Dawgs Start SEC 2-0 for the First Time in 10 Years with Win over Arkansas
Athens, GA – In their first SEC home game, the Georgia Bulldogs came out on top in a 76-66 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. With their performance tonight, the Dawgs advance to 12-3 and continue their overall win streak as well as their perfect home record. Arkansas is now 9-6 and takes home a loss in their first away game of the season.
Georgia put the first points up on the board with a jumper made by Noah Thomasson within the first minute of the game. Starting there, UGA went 9-2 to open up the period and would not lose the lead for the rest of the half. Arkansas was able to moderately back with a 6-2 starting with a layup by Devonte Davis with 10:30 left in the period and bring the Razorbacks within one of the Dawgs leads. Georgia then went on a 14-2 run, starting with 9:04 left and ending with 3:14 left. The Dawgs’ lead peaked within this period, with a 13-point lead on the Razorbacks with 4:46 left. Arkansas was able to cut this lead to 10 by the end of the half, going on a brief 6-2 run, but the Dawgs would land on top 34-42 to end the period.
The Razorbacks outperformed the Dawgs when it came to turnovers, 9 to UGA’s 7, and each team had 3 steals. However, the main difference between the Dawgs and the Razorbacks in the first half lies in shooting percentage. UGA shot better than Arkansas in all major shooting categories, including field goals (40.6% to Arkansas’ 33.3%), free throws (100% to Arkansas’ 37.5%), and 3-pointers (30.8% to Arkansas’ 16.7%). UGA was also able to capitalize off of turnovers, gaining 14 points off them, while Arkansas only scored 5 points from turnovers.
Senior Justin Hill was a major contributor to the Dawgs’ controlling performance in the first period. Hill led the Dawgs with 11 points in the period, going 3 for 4 on 3-point attempts. In addition, freshman Silas Demary Jr. was a big defensive threat for the Dawgs in the first period, getting 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers.
The Razorbacks had no players break double-digits in any area during the first period. Senior forward Jalen Graham did score the team’s high of 7 points and went 3 for 7 in field goal range, but only 1 for 6 on free throws, which contributed to the team’s poor free throw shooting.
Coming out of halftime, the Razorbacks were able to cut the Georgia lead to five after scoring five unanswered within the first two minutes of the second period. Except for this minor run, the rest of the second half could best be characterized by each team going back and forth, with both teams scoring 46 additional points by the end of the game. Arkansas cut UGA’s lead to three multiple times during the period, but Georgia was able to maintain its lead for the entire second period.
Both Noah Thomason and Justin Hill continued their first-half performances in the second to secure the win for the Dawgs, as both Hill and Thomasson put up 8 points. Hill led the team in points today with 19 total, and Thomasson followed shortly after him with 15 points. Russel Tchewa continued to be one of the Dawgs’ biggest defensive threats and led the Dawgs with eight rebounds throughout the entire game. As for the Razorbacks, Tramon Mark put up significantly more points in the half, shooting 18 more additional points and 26 total in the game. However, the next three players (Jeremiah Davenport, Makhi Mitchell, and Davonte Davis) to follow Mark each had 7 total points today. Defensively, Mark also led the team in rebounds, 7, and tied for first with Kahalif Battle and Makhi Mitchell for assists, 3.
Overall, the Dawgs offensive performance tonight was huge in securing the win. The Dawgs continued to outshoot the Razorbacks in all categories tonight, most specifically 3-point shooting, 33.4% to Arkansas’ 14.3%. UGA also continued to take advantage of turnovers, scoring 25 total points from them while Arkansas only scored 10 (5 in each half) from turnovers.
With the win tonight, the Dawgs improve themselves to 2-0 in the SEC, while the Razorbacks drop to 0-2 in the conference. The Dawgs also advance on their win streak, now 10-0, which is their longest winning streak since ‘47-’48. Tonight also marks the first time since the 2013–2014 season that Georgia started SEC play 2-0. The Dawgs face No. 5 ranked Tennessee next Saturday at home at noon, and the win tonight should provide them with good momentum
