Georgia basketball fell to the Tennessee Volunteers 74-56 Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. The leading scorers tonight were senior guard Jordain Gainey with 19 points and freshman forward Asa Newell with 13 points, respectively.
Final from Knoxville#GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/SNamT4cjXw
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) January 16, 2025
The first half was a defensive battle and very woeful offensive performances from both teams. The Bulldogs shot 38% percent from the field while Tennessee shot even worse than the Bulldogs shooting 27% percent during the first half. Even with offensive struggles, the Bulldogs led the Volunteers for the majority of the first half and held a 26-25 halftime lead.
Howver The Vols turned things around in the second half as they went on a 21-point run to open up the second half. Tennessee gained offensive rhythm and energy which was fueled by the many turnovers Georgia's offense gave up. Guard Zakai Zeigler turned it on both ends of the floor, becoming red hot from three and locking UGA down on the defensive end. Zigler even became Tennessee's all-time leading steals leader with his effort tonight.
The Bulldogs struggled to get any action or production going on the offensive end because of the Tennessee defense as the Vols did an excellent job at disrupting the Bulldog offense with on-ball pressure. Georgia's big men were forced to kick out the ball from the paint and shoot from three which unfortunately did not fall enough. The Bulldogs cut into the lead, but couldn't get in enough rhythm to truly make big leaps and make a run at winning the game.
What's next for Georgia?
Up next for Mike White and Georgia is a date with the No. 1 team in the country as the Auburn Tigers come to Athens Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 pm EST showdown.