Don't look now, but Georgia basketball is on life support. After a promising start to the 2024 season, the engine that was driving Georgia towards its first NCAA Tournament bid in ten years is starting to leak oil. With two starters out, Georgia knew it would have to play near-perfect basketball to come out of College Station with a victory and for the first twenty minutes of the game, it looked like they had a chance. But how quickly do things change.
When Georgia (16-9, 4-8 SEC) entered the visitor's locker room at halftime with a nine point lead no one knew at the time that would be the highlight of Georgia's evening. Texas A&M (19-5, 8-3 SEC) exploded for 46 second half points on their way to a 69-53 pounding of the Dawgs.
Early in the second half, Georgia held an eight point lead before Texas A&M went on a 22-0 run to make the score 50-36 with nine minutes left in the game. By contrast, Georgia did not make their first field goal of the second half until 7:20 was remaining on the clock.
Georgia has now lost seven of its last nine games, and with two starters out due to injury, there are far more questions than answers.
Top Performers
For two consecutive games, sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. led the Dawgs in scoring with 19 points to go along with four assists.
Texas A&M was led in scoring by junior forward Solomon Washington with 17 points, five rebounds and one block.
This and That
Field Goal Percentage: Texas A&M: 26-64 (40.6%) to Georgia: 16-49 (32.7%)
Rebounds: Texas A&M: 42 to Georgia: 31
Turnovers: Texas A&M: 12 to Georgia: 14
Points of Turnovers: Texas A&M: 16 to Georgia: 15
Points in Paint: Texas A&M: 32 to Georgia: 14
Bench Points: Texas A&M: 26 to Georgia: 3
Biggest lead of the night: 21 (Texas A&M)
Texas A&M had four players reach double-digits in points tonight, compared to Georgia who only had two.
Parting Shot
Mike White and his Georgia Bulldogs were facing a very steep hill to overtake Texas A&M in College Station where the Aggies were 10-1 at home coming into this SEC matchup. Georgia gave a valiant effort in the first half, but once Texas A&M got rolling in the second half, with two of their starters out with injuries, Georgia just did not have the quality depth and personnel that Texas A&M did.
This unforgiving SEC schedule appears to have taken its toll on Georgia. After this latest defeat, White's team is reeling and it’s now time for him to find the words of encouragement to get his team motivated to finish this season strong.
What’s next for Georgia?
Georgia returns to action on Saturday to take on No. 15 Mizzouri.