Georgia basketball: Excited Dawg fans looking with promise at 2021-22 season

Georgia basketball begins tonight as the Dawgs host Florida International at Stegman Coliseum. It’s the start of a new season and time to forget about all the wild ups and downs last year brought head coach Tom Crean and his team.

The Dawgs have a lot of new faces on the roster after so many guys left the program last year.

They finished 14-12 last season and 7-11 in SEC play. These results aren’t ideal at all, but it means there is room to grow.

So before the opening tipoff, let’s break down the Dawgs so fans can get to know them a little better.

Georgia basketball looks to bring new life into the program after a sluggish 2020 season.

There are 10 new faces on the Dawgs roster this season, including two super seniors, two graduate transfers, a junior college player, two sophomore transfers, and three newcomers out of high school.

Those guys are:

• Aaron Cook (super senior)
• Jailyn Ingram (super senior)
• Noah Baumann (graduate transfer)
• Braelen Bridges (graduate transfer)
• Dalen Ridgnal (JUCO transfer)
• Jabri Abdur-Rahim (sophomore transfer)
• Kario Oquendo (sophomore transfer)
• Tyrone Baker (freshman)
• Cam McDowell (freshman)
• Christian Wright (freshman)

Seven of these newcomers have combined for 4,782 points at their other schools. Georgia’s adding some scorers to their roster, and hopefully, these players will add some more excitement to the team.

Crean likes players who put up points as the Dawgs have hit the 90-point mark 15 times since he got to Georgia.

After averaging 77 points last year, he has added some experience and guys who know how to put up points. Now they have to come together as a team and play as one.

Crean has also decided to eliminate traditional positions and call them all basketball players.

This mindset is interesting, but it’s understandable because they are all working on the same skills. Instead of having labels constrict them, making them all work on everything will only make them better ballplayers.

Georgia basketball odds for Week 1 of the season

According to WynnBET, Georgia is a seven-point favorite over Florida International with an over/under of 153 points.

Crean is 3-0 in season openers at Georgia and 21-1 throughout his entire career.

The Dawgs are 83-33 in opening games, so it wouldn’t be a bad bet to take them in this game. Georgia should beat FIU at home Tuesday night, and if they don’t, it could be the start of a very long basketball season.

However, Crean is a successful coach, and this is the start of year four for him, so now the guys should have a little more knowledge on how he likes things done and improve as a whole.

At the same time, losing all the players they did throughout last season, and this offseason has had to put a wrench in things because he has to start over with new faces.

However, these transfers should know they are here to work, and if they trust him, they can be successful.

Georgia basketball prediction for Week 1 matchup against FIU

The Dawgs have a player who knows FIU pretty well. One of the super senior transfers, Ingram played FIU eight times in five seasons at Florida Atlantic.

FAU was 5-3 in those games, and Ingram averaged 9.1 points and 4.8 boards. Last year against the Panthers, he scored 24 points and had nine rebounds. Ingram knows how this team works, and he could be a beneficial tool for Crean and his teammates as they get ready for this opening game.

Georgia hates losing at home in front of their fans, and no one wants to start the season out 0-1 to FIU, so the Dawgs will find a way to put up points and start this year on the right foot. Crean has his work cut out for him this season, and it all starts against the Panthers.

The Dawgs win this one 85-71.

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