Georgia basketball stifles rival Georgia Tech for yet another win vs. ACC team
Georgia basketball is still more than four weeks away from starting SEC play, but it’s shown its chops in the nonconference slate against teams from the ACC.
The Bulldogs Tuesday night jumped on top at the start against rival Georgia Tech and never looked back in rolling to a 76-62 victory to improve to 3-1 against teams from that conference.
This win in Stegeman Coliseum came six days after Georgia rallied from 17 down in the second half to win at Florida State. It also has knocked off Wake Forest and lost to Miami of the ACC.
Here are three things learned from the 6-3 Bulldogs’ fourth straight win this season in what was the 199th game in the series:
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Georgia basketball bringing it on defensive end
A common denominator for Georgia in its three wins not against smaller conference schools is its work on the defensive end.
Georgia held Florida State, Wake Forest and now Georgia Tech to below 40 percent shooting.
The Yellow Jackets were just 9 of 34 in the first half as Georgia built a 36-20 lead and finished 32 percent from the floor.
"We're trying to establish a culture that playing defense and rebounding is going to help us win games," said guard Noah Thomasson, who had three steals.
Florida State shot 34.4 percent and Wake Forest 39.1.
The Yellow Jackets were 24 of 75 including 8 of 27 on 3s.
"They switched some, but we have to do a better job of attacking the switch," Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said.
Georgia entered 79th in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 40.4, an improvement from 44 percent last season when it finished 192nd.
Coach Mike White said bigs Russel Tchewa and Frank Anselem-Ibe offer the ability to move laterally and guard some on the perimeter, the wings bring length and 6-5 point guard Silas Demary Jr. can switch on bigger players in the post some.
"Overall, I think our guys are just locked into understanding we can hang our hats on that and be pretty good there," White said.
The Yellow Jackets (4-3) didn’t get to the foul line until more than 28 minutes into the game.
Anselem-Ibe led Georgia with two blocks.
Georgia Bulldogs share the ball with balanced offense
Georgia got offensive balance with four players scoring in double figures, led by Niagara transfer Thomasson with 16 and guard Justin Hill with 14.
Blue Cain and Jabri Abdur-Rahim each netted 12.
"When we're moving the ball, getting paint touches, getting wide open 3s, we're a really hard team to beat," Thomasson said. "When we get stagnant, not so much so."
Cain, a freshman guard from Knoxville who signed with Georgia Tech but ended up at Georgia after a coaching change, was 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. That included one from the top of the key to stop a 9-0 Georgia Tech run and push the Bulldogs lead to 62-45.
"It's not personal," Cain said about going up against the Yellow Jackets. "They're a great organization. That's a great coaching staff. I just tried to treat it as a normal game and just play our game."
Thomasson was 6 of 9 shooting with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Russel Tchewa grabbed a team-high 9 reounds and Abdur-Rahim had 8.
In the age of the transfer portal and frequent player movement, the in-state rivalry isn’t dominated by in-state players.
Georgia has one homegrown product in its its top 11 players — Jalen DeLoach from Savannah, but he missed his second straight game with an illness.
Cain said the coaching staff tried to introduce the rivalry to those unfamiliar with it.
"You embrace it when you come to Georgia," said Thomasson, a Houston native. "It's always good to know that I'll be 1-0 for my career against Georgia Tech."
Tech’s top players include Peach Staters in Miles Kelly (Stone Mountain), Kowacie Reeves (Macon) and Kyle Sturdivant (Norcross). Kelly and Florida transfer Kowacie Reeves led Tech with 12 points each.
UGA unbeaten at Stegeman
Stoudamire, the first-year coach, got a pair of wins over No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 7 Duke last week, but was looking for bigger things as he builds the Georgia Tech program.
“We want to have a parade down Peachtree,” he told reporters Monday.
Georgia took away some of the recent good vibes by beating the Yellow Jackets for the first time since Nov. 20, 2019.
The teams didn’t play due to COVID the next season and Georgia Tech won 88-78 in 2021 and 79-77 last season.
Georgia improved to 5-0 at home this season before a crowd of 9,017.
Georgia is off until Dec. 16 when it will try for its fifth straight win, which would be the longest under second-year coach White.
The Bulldogs close out nonconference play in the next four games against High Point, Mount St. Mary’s, North Florida and Alabama A&M before SEC play begins at Missouri Jan. 6.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia basketball's defense slows down hot Georgia Tech
