Georgia basketball: Even bad Dawgs can beat Alabama this year

Georgia basketball came ready to battle Alabama Tuesday night as the Dawgs snapped their eight-game losing streak to earn their first SEC win.

Coming into Tuesday night’s game, the Dawgs were 5-14 overall and 0-6 in conference play, but if they needed to win any conference game, it needed to be this one.

This team wanted it more than Alabama, and they were cool, calm, and collected down the stretch. Nothing could phase them. Even when Alabama tried to get a bit more aggressive, the Dawgs stood tough.

Georgia basketball proved that 2022 is the year of the Dawg by beating Alabama.

The Dawgs made 80% of their free throws against the Tide throughout the game. Georgia made 18-of-21 in the last seven minutes of the game and started that streak out by going 17-18 from the foul line to make it 81-74 with 21-seconds left.

One of the Dawgs’ biggest strengths this year is shooting free throws and drawing fouls. They did that on Tuesday night and made sure to make the ones that counted most.

Alabama out-rebounded the Dawgs 41-32, but one thing the Dawgs did a better job of against the Tide was ball control. Georgia recorded 14 turnovers while forcing Alabama to cough it up 19 times.

Those free throws were huge, but scoring 23 points off those 19 turnovers is another big positive to take away from this game.

With about 17 seconds left, the crowd erupted in “just like football” chants, which was awesome.

Earlier this month, Georgia beat Alabama to win the national championship, and now the Dawgs broke a losing streak that dated back to Dec. 20.

Tuesday night was a big one for the Dawgs as they fought from tip-off to when the final horn blew. There was a different team out on the court for the Dawgs, and they looked like they were on a mission.

Georgia hasn’t been great from beyond the arc before this game, but the Dawgs made eight 3-pointers against the Tide. Alabama made their average nine 3-pointers, but their defense gave Georgia more looks than needed.

After watching this team fall short so many times this season, to see them put together, a full game was what they needed. Georgia’s team needed this win, and it’s even sweeter because it came against Alabama.

Even bad Georgia teams can beat the Tide this year, and Alabama will be the ones who didn’t keep the Dawgs winless in conference play.

Head coach Tom Crean threw up his arms to fire up the crowd, and while it wasn’t a great showing from the fans, they got loud when he asked.

Crean’s seat was getting warm with how this season started, but maybe now this group can get a little something going to save his job for at least one more season.

This team wanted to win this game so badly, and it showed. Georgia did the little things right, and even though Alabama did a lot right, the one area they couldn’t was from the free throw line. The Tide made 13-of-20 from the foul line, making 65%, while Georgia went 24-of-30.

Georgia was smart with their fouls, and Alabama didn’t execute when they got to the line. That stat is why Georgia won this ball game.

As the old saying goes, you win games at the free throw line, and Georgia proved that against the Tide. This Georgia basketball team wanted to beat Alabama so badly, and they did just enough. While there is plenty to work on, this win has to give them some much-needed confidence.