Georgia basketball steamrolls Texas for first SEC road win

If you were to tell any individual with knowledge of Georgia basketball that the Dawgs went on the road and played a game that saw freshman superstar Asa Newell finish with only ten points total in the entire contest, that individual’s immediate response probably would have been Georgia lost the game, and in all likelihood by a large margin. But not on this night. This one was different.

Fresh off of their 88-83 upset victory over No. 3 Florida and aspirations of reaching the NCAA Tournament back on the table, Georgia (18-11, 6-10 SEC) went on the road to capture its first SEC road win of the season in dominating fashion with a big 83-67 victory against Texas (16-13, 5-11 SEC), Saturday night in Austin.

Georgia in prime position to make the NCAA Tournament

With ESPN's basketball bracketology guru Joe “Joey Brackets” Lunardi looking on, Georgia basketball put on a show that pretty much solidified their standing for postseason play, at least in the eyes of Lunardi. With a few minutes remaining in the first half and Georgia leading by as many as twenty points at one juncture, Lunardi had seen enough and declared that he would be ok seeing Georgia get into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection if they continued to perform at such a high level.

Prior to Saturday’s dominant performance, Lunardi had Georgia projected as the first team out and Texas as the last team in, so both teams came into this game highly motivated. But it would be the Bulldogs walking away victorious in this contest.

Georgia would lead this game from the beginning to end. The closest Texas would get in this game was 9-8 with 12:19 remaining in the first half. Georgia would hold SEC scoring leader Tre Johnson to just 12 points on 3-7 shooting from the field.

In the first half, Georgia was 17 of 30 from the field (56.7 percent), including 5 of 10 from three-point range. The Bulldogs would finish the game 29 of 56 (51.8 percent) from the field and 8 of 22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

Top Performers

Georgia sophomore Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs with a career high 26 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Senior forward Arthur Kaluma led Texas with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

This and That

Georgia has now won all three head-to-head matchups against Texas on the basketball court in their history. 

Field Goal Percentage: Georgia: 29-56 (51.8 percent) | Texas: 23-52 (44.2 percent)

Rebounds: Georgia: 36 | Texas: 27

Turnovers: Georgia: 10 | Texas: 13

Points off Turnovers: Texas: 16 to Georgia: 16

Points in Paint: Georgia: 32 to Texas: 26

Bench Points: Georgia: 25 | Texas: 17

Biggest lead of the night: 27 (Georgia)

Parting Shot

What a difference a week makes. After a hard fought, but deflating loss to Auburn, many had begun writing the obituary for Georgia’s NCAA tournament chances. And for good reason.

Georgia was in the mist of another losing streak, no SEC road wins and even more concerning, an identity crisis. Fast-forward a week later, and now it appears Georgia has a better idea of not only who they are, but who they can be.

After a second consecutive and impressive SEC win, Georgia has flipped all of the pessimism on its head and now they suddenly appear to be poised to make their first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years.

What's Next for Georgia?

Georgia returns to action Tuesday to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, SC.