Bulldog basketball team looks to continue run through NIT

The Georgia Bulldog basketball team tips against the Ohio State Buckeyes just after 7 o’clock tonight in Columbus: the NIT quarterfinal contest will be televised on ESPN.

From Mike Mobley, UGA Sports Communications...

• Georgia travels to Ohio State on Tuesday to face the Buckeyes in the quarterfinal round of the NIT. The Bulldogs are making their third appearance in the NIT quarterfinals and their first since 1998.

• With Sunday’s 72-66 win over Wake Forest, the Bulldogs are now 28-2 when holding their opponents under 70 points during Mike White’s two seasons at Georgia.

• With last Tuesday’s 78-76 win over Xavier, Georgia upped its records to 9-8 in games that were one-possession contests in the final 5:00 and 7-5 in matchups that were separated by three points or less in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

• Mike White improved to 9-0 in first-round games of the NCAA Tournament and NIT with last Tuesday’s win over Xavier. White is now 15-8 (.652) in the postseason, 6-4 in NCAAs and 9-4 in NITs.

• Georgia enters the Ohio State matchup ranked No. 20 nationally in bench scoring at 28.6 ppg. The Bulldogs’ bench has outscored the opponents’ reserves in 28 of 35 games en route to compiling a season scoring margin of +367...or +10.5 ppg.

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs will trek from Winston-Salem, N.C., to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

Georgia enters the contest at 19-16 after Sunday’s 72-66 victory at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were 17-1 at home before the Bulldogs handed Wake just its second home loss.

Georgia’s two NIT victories continued a common storylines for the Bulldogs this season.

Georgia’s win over Xavier in the opening round was not decided until the final horn. All told, 17 of the Bulldogs’ 35 contests were one-possession games in the final 5:00. Georgia is 9-8 in those. Of those, 12 were still within three points in the final 30 seconds of regulation. The Bulldogs are 7-5 in those.

With the victory at Wake Forest, the Bulldogs improved to 15-1 this season in which they have held their opponents under 70 points...and 28-2 in Mike White’s two seasons in Athens.

Noah Thomasson is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 12.9 ppg and also paces Georgia with 25 double-digit and four 20-point performances. With Russel Tchewa missing the Wake Forest game due to an illness, Thomasson is now the only Bulldog to start every game this season.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is scoring at a double-figure pace for the Bulldogs as well at 12.2 ppg, largely due to sporting team-high shooting percentages of .356 from 3-point range and .887 at the free throw line. However, Abdur-Rahim has missed the last six games with an injury, the first DNPs of his career at Georgia. Prior to that, Abdur-Rahim had played in 93 straight contests.

A balanced offensive attack features three more Bulldogs contributing between just south of double figures, with RJ Melendez at 9.7 ppg and Silas Demary Jr. and Justin Hill both at 9.6 ppg.

Keeping An Eye On…

Among UGA’s career leaders...

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is

• 3 3FGs from co No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison

• 9 3FGs from No. 12 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

• 2 3FGAs from No. 14 Turtle Jackson

• 9 3FGAs from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines

Among UGA’s season leaders...

Noah Thomasson is

• 1 3FG from No. 9 J.J. Frazier

• 2 3FGs from No. 8 Ezra Williams

• 5 3FGs from No. 7 Bernard Davis

• 6 3FGs from No. 6 G.G .Smith

• 8 3FGAs from No. 5 Kenny Gaines

• 11 3FGAs from No. 4 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

UGA’s NIT History

The Bulldogs are making their 15th appearance in the NIT and now have a 15-14 all-time record in the tournament.

Georgia earned its first postseason bid of any kind to the 1981 NIT and also participated in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The Bulldogs’ best NIT finishes came in 1982 and 1998 when they advanced to the semifinal round. Georgia lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the 1982 semis. The Bulldogs fell to Penn State, 66-60, in the 1998 semis but bounced back to defeat Fresno State, 95-79, in the third-place consolation contest.

Sunday’s win at Wake Forest was Georgia’s first road victory in NIT play since the Bulldogs bested N.C. State, 61-55, on March 17, 1998.

Series History With OSU

Georgia won its only previous meeting with Ohio State, an 84-80 overtime decision on Dec. 28, 1977 in the opening round of the Louisville Classic.

The Bulldogs then went on to top No. 7 Louisville, 73-70, the following night, also in overtime. That victory is one of two top-10 non-conference road wins ever for Georgia.

Mike White Vs. Ohio State

Georgia head coach Mike White is 2-0 against Ohio State, securing a pair of wins during his tenure at Florida.

The Gators defeated the Buckeyes, 74-66, on March 20, 2016 in the second round of the NIT.

Florida topped OSU, 71-68, on Nov. 24, 2021 in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-off.

Scouting The Buckeyes

Ohio State upped its record to 22-13 with Saturday’s 81-73 win over Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes compiled a 9-11 record in Big Ten play this season, tying for ninth.

Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes on the offensive end, averaging 15.8 ppg. Thornton – whose father, Bruce, and mother, Tiaunna, played football and basketball at Georgia, respectively – also ranks No. 2 nationally in assist-to-turnover at 3.85.

Jamison Battle and Roddy Gayle Jr. also score at a double-digit pace for Ohio State. Battle is averaging 15.1 ppg, while Gayle contributes 13.6 ppg.

Last Time Out

Justin Hill scored a season-high 21 points to lead Georgia to a 72-66 win over Wake Forest in the second round of the NIT on Sunday. The setback was just the Demon Deacons’ second in 19 home outings this season.

Noah Thomasson added 19 points and freshman Dylan James contributed a career-high 14 for the Bulldogs. In his first start of the season, Frank Anselem-Ibe grabbed a team- and season-high eight rebounds, dished out a season-high three assists, matched his season-best effort with two blocks and logged a season-most 28 minutes...doubling his previous season high of 14 MP.

The Bulldogs led 39-24 at halftime and expanded that margin to 49-30 early in the second stanza. Wake methodically chipped away to pull within 57-52 at the 6:41 mark. Georgia was clutch at the line down the stretch, hitting both ends of three one-and-ones – by Anselem-Ibe, Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain – and converting 13-of-16 free throws in the second half.

Georgia matched its season high with 14 3-pointers. Ten of those trifectas came in the first half when the Bulldogs were 10-of-17 (.588) on shots from outside the arc and just 4-of-10 (.400) on two-point attempts.

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