Analysis: Georgia can use Mississippi State win as confidence-booster
ATHENS -- Georgia needed a big win to move past the lingering pain of its loss to Kentucky.
Defeating Mississippi State 66-57 on Saturday fit the bill, with the final score not truly conveying how the game played out. Georgia jumped out in control early and maintained it throughout. A few late Mississippi State jumpers pulled the game to nine points, but make no mistake about it -- Georgia dominated Mississippi State.
It's a huge confidence-boosting win for a team that can't afford many losses in its final six games. Mississippi State wasn't exactly a big-time opponent, but the win did come on the road, a place Georgia has struggled this season.
"I'm really proud of our team," head coach Mark Fox said. "We didn't play well the other night, and I was proud how they responded. This is a tough time of year for every team because the season is such a grind. We were concerned about our group, and (Saturday) they came together as a unit and played very well at times to get us a lead and allowed us to play comfortably in front."
Examining this game further, however, reveals plenty of positives meshed with more concern. Given the opponent, a turning-point overreaction should be cautioned. And the fact Georgia still didn't get much offensive production outside of its big four remains to be an issue and could be what hurts this team in upcoming games against Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Derek Ogbeide, Houston Kessler, Kenny Paul Geno and Mike Edwards combined for 11 points. That leaves the bulk of the scoring burden on Georgia's top four scorers -- Yante Maten, J.J. Frazier, Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann.
Knowing this, it's of note that Gaines and Frazier combined for eight points, and Frazier scored all eight. It was the first time all season that Gaines has been held scoreless in a game. Gaines missed all four of his shot attempts, which included going 0-for-3 from behind the arc. He only played 19 minutes and wasn't in foul trouble, so it's unknown whether Fox benched him or if he is dealing with an injury.
Both Ogbeide and Geno spent more time on the court than Gaines, one of Georgia's top scoring options and leaders on this team.
Georgia picked up huge performances from Maten and Mann as Maten scored a career-best 25 points and Mann posted a season-high 21. Georgia has become accustomed to relying on Maten as a consistent scoring option. Mann, on the other hand, has been up and down when it comes to his scoring production, but he has been able to score in double figures in five of his past six games.
Mann could be the key for Georgia during this late-season stretch. Mann has had to endure a position switch this season, with J.J. Frazier running the point for the most part instead of him. Mann has been unselfish and played the other guard spots at times, and he even played some forward early in the year.
If Mann is turning the corner from a scoring perspective, Georgia, which should get better performances from Frazier and Gaines in later games, will be in great shape.
Following the Kentucky game, Mississippi State was the one team Georgia couldn't afford to lose to in its remaining slate, simply because it would be the first truly bad loss of the season. Getting that out of the way, and in impressive fashion to those who actually watched the game, Georgia can now focus on stacking some needed wins in the final six games.
Defeating Florida on Tuesday at home would be big. Taking out Vanderbilt on the road Saturday would only add to the case Georgia is hoping to make for the postseason.
This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Analysis: Georgia can use Mississippi State win as confidence-booster ."