Five things we learned from Georgia's win over Alabama
No leading scorer, no ultimate problem for Georgia as it claimed a 60-55 road victory over Alabama on Thursday.
Yante Maten was out for his first full game after suffering a sprained knee injury last Saturday, but Georgia was able to piece its remaining parts together and stave off a Crimson Tide run in the final minutes of regulation.
Below is an in-depth look of five things we learned in the victory.
1) Bulldogs finish – It had been a recurring theme this season, that Georgia would get so close to a key victory and couldn’t finish it off. That wasn’t the case on Thursday, as senior guard and team leader J.J. Frazier made sure that his team could finish it off. The Crimson Tide found a rhythm in the second half and the lead was cut to as little as one-point. However, when Alabama tried to make a run, Georgia was able to answer – mainly in part to the steals and circus shots by Frazier. Against the fifth-place team in the conference entering Thursday’s action, Georgia was able to claim the victory and provide a momentum boost.
2) Frazier clutch in final moments – Georgia knew that Frazier would have to post one of his best performances against a defensive-minded team in Alabama with Maten sidelined. The 5-foot-10 veteran certainly did so, posting a 28-point performance on 10-of-17 shooting and scored 11 of Georgia’s last 12 points in an effort to solidify the win. Frazier did just about everything, splitting double teams, coming up with a key steal, pulling off more circus shots and mentoring his younger backcourt teammates as they dealt with traps and double teams from the Crimson Tide. For the second consecutive game, Frazier has answered the call without his star counterpart, and the Bulldogs will need it to continue.
3) Georgia dominated in rebounding – Other than his 18.7 points per game, Maten’s absence is felt greatest in the lack of rebounding in the frontcourt. Alabama outrebounded Georgia by a 40-32 margin, along with 17-3 on the offensive end – which resulted in 17 second-chance points. The Crimson Tide certainly did what was necessary in that regard to claim a home victory, and Georgia is quite fortunate to overcome that weakness. For the Bulldogs, sophomore Derek Ogbeide led in rebounds with nine.
4) Crump provides spark – The freshman guard showed no fear once more. The lead down to only two with 10:32 remaining, Tyree Crump trotted up the court and decided to take a pull up 3-pointer with no one defending the basketball. Swish. Next possession, same result. Crump had previously voiced that he had shooting confidence regardless of the situation, and it looked like he was back in his high school mindset on Thursday. After Crump’s second conversion which put Georgia at 48 points, the remainder of its points came from Frazier and a free-throw conversion from Juwan Parker.
5) Alabama’s poor opening half gives Georgia a victory – Without a clean bill of health, Georgia had committed to playing zone, and it worked – for the first 20 minutes at least. Alabama was able to torch the Bulldogs from the perimeter in the previous meeting, shooting 9-of-15 in the 80-60 victory. That wasn’t the case early on Thursday, as Alabama couldn’t find the basket – shooting 23 percent from the field, 3-of-13 from three and posting only 18 points at the intermission. In the second half, Alabama’s run to get it back into contention was led by shooting 43 percent and exploiting Georgia’s zone by finding post players that could score in the paint. If it weren’t for the extreme first-half struggles for Alabama, the Bulldogs’ task to victory would have been exponentially more difficult.
USA Today
