Dawn of the Dawg
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Georgia basketball: Keys to victory against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament

By Kyle Funderburk

ATHENS, GA - FEBRUARY 19: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Georgia Bulldogs gestures to the crowd in the final minutes of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum on February 19, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - FEBRUARY 19: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Georgia Bulldogs gestures to the crowd in the final minutes of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Stegeman Coliseum on February 19, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Georgia basketball opens the SEC Tournament as the No. 13 seed against the Ole Miss Rebels. The winner plays No. 5 Florida on Thursday.

This is the last chance for Georgia basketball to reach preseason expectations. The Bulldogs meet the Ole Miss Rebels Wednesday night in Nashville in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs need to advance to at least the final four to have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament field of 68 teams.

Georgia lost the first meeting against Ole Miss 70-60 back on January 25. Here’s what the Bulldogs need to do differently this time to beat the Rebels and advance in the tournament.

Sink more shots

Yeah, obviously if Georgia makes more shots, it’ll have a better chance of winning. Basketball is a scoring contest after all. But this is a key because of how poorly the Bulldogs shot not only Saturday at LSU, but in the first meeting against Ole Miss. Georgia only made 30.9-percent of its field goals against the Rebels.

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Anthony Edwards only made three of his 12 shots versus the Rebels and all three were outside the arc. He was perfect on free throws and he finished the game with 13 points. But his game was typical of the rest of the team that day. Sahvir Wheeler and Jordan Harris were the only other Bulldogs to make multiple shots from the field.

Yes, you read that correctly. Wheeler finished three-of-eight from the field with 11 points. Harris actually had an outstanding day shooting, making five of his nine field goals, including three behind the arc.

It’s tournament time now and mediocre shooting like this isn’t going to cut it. Edwards needs to have another SEC Freshman of the Year type performance. Rayshaun Hammonds and Toumani Carama need to get involved more on offense as well. Only one make from the field is unacceptable from those two.

Lock down Breein Tyree

Georgia’s defense played really well against Ole Miss in the first meeting. The Rebels did make over half their shots, but they were kept off the offensive glass and committed 13 turnovers.

The only Rebel who gave Georgia fits was leading scorer Breein Tyree. He finished the game with 20 points on eight makes out of 15 attempts. Tyree added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Locking down Tyree will go a long way in Georgia basketball advancing to the next round of the SEC Tournament.

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