Georgia Basketball Edges out SMU in Double OT

The Georgia Bulldogs move to (7-3) after a hard-fought win against SMU, who is now (8-2) on the year.

As usual, the Bulldogs' offense was led by junior forward, Rayshaun Hammonds with 21 points and Anthony Edwards with 16. Those two also combined for five of the team's twelve 3-pointers.

I guess it's fair to call Edwards and Hammonds a "duo".

Those two guys had the team going throughout the game, but Sahvir Wheeler stole the show in overtime.

Wheeler had just 9 points in 34 minutes tonight. But, he showcased his clutch factor tonight, scoring a game-tying basket in the first OT, and driving in for the game-winning layup in the second overtime.

When asked about having down-the-stretch moments prior to tonight, Wheeler responded: "Yes. Several. I've been fortunate to have some of those situations where I make game-winning and game-tying shots. It's a blessing."

It's worth noting that Rayshaun Hammonds interrupted Sahvir Wheeler mid-sentence by saying, "Y'all should know that. You've seen the highlights, he's been doing that for a long time."

In addition to Wheeler's big moments, players like Christian Brown and Toumani Camara also played big-time minutes. Georgia may not rely on them for production at this point in their careers, but having them play in "crunch time" minutes expands their level of experience.

"We're playing bigger games now; they (younger teammates) know what they're doing. You don't have to talk to them. You don't have to let them know. They already know," said Rayshaun Hammonds.

Georgia was also able to get a nice boost from senior guard, Jordan Harris, who played for the first time this season.

Harris came up with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 17 minutes. He also followed up a put-back dunk at the buzzer before halftime. There's no telling exactly what the role for Harris will be going forward. But in the small sample shown from him tonight, his offensive versatility and size on defense will pay dividends for Georgia.

Despite the win, Georgia was dominated on the glass, losing that battle 44-55. Increasing the aggression for rebounds will need to be something Tom Crean stresses to his team going forward.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are getting better. The Mustangs shot just 40.2% from the field. However, many of their offensive came from second-chance points, provided by their 26 offensive rebounds. Had Georgia been able to limit those second-chance points, SMU's shooting percentage probably looks even worse, and Georgia wins that game by double-digits.

The Bulldogs improved their perimeter defense against SMU, allowing just 25% 3-point shooting on 32 attempts. Heading into yesterday's game, Georgia was averaging 34.9% 3-point shooting per game. If the Bulldogs can focus on contesting more deep range shots, they'll improve their overall defense.

Overall, this win isn't "just another win" for this Georgia Bulldogs team. The close-game experience for not only the freshmen but the team overall will help this program as they are soon to head into conference play. The Bulldogs lost 6 games last year by 5 points or less.

Their ability to come out on the other end of the equation will be the deciding factor in making the tournament or not, here in 2019-2020.

"We've got 9 freshmen over there, and we've got some upperclassmen who haven't won consistent games or won games like that. It's a huge win because we had to learn how to believe," said Head Coach, Tom Crean.

Crean also stressed that this team can "earn it's belief" through getting stops, making big plays, and getting rebounds.

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