Georgia basketball: Three takeaways from the Dawgs’ upset over Auburn
Georgia basketball snapped its four-game losing streak by upsetting the Auburn Tigers at home Wednesday night. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures.
A whole different Georgia basketball team took the Stegeman Coliseum floor Wednesday night. The Bulldogs upset the No. 13 ranked Auburn Tigers 65-55 in front of the home crowd, ending a four game losing streak and finally abstaining from blowing a second half lead.
Anthony Edwards led the squad with 18 points and he added six rebounds. Rayshaun Hammonds and Toumani Camara each grabbed eight boards, Hammonds scored 13 points and Camara had 12. Sahvir Wheeler also scored 13.
Georgia improves to 13-13 on the season and 3-10 in SEC play. The Bulldogs travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday and still have games with South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and LSU. That’s a tough stretch of games as three of those teams (Arkansas, Florida and LSU) are top 50 RPI teams. Here are three takeaways from Georgia’s win over Auburn.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
Hammonds stepping up to lead the team
It has been clear through conference play this season that Georgia lacks consistent upperclassmen leadership. At times, junior forward Rayshaun Hammonds has provided sparks, but rarely through the entirety of any game. But Wednesday, he played like a leader for each of his 29 minutes on the floor.
His three-pointer just over a minute into the game gave Georgia its first lead. His next three-pointer with 13:45 left in the first half put the Bulldogs ahead 12-9. After Auburn regained a 23-22 lead with around five minutes left in the half, Hammonds found Anthony Edwards wide open for a three-pointer. Edwards converted the shot to put the Dawgs ahead for good.
Hammonds didn’t record as many stats in the second half and he fell into some foul trouble, but he remained a force in other ways. He contested shots and made some good passes on offense to help create ball movement which led to open shots.
Bullpups growing up
Georgia’s large group of freshmen have gone through a ringer of scrutiny through SEC play. In Georgia’s 10 SEC losses, the freshman have made mistakes inexcusable for February basketball. They certainly made some of those mistakes Wednesday, but they also made some clutch plays in the second half to keep from blowing another lead.
No player Wednesday stood out in “winning time” as much as Toumani Camara. He shot eight free throws in the final 61 seconds of the game, and he sunk seven of them. After sinking a free throw with 13 seconds left to extend the lead to 63-55, he stole the in bounds pass and drew another foul. He made both of those free throws, setting the score at 65-55. Camara still wasn’t finished. He stole a long pass around half court to prevent Auburn from taking any kind of shot before the final buzzer.
Sahvir Wheeler played the point very well, leading an offense that looked much more in sync than previous outings. Edwards, the superstar freshman, made some huge plays late, including a dagger three-pointer with 2:17 left on the clock to break Auburn’s spirit.
Team not ready to suspend tournament hopes
Maybe Dawn of the Dawn was premature in its burial of the the teams NCAA Tournament chances. Similar performances against the last five teams on the schedule and through a few rounds in the SEC Tournament might convince the committee that Georgia deserves another look.
The team isn’t ready to abandon hope. It could have fell into “prepare for next year” mode and taken another beating from an elite team. Instead, Georgia out played a top 15 bitter conference rival for 40 minutes and claimed a victory.