Analysis: Georgia basketball is 1-5 to start SEC play, but it’s not all bad news
A third of the SEC campaign is completed, and Georgia already finds itself in a tough place.
The Bulldogs are 1-5 in league play with a pair of home losses already on the schedule. They face an uphill battle for a top-half finish in the league, let alone any NCAA Tournament consideration.
It’s not all bad, as there have been some bright spots along the way. Here’s a look at where the team stands six games through the SEC slate:
The Good
Fewer turnovers: Giving the ball away was something that plagued the Bulldogs throughout last season as they learned Tom Crean’s offense. But so far in SEC play this season, there have been signs of improvement.
In six conference contests, Georgia has turned it over 14, 14, 10, 10, 12 and 16 times. That’s far from an elite level of ball security but much improved from the 15.8 per game of last season.
Fewer turnovers result in more shots being taken by the offense. For a team that struggles to shoot the ball as it is, UGA can’t afford to have too many possessions without a shot attempt.
Aggressive Anthony Edwards: When he’s on the court, superstar freshman Anthony Edwards is often the best player and athlete on the floor. Every now and then, he reminds everyone of that.
Edwards has an extreme talent for driving to the basket and finishing at the rim. Whether off the dribble or receiving a pass after a cut, an aggressive Edwards is nothing but good news for the Georgia offense.
Two of his highlight plays of the year came in that area in the conference opener against Kentucky. He threw down a vicious dunk after a backdoor cut at the end of the first half, and then muscled his way past Wildcat Tyrese Maxey for a layup in the second period.
When he’s driving, good things happen. However, that doesn’t necessarily happen as often as it could or should.
Rayshaun Hammonds: Coming into the season, Hammonds clearly had to step up to complement what Edwards brings to the table. For the most part in conference play, he’s done just that. Hammonds has scored 14.4 points per game, although he’s making just 36.5 percent of his shots. He’s also pulled down seven rebounds per contest and made 42 percent of his 3-pointers.
Two of his worst games have also resulted in the two ugliest losses of SEC play. Head coach Tom Crean criticized Hammonds’ performance after the 91-59 loss at Mississippi State on Jan. 18 in which Hammonds went for 10 points and four rebounds.
“We expect a lot out of Ray,” Crean said on Jan. 24, six days after the loss in Starkville. “Ray expects a lot out of Ray. You have to have somebody that’s continuing to drive that and keep that honest when it’s not where it needs to be.”
One week later at home against Ole MIss, Hammonds went just 1-of-8 from the field, scoring four points and collecting five rebounds. Edwards gets all the headlines, but it’s clear Hammonds has been and will continue to be a big part of any Georgia success.
The Bad
Outmatched physically: It was obvious coming into the season that Georgia was one of the smallest teams in the SEC. That was before forward Amanze Ngumezi transferred, leaving the Bulldogs even thinner in the frontcourt.
That has played out as expected in conference play, as the Bulldogs have found themselves overmatched physically time and time again.
The rebounding battle has gone to the opponent four out of six times in SEC play, those deficits coming by an average of nearly 10 rebounds per contest. All four of those games were losses, while the lone victory over Tennessee also saw Georgia win the battle on the boards by three.
In the most recent loss against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 38-28 and even pulled down 18 offensive rebounds to Ole Miss’ 5. But in another physical category, the Bulldogs were dominated.
Georgia was outscored by Ole Miss 38-20 in points in the paint. The Bulldogs have been outscored 252-176 in the paint through six games, with plenty more SEC play still to come.
There’s not much the Bulldogs can do about their lack of size at this point, but there are ways this can be addressed. Crean mentioned several after the Ole Miss game, including being better at switching and guarding the opponent’s first dribble more effectively in order to prevent drives toward the basket.
Shooting: The goal of the game is to put the ball in the basket. Through six conference games, that has been a struggle for Georgia.
The Bulldogs have shot just a tick over 40 percent in SEC play this season. That mark would be one of the worst in the country if extended out to apply to the entire season.
It hasn’t been much better from long distance either. Georgia is shooting 27 percent from 3-point range, another poor mark.
“We’re not shooting the ball that well at all,” Crean said after the Ole Miss game in which his team shot 31 percent, its worst mark of the year. “When it gets compounded, when it’s not moving as well or when we’re not cutting as well, and then we’re not getting anything around the bucket. That’s where we have got to continue to just figure out ways that we can make the game easier for ourselves offensively with our movement.”
Passive Anthony Edwards: As mentioned before, Edwards finds success when he drives to the rim. However, that’s not an extremely frequent occurrence.
Edwards has a habit of settling for long and often contested jumpers in SEC play. Of his 90 shots, 49 have been 3-pointers and another handful have been mid- or long-range two-point shots.
That ratio should be reversed — Edwards should be driving to the rim a majority of the time and firing when threes when set up by his teammates. It’s true that defenses often take away the paint and make Edwards shoot, but he could still make more of an effort to penetrate and get shots at the rim or free throws.
“I didn’t have expectations,” Crean said of Edwards on Jan. 24. “I came in knowing we’re going to have to develop him every day, work with him every day, help him grow every day. I have to go through things to get there and just keep building his game.”
Second halves: The final 20 minutes have not been kind to the Bulldogs in conference play.
Georgia has been outscored in every second half in the SEC part of the schedule. That’s even true in the 80-63 win over Tennessee, although this came largely as the result of a garbage time 9-0 run to close the game by the Volunteers.
In the other five contests, the Bulldogs have been outscored by an average of 11 points in the second period. It’s hard to win without finishing strong, and that’s something that has been a problem for Georgia so far.
Playing on the road: Three road games, three double-digit road losses.
That’s been the situation for Georgia so far in SEC play. All three SEC games away from Athens have resulted in losses by at least 10 points.
“We need to come out with a bigger sense of urgency when we’re on the road,” sophomore guard Tye Fagan said Jan. 24. “When we come out at home, we have the crowd behind us and they just give us a boost that’s not normally there when you’re on the road. When we’re on the road, we have to understand that our backs are against the wall.”
The defeats have come by 22 at Auburn, 32 at Mississippi State and 10 at Kentucky. The Kentucky game was the closest at halftime, as Georgia trailed just 41-35, but the Wildcats kept the Bulldogs at bay to win 89-79.
The Bulldogs have shot 38, 39 and 44 percent in those road games. On the other side, they have allowed their opponent to shoot over 50 percent in each contest.
Playing away from home, like the rest of the factors mentioned, is something the Bulldogs must improve as the season wears on. If the bad can be fixed while accentuating the good, then there’s still a chance to end this season on a positive note.
Georgia 2020 SEC basketball scores, schedule
Jan 7: Kentucky 78, Georgia 69
Jan 11: Auburn 82, Georgia 60
Jan 15: Georgia 80, Tennessee 63
Jan 18: Mississippi State 91, Georgia 59
Jan 21: Kentucky 89, Georgia 79
Jan 25: Ole Miss 70, Georgia 60
Jan 28: Georgia at Missouri, 8:30 PM
Feb 1: Georgia vs. Texas A&M, 1 PM
Feb 5: Georgia at Florida, 7 PM
Feb 8: Georgia vs. Alabama, 6 PM
Feb 12: Georgia vs. South Carolina, 6:30 PM
Feb 15: Georgia at Texas A&M, 3:30 PM
Feb 19: Georgia vs. Auburn, 7 PM
Feb 22: Georgia at Vanderbilt, 6 PM
Feb 26: Georgia at South Carolina, 6 PM
Feb 29: Georgia vs. Arkansas, 6 PM
March 4: Georgia vs. Florida, 7 PM
March 7: Georgia at LSU, 2 PM
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 12:48 PM.