama, Smith dropped 23. Freshman guard Josh Hubbard is the only other Mississippi State Bulldog averaging double-digits per game with 14.8 ppg. Senior guard Dashawn Davis leads the assist game for Mississippi State with an average of 3.0 assists per game.
Since his return, Smith seems to be the go-to guy for Mississippi State, as he also leads the team defensively with 7.6 rebounds per game. The SEC’s westerly Bulldogs, averaging 39.3 rebounds per game, also have three other athletes averaging 6.0 or more rebounds per game: senior forward Cameron Matthews (7.0), senior forward Jimmy Bell Jr. (6.8), and senior forward D.J. Jeffries (6.0).
Each team is searching for wins tonight in hopes of ending losing streaks. Mississippi State has yet to lose three in a row this year and should be making use of its home-court advantage. Similarly, Georgia is trying to prevent a season-first four losses in a row. This is UGA’s first of two back-to-back road games, and after a short break, Georgia is looking to take a win.
Other Georgia News:
- After Leading the Majority of the Game, Georgia Falls to No. 24 Alabama
- After Crawling Back From Trailing by 21, Georgia Loses in Overtime to Rival, Florida
- Tchewa Comes Up Big for the Dawgs with Game Winner to Beat LSU
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