There are times when clichés such as "must-win" and "must-have" can be over-utilized, misplaced or flat-out inaccurate. That was not the case Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA. Make no mistake about it, the Georgia basketball had to have this one.
Generally speaking, every game is a must-win, especially in a deep and competitive SEC where victories are increasingly more difficult to come by these days. For Mike White and his Georgia Bulldogs, Tuesday night's 71-60 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks unequivocally qualified as a must-win.
Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) was riding a four-game losing streak after getting blown out by Florida over the weekend. but that four-game skid has come to an end as UGA improves to 12-1 at home this season, while South Carolina (10-11, 0-8 SEC) now extends their losing streak to eight games.
For White, these are the kind of games he would love to see more often from his team. Georgia led by as many as 15 points this game, never trailed, won the turnover battle, out-rebounded the Gamecocks and had four players reach double-digits in scoring.
Freshman sensation Asa Newell led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds. This was Newell's 5th double-double of the season. Dakota Leffew, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James added 14, 12 and 10 points each for the Bulldogs.
Jamarii Thomas lead the Gamecocks in scoring with 19 points. Collin Murray-Boyles added 18 points of his own.
What's next for Georgia?
Georgia doesn't have much time to celebrate this win as the hit the road once again to take on another top five team. The Bulldogs will travel to No. 4 Alabama on Saturday to face a Crimson Tide team who is one of the top two teams in the SEC this season. While this may seem like an automatic loss, Georgia has shown they can hang with the best teams in the country this season, so don't count the Bulldogs out just yet.