Edwards’ big day helps UGA snap skid, topple Texas A&M: 5 observations from the game

The flashbacks were probably there.

Georgia led Texas A&M 39-27 with 13:42 left in Saturday’s game. That’s about the same spot in the game the Bulldogs led by 20 in their last game against Missouri, only to see that lead slip away.

There was no such collapse against the Aggies. The Bulldogs finished strong to break a four-game losing streak, toppling Texas A&M 63-48.

“Just kept playing,” Georgia head coach Tom Crean said of how his team got the job done after faltering the last time out. “I’m aware of that, but that didn’t cross my mind to bring that up. We’re talking about making winning plays, and then near the end we talked about finishing the win. Finish the win. The win is right there for us, we’ve got to finish the win.”

Georgia led 24-21 at halftime after scoring the final four points in an ugly offensive first half. But a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half pushed the lead to seven, and a 9-0 run later on pushed the advantage to 12.

The Aggies (10-10, 4-4 SEC) never pulled within nine after that, as the Bulldogs (12-9, 2-6 SEC) kept them at arm’s reach for the win.

Here are five observations from the game:

Aggies fail to capitalize on early opportunities

Texas A&M had every chance to take a big lead in the first half. However, the visitors from College Station could not take advantage of the chances the Bulldogs gave them.

For one, Georgia couldn’t hold onto the ball. UGA committed 14 turnovers in the first half, a total surpassed only twice in an entire game so far in conference play.

The Aggies only managed nine points off of all those giveaways. They also only mustered five second-chance points from a whopping nine offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes. If Texas A&M had cashed in some more chances, the Bulldogs might have faced a decent-sized halftime deficit.

Defense keeps Georgia in it in first half

Along with missed opportunities for the Aggies, Georgia’s defense was big for the Bulldogs.

UGA held the Aggies to just 25 percent shooting in the first half, surrendering just eight makes in 32 attempts. That’s a full 20 points lower than the season average of allowing opponents to shoot 45 percent from the field.

It wasn’t an offensive showcase for Georgia either, as the team shot 39 percent with plenty of turnovers. But because of the solid defensive performance, the Bulldogs led at the half.

Sahvir Wheeler sparks things vs. Aggies

Saturday’s game against Texas A&M probably meant a little extra to Georgia freshman guard Sahvir Wheeler.

The Houston native was committed to the Aggies for over two years before choosing to sign with Georgia. In his first game against his would-have-been team, he delivered early.

He finished the first period with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and an assist. But it was his play at the end of the half that might have been his biggest of the day.

With seconds remaining in the half, Wheeler slithered into the paint and dropped in a layup at the buzzer, extending the lead to 24-21. Afterward, he turned and exchanged words with the Texas A&M bench and executed his handshake routine with Anthony Edwards in the tunnel.

“I thought that was such a momentum-changing play at the end of the half to get that layup after Mike Peake’s loose ball,” Crean said. “We call that timeout, we run the set and he goes to the rim. No question, he was rolling.”

He ended the day with nine points, five assists and four rebounds, playing a major role in the victory over his home state team. Despite his gaudy stat line, Edwards even called him “the best player on the floor at all times.”

“What worked for us in the second half that didn’t work for us that Missouri game was Sahvir Wheeler,” Edwards said. “I appreciate him for being happy and looking for me every time. Sahvir’s the key to it all. When he plays, we all play to his intensity.”

Anthony Edwards carries team in second half

Edwards had a decent first half, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds. After halftime, he flashed that take-over talent that has all the NBA scouts drooling.

He scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half on 7-of-13 shooting. He also dropped in a trio of triples, including a couple catch-and-shoots that head coach Tom Crean has wanted to see more often.

“(Wheeler) finds me whenever I’m open,” Edwards said. “I’m thankful for people like Jordan Harris, Rayshaun (Hammonds), they always find me and we find each other. We just play together out there.”

But it wasn’t just scoring where Edwards showed out. He ended the day with a career-high 15 rebounds, securing his second career double-double in the process.

“I just told the bigs to pretty box out number 32, [Josh] Nebo, box him out and I’ll go get the rebound,” Edwards said. “I just took it upon myself to go down in there and just try to grab every rebound that I could.”

All in all, Saturday was by far one of the best days Edwards has had in a Georgia uniform.

Bulldogs tighten up on the glass after halftime

As has been a theme this season, the rebounding battle was a bit of a struggle for Georgia in the first half.

The Bulldogs actually pulled down 21 rebounds to Texas A&M’s 19, but they were throttled on the offensive glass: the Aggies had nine offensive boards compared to Georgia’s five.

In the second half, one of the smallest teams in the SEC flipped the script.

Georgia outrebounded the Aggies 23-14 in the final 20 minutes. The Bulldogs also snatched 10 offensive rebounds in the second half, asserting their dominance in an area they’ve struggled in this season on their way to the convincing win.

Crean said he grew frustrated by some players’ lack of willingness to get physical and box out the Aggies. Notably, 6-foot-11 freshman forward Rodney Howard played just 1:28. Peake, who hadn’t played in two games, was on the floor for 12:28.

Going forward, Crean said he will be coaching with much less patience when it comes to his players being tough and pounding the glass on both ends.

“Those things have got to be there for us to have a chance,” Crean said. “We don’t shoot it well enough yet. There’s not one thing that we do so well that we can say we don’t have to get offensive rebounds. That’s just how it’s got to be.”

Georgia vs Texas A&M basketball box score

TEXAS A&M (10-10): Flagg 2-8 1-3 5, Mitchell 5-17 1-2 13, Miller 4-10 0-0 9, Gordon 4-12 0-0 10, Nebo 1-2 0-0 2, Chandler 0-2 0-0 0, Aku 1-1 0-0 2, Jackson 2-5 3-4 7, Gultekin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-59 5-9 48.

GEORGIA (12-9): Edwards 10-21 5-7 29, Camara 1-5 0-0 2, Wheeler 3-9 2-4 9, Hammonds 3-8 1-1 8, Harris 2-6 0-0 5, Peake 2-3 0-0 4, Fagan 1-2 0-0 3, Gresham 0-1 0-0 0, Crump 1-2 0-0 3, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 8-12 63.

Halftime—Georgia 24-21. 3-Point Goals—Texas A&M 5-25 (Gordon 2-6, Mitchell 2-11, Miller 1-1, Gultekin 0-1, Chandler 0-2, Flagg 0-4), Georgia 9-27 (Edwards 4-12, Fagan 1-1, Crump 1-2, Harris 1-3, Wheeler 1-3, Hammonds 1-4, Camara 0-1, Gresham 0-1). Fouled Out—Mitchell, Jackson. Rebounds—Texas A&M 32 (Flagg 7), Georgia 40 (Edwards 15). Assists—Texas A&M 8 (Flagg 4), Georgia 14 (Wheeler 5). Total Fouls—Texas A&M 17, Georgia 15. A—10,156 (10,523).

When is the next Georgia basketball game?

Who: Georgia at Florida

Where: Gainesville, Florida

What time: 7 pm Wednesday

What channel: ESPNU

This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 2:57 PM.