Written by Brian Pohl
Athens, GA- On Senior Night, the Georgia Bulldogs were unable to overcome their offensive woes in 64-39 loss to the Missouri Tigers.
UGA head coach Tom Crean on the loss, “We never got our competitive level or intensity level where it needed to be throughout the game.” He continued, “We’re not physical enough at times, and we don’t talk nearly enough. We just lost our focus.”
The story of the game was the offensive struggles that plagued the Bulldogs throughout the game. From the opening tip, the Dawgs couldn’t shake out of their funk and fell further and further out of contention as the game went on. The struggles stemmed from an inability to shoot the three, as UGA would go without making a triple in the first half and finish making just three in 20 attempts in the game. Overall the Bulldogs shot just 25% from the field for the game, and
Nicolas Claxton led UGA with nine points, falling just short of a double-double as the sophomore collected 10 rebounds in the game. Claxton was the only Bulldog to shoot over 50% for the game and talked about the offensive struggles after the game.
Senior guard Turtle Jackson commented on the offensive struggles saying, “I feel like we had a lid trapped on the goal today, personally to everyone. From shots that were missed today, to layups throughout.” He continued, “We have nights like tonight, the ball was just not going in. You have to take the mindset of ‘Ok, we are just going to get them next time and the next game we are going to give it our all.’”
Late in the game, coach Crean brought in freshman JoJo Toppin to try and provide a spark to the offense. Toppin would make a difference immediately, making his first shot attempt and knocking down four free throws to finish with six points on the night. This was a glimpse at the future under coach Crean, and UGA fans should be excited as the roster will begin to add speed and athleticism and compete in the SEC.
It was senior night for the Bulldogs, which meant the six seniors on the roster playing their final home game at UGA would get honored prior to tip-off against the Tigers. Getting honored were Mike Edwards, Christian Harrison, Turtle Jackson, Derek Ogbeide, Connor O’Neill, and E’Torrion Wilridge.
Georgia was unable to get the win on Senior Night, moving to 11-19 on the year and falling to 2-15 in SEC play. It’s been a disappointing first year under first-year head coach Tom Crean, but fans should remain patient as the roster begins to mold under players Crean brings into the program in the coming years, hopefully bringing success along with it.
There is a chance UGA and Missouri will meet again in the opening round of the SEC tournament next Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. If so, the Dawgs will need a much better offensive performance if they are to get the revenge they will be looking for.
Before that can happen, however, the Bulldogs have one final regular season game and will travel up to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the USC Gamecocks on Saturday, March 9th for a 1:00 p.m. tip.
