Georgia basketball is on a winning streak. What we learned from win over Georgia Tech

Georgia head coach Tom Crean knew Wednesday’s game would be a test. He didn’t feel comfortable until his point guard made the final two free throws to beat in-state rival Georgia Tech.

Georgia (4-0) walked off of its home floor with an 82-78 win over Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-0 ACC) and knew the significance of beating the Yellow Jackets for five straight seasons. Players walked through the tunnel greeted with congratulations, then a handful of them let off adrenaline with chants of “4-0 baby!” and a loud “Aaaaaaahhh!” to celebrate.

“This is a big win,” said junior forward Rayshaun Hammonds, who posted his second-consecutive performance of 26 points. “I have never lost to them, and I never want to lose to them. We knew this would be a hard-fought rivalry game, because they’re a great team.”

In front of a raucous Stegeman Coliseum crowd, the Bulldogs worked their way toward another victory before hitting paradise for the Maui Invitational. This game had plenty of significance to Georgia, including senior guard Tyree Crump who had plenty of emotional build-up. As Crean put it, another group of seniors adds an undefeated record against Georgia Tech to its memory bank.

“I understand the importance of this game for the two schools,” Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said. “I’m most disappointed in myself that we haven’t been able to get it done in this game through my time here. … Nobody is punched in the gut for not taking care of business in an in-state rivalry game than me.”

Here are seven observations from Georgia’s win.

1) There’s a difference with this game being moved to November. Crean sat on the SR 10 Loop Wednesday afternoon and saw a massive traffic jam around Milledge Avenue in Athens. He started to get concerned. He didn’t want to have a late-arriving crowd, especially after moving the game from mid-December to November so a larger number of students could attend.

Crean arrived at the arena, and usually doesn’t gaze out into the stands. This was an exception, and he was blown away by attendance. As he expected, a home-court advantage made a difference for Georgia late in the second half.

“The place was jumping,” Crean said. “It’s important that you don’t lose sight of how important it is to build that environment. … That energizes me.”

2) Anthony Edwards overcomes slow start with slew of scouts in attendance. Twenty-six, count ‘em. That’s according to a report Thursday by Jon Rothstein that 26 NBA scouts would be in attendance for this rivalry. They had all eyes on the projected top draft pick, and Edwards tried to impress with a crossover that eventually led to a missed floater. For an extended period of time to follow, he played behind-the-scenes with two first-half points on three shots.

Once Hammonds went to the bench with four fouls, Edwards emerged and it became his show. Edwards made a sellout crowd erupt at various points with multiple and-1 opportunities in which he crashed to the ground with ferocity. Edwards showed off swagger on one of them, too, as he crossed his arms and nodded at teammates with a grin. He finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. The scouts got what they came for.

“I never feel pressure. I work hard and this is what I wait for,” Edwards said. “My big brother (Hammonds) said ‘take over, I’m out.’ I did what he told me to do.”

3) Georgia Tech knew the sequence in which things unraveled. Bubba Parham nailed a 3-pointer to give Georgia Tech a 20-12 lead. As Georgia brought the ball back up the court, Crump nailed a deep jumper as Parham had his hands down. Pastner referenced this as a spark to Georgia’s numerous runs en route to victory. Georgia Tech also shot 12 of 23 from the free-throw line, which Pastner said was detrimental.

4) Against a decent opponent, Georgia validated early-season success. This team is the most legitimate Georgia basketball team in a while. The expectations should be there for it to be an NCAA tournament team, and it might have the pieces to fulfill that. This is more than the so-called “Anthony Edwards Show,” and most of the nine freshmen are making early impacts.

Georgia had four scorers in double-digits, and having Crump solidified as a consistent third option alongside Hammonds and Edwards could take the Bulldogs a step further. Nevertheless, there’s an enhanced sense of optimism around these parts.

“We’ve got dogs,” Hammonds said. “Nobody is scared to get on the floor. The main focus has been to be physical.”

5) Michael DeVoe with the same ‘ol routine for Georgia Tech. Through three games, the Yellow Jackets’ offense hasn’t shown much. But it has been carried by the sophomore. He followed up consecutive 22-point showings with a season-high 34 points against the in-state rival. Georgia posted one of its stronger defensive performances of the season, but DeVoe became Georgia Tech’s lifeline to keep it within reach. Twenty points came in the second half, and a large portion of those came in the game’s final moments while trimming the deficit.

“I was being confident and making plays,” DeVoe said. “I got it where my teammates were, then knocking down shots when they found me. It felt pretty good.”

6) Is it time to officially say Hammonds is on a hot streak? Uh, yeah. He walked into the arena with a 26-point showing against Delaware State in his back pocket. In his first big test of the season, the junior from Norcross only topped it. Maybe he had some motivation from being recruited by the Yellow Jackets out of high school, or maybe he’s truly found his groove.

He ended the egregious scoreless stretch to open the game and scored nine of the Bulldogs’ first 10 points. Hammonds finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. Even when Edwards doesn’t have his most-productive evening, Hammonds has emerged as a reliable second option. He contributed all over the place for Georgia — inside the paint, from the 3-point line and being a defensive presence. This marks the first stretch of consecutive 20-point games for Hammonds, although he did have 10 double-digit showings in 11 games last season.

Hammonds performed as he did while battling with an injury. Crean said he wasn’t a full participant in practice this week, but rode his wave of solid play. Crean also added Hammonds hasn’t “scratched the surface of his potential.”

“My focus was being in the gym 24/7,” Hammonds said. “I had to get things straight (after the foot injury) and become a better player than I was last year. When you have other players who can ball, it makes the game way easier for you.”

7) Personal opinion: These throwback Georgia uniforms are so clean. It’s such a nice touch with the red serif lettering on a white jersey. It also tells a lot about the history of Georgia basketball, something that Crean is trying to write a new chapter in the second year of his tenure. It’s pretty apparent that the Bulldogs like using them, but it remains to be seen how much they’ll be used in the uniform rotation.