Georgia basketball: What went right and wrong in the win over Arkansas
Georgia basketball defeated Arkansas 99-89 Saturday to improve to 15-14 overall and 5-11 in SEC play. The Bulldogs host Florida this Wednesday.
Georgia basketball played one of its best games of the season Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 99-89 and managed to lead wire-to-wire. Here’s everything that went right and went wrong in Saturday’s game.
What went wrong
Georgia beat Arkansas by 10 points, but the margin could have been much larger. The Bulldogs opened the game with a 14-0 lead and led by 18 at one point in the first half. How did the Razorbacks cut Georgia’s lead to just one point twice in the second half.
Sharpshooting by Arkansas
Can’t blame Georgia for this one, Arkansas just has some good shooters. Isaiah Joe, Desi Sills and Mason Jones made some tough shots when the Razorbacks needed them. Teammates set some good screens and without a true center, and Georgia is always going to be vulnerable when ball handlers get into the paint.
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Even when Georgia played perfect defense, Arkansas still managed to make some shots. Sills and Joe made a few three-pointers with a defender’s hand in their faces. What more could Georgia have done in those scenarios. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, good defense prevailed most of the game.
Lulls on offense
Georgia could have run away with the game if not for lulls on offense. After taking a 36-18 lead with 8:24 left in the first half, Georgia wouldn’t find the bottom of the net for over two minutes. The Bulldogs wouldn’t even score on consecutive possessions until the last 90 seconds of the half. The Razorbacks outscored Georgia 21-11 in the last 6:40.
Georgia didn’t perform much better offensively early in the second half. Georgia only scored seven points through the first five minutes and its lead had fallen to 54-48. The lull ended when Jordan Harris stole a pass near mid-court and took the ball to the rim for a dunk. His fast break sparked a run that saw Georgia score 17 through the next five minutes of play. Georgia’s lulls on offense were short, but they were long enough to let Arkansas back in the ball game.