The Starting 5

• Georgia – which entered January with the highest scoring average (99.0 ppg) of any D-I team in seven years (since 2019) – takes to the road for the first time in SEC play on Tuesday to face Florida.
• The Bulldogs are ranked No. 18 and No. 20 in this week’s AP and coaches polls, respectively. That’s Georgia’s highest rankings since being No. 17 (AP) and No. 18 (coaches) on February 3, 2003.
• Georgia entered this week ranked among the nation’s top-5 teams in seven statistics, including No. 1 in scoring offense (99.4 ppg), fastbreak points (27.0 ppg) and blocks (8.0 bpg).
• As of Monday, the Dunkyard Dawgs were scoring a nation-leading 22.7 percent of their field goals on dunks this season. Individually, Somto Cyril’s 42 dunks led the SEC and ranked No. 2 nationally.
• Georgia has topped the 100-point plateau in seven of its first 14 games, already breaking the program’s single-season program record of five century mark tallies during the 1990-91 campaign. The Bulldogs have scored 40 or more points during 26 of 28 halves of basketball this season.

Keeping An Eye On…

Entering Today’s Game Among UGA’s Career Leaders

Blue Cain is…

• 2 free throws from the minimum to qualify for UGA’s career leaders in FT pct. His current percentage of 83.1 would rank No. 3

• 3 3-pointers from No. 19 Sundiata Gaines

• 4 3-pointers from No. 18 Rashad Wright

• 8 3-pointers from No. 17 Turtle Jackson

• 8 3-point attempts from No. 19 Rashad Wright

Somto Cyril is…

• 5 blocks from No. 15 Rashaad Singleton

• 10 blocks from No. 14 Albert Jackson

Among UGA’s Season Leaders

Blue Cain is…

• 3 free throws from the minimum to qualify for UGA’s season leaders in FT pct. His current percentage of 90.4 would rank No. 2

Somto Cyril is…

• 5 blocks from co-No. 19s Terry Fair (’83), Marcus Thornton (’14) and Yante Maten (’15)

• 7 blocks from No. 18 Charles Claxton (’93)

• 8 blocks from No. 17 Charles Claxton (’92)

The Opening Tip

Georgia treks to Gainesville on Tuesday to face Florida in its first SEC road outing of the season.

The Bulldogs are No. 18 in this week’s AP poll and ranked No. 20 in the coaches poll. That’s Georgia’s highest rankings since being No. 17 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the coaches poll on Feb. 3, 2003.

Georgia christens SEC play with back-to-back outings against half of last season’s Final Four – Auburn and the Gators – and have four of their first five league dates against 2025 “Sweet 16” teams (adding Arkansas and Ole Miss).

The Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 23 by the AP and No. 24 by the coaches last week, are 13-1, equaling their second-best start in 121 seasons of play and their best effort since 1931.

It would be hard to fathom a better beginning to the 2025-26 campaign for Georgia, at least statistically speaking.

As of Monday, the Bulldogs were leading the all 365 Division I teams in scoring offense (99.4 ppg), fastbreak points (27.0 ppg) and blocks (8.0 bpg). Among the 28 statistics tracked by the NCAA, Georgia was ranked in the top 5 in seven stats and within the top 25 in 15 categories.

Georgia features one of the nation’s deepest rotations playing at a pace among the quickest in the country.

Eleven Bulldogs are averaging double-figure minutes, and according to the oft-used metric KenPom.com, Georgia entered this week ranked No. 2 nationally in both average offensive possession length (14.2 seconds) and adjusted tempo (75.8).

Georgia’s depth is not just in numbers but also in its offensive production.

Ten of the 11 Bulldogs playing double-digit minutes have scored 10+ points in a game, combining to record 61 double-figure scoring outputs this season. Jeremiah Wilkinson is averaging a team-high 18.3 ppg, while Blue Cain is contributing 15.6 ppg and Marcus “Smurf” Millender is chipping in 11.6 ppg and Somto Cyril is adding 10.0 ppg and also averages a team-high 6.4 rpg.

Scouting The Gators

Florida slipped to 9-5 on the season with a 76-74 setback at Missouri on Saturday night. Three of the Gators’ losses are teams currently ranked in the top 10 – No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 Connecticut and No. 6 Duke.

Thomas Haugh paces a quintet of Gators scoring at a double-digit clip at 17.2 ppg, followed by Alex Condon at 14.3 ppg, Xaivian Lee at 12.1 ppg, Boogie Fland at 11.0 ppg and Reuben Chinyelu at 10.5 ppg. Chinyelu is grabbing an SEC-high 10.7 rebounds per game, making him the only player in the league averaging a double-double.

Series History With Florida

Florida possesses a 126-106 edge in the all-time meetings on the hardwood between the Bulldogs and the Gators.

In the most recent meeting on Feb. 25 last season, Georgia upset No. 3 Florida, 88-83, triggering a court storming by a raucous crowd at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs raced to a 39-13 lead over the opening 12:07 and then rallied past Florida after a furious comeback by the Gators gave them their first lead with 68 seconds remaining.

Georgia led by 16 points at the intermission and by double digits until the 11:08 mark of the second stanza. The Gators used a 13-0 surge to go up 80-78 at the 1:08 mark before Blue Cain knocked down a 3-pointer to open a 10-3 run over the final 47 seconds.

The victory sparked a four-game winning streak by the Bulldogs to end the regular season that locked up Georgia’s first NCAA Tournament bid in a decade.

UGA and UF met in Gainesville on Jan. 25 last season, with the Gators securing an 89-59 victory.

Last Time Out

Jeremiah Wilkinson and Marcus “Smurf” Millender poured in season-high scoring tallies of 31 and 24 points, respectively, to lead No. 23 Georgia in a thrilling 104-100 overtime victory over Auburn at Stegeman Coliseum last Saturday.

The contest featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes, including the Tigers forcing overtime in improbable fashion. After trailing 92-88 with 5.2 seconds remaining, Keyshawn Hall was fouled with 0.7 seconds left. He made two free throws before purposely missing the third. Kevin Overton grabbed the rebound and knocked down a short jumper as time expired.

Auburn inched ahead early in the extra session before a pair of 3-pointers from Wilkinson pushed Georgia ahead for good.

“It [the game] kind of confirmed it [the team’s identity],” Mike White said. “Honestly, our team is really competitive. We’re very resilient. Jeremiah Wilkinson is extremely confident. Somto Cyril is an elite defensive player. We’ve got other pieces, other guys that continue to get better, like Smurf Millender. We’ve got a really strong bench. We’ve got great depth and play multiple guys, so a confirmation of all that.”

Bulldogs Match Second-Best Start Ever

Georgia’s 13-1 record equals the second-best start in the program’s 121 seasons competition.

The Bulldogs are still 10 victories away from their best beginning of 23-1 in 1930-31.

Cain Set To Join Free Throw Leaders Ledgers

With a few more takes at the charity stripe, Blue Cain will become one of the most successful Bulldogs ever at the free throw line.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia’s single-season free throw percentage leaders is 50 made attempts. Cain is currently 47-of-52 and his 90.4 conversion rate would be the second-best ever by a Bulldog.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia’s career free throw leaders percentage leaders is 125 made attempts. Cain is currently 123-of-148 and his 83.1 conversion rate would be the third-best ever by a Bulldog.

Somto Looks To Continue Surreal Stretch

It would be hard to choose which of the following facts about Somto Cyril’s last five outings is the most impressive:

• Producing four career-high scoring outputs.

• Grabbing the most rebounds by a Bulldog since 2020.

• Swatting a career-high six shots against Auburn.

• Shooting a combined 90.0 (27-of-30) percent from the field.

Cyril matched his career-most points with 13 against Cincinnati, upped that to 14 versus Western Carolina, inched up to 15 against West Georgia and matched that tally in the SEC opener versus Auburn.

Cyril hauled in 15 rebounds West Georgia, which not only represented a career high but also was the most by any Bulldog since Toumani Camara’s 17 boards against Montana on Dec. 2, 2020.

Cyril made the most of the overtime session versus Auburn, notching three of his career-high six blocks in those five minutes alone against the Tigers.

Cyril has been perfect from the field in four of those five contests, connecting on 6-of-6 field goals against Cincinnati, Western Carolina, West Georgia and Auburn. He was only 3-of-6 in the Bulldogs’ other contest in that span versus LIU.

Cyril’s is averaging 12.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.6 blocks over the last five games.

Wilkinson Putting Up Big Numbers For Bulldogs

Jeremiah Wilkinson recorded his first 30-point outing Georgia in the Bulldogs’ 104-100 win over Auburn. Big numbers have been a big part of the Powder Springs product’s game.

Wilkinson has six 20-point performances for Georgia in 14 outings this season.

Last season at Cal, he notched 10 20-point tallies and a pair of 30-point efforts for the Bears en route to winning ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors. Wilkinson’s 10 20-point games for Cal were the second most in program history by a freshman behind only Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Smurf’s Provides A Buffet Of Performances For Georgia

Marcus “Smurf” Millender’s season-high 24-point outing against Auburn is the main course of what has also featured from really strong side dish outings over the Bulldogs’ last nine contests.

After averaging 6.8 points in Georgia’s first five games, Millender is contributing 14.2 ppg in the Bulldogs’ last nine outings.

The stretch began in dramatic fashion, with Millender canning a game-winning 3-pointer against Xavier in the opening round of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic on Nov. 21. Millender has now put out double-digit scoring tallies in eight of nine games and distributed six or more assists in three of those contests. After shooting 26.2 percent (11-of-42) from the field and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range in the first five games, Millender is connecting on 56.4 percent of his field goals, including 50.0 percent of his 3s, thereafter.

Bulldogs Are Nation’s Top Offensive Team

Georgia entered this week ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense and fastbreak points. The Bulldogs are putting up 99.4 points per game, including 27.0 ppg on fastbreak opportunities.

In fact, the Bulldogs’ average of 99.0 ppg on January 1 was the highest by any Division I basketball team when on New Year’s Day in seven years . . . since The Citadel was putting up 99.1 ppg when the calendar flipped from 2018 to 2019.

Though bolstered by reaching 120 points twice, Georgia’s scoring has been consistent. In 28 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 26 times, with 11 50-point periods and three segments of 60 or more points.

Georgia played 102 games in Mike White‘s first three seasons in Athens. The Bulldogs reached 90 points nine times and 100 points twice. In 14 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in 10 outings and surpassed the century mark in a school-record seven contests.

Georgia Among Nation’s Top-5 In Seven Stats

Peruse the NCAA’s statistical leaders and you’ll find a multitude of categories featuring the Georgia Bulldogs at or near the top.

Entering this week, Georgia was ranked in the nation’s top-25 teams in 15 of the 28 stats the NCAA measures, including seven in the top 5 as outlined below.

Top-5 Stats
Statistic	Rk.	No.
Scoring Offense	1	99.4
Fastbreak Points	1	27.0
Blocks Per Game	1	8.0
FTs Made Per Game	2	22.3
FTAs Per Game	4	29.0
Scoring Margin	4	+25.4
Bench Points	4	41.3

The Bulldogs Are Streaking

Don’t look Ethel but Georgia is currently in the midst of several winning streaks, including:

• Seven consecutive games – beginning with Nov. 29 versus Tennessee Tech

• Five consecutive SEC regular-season games (a first since 2014-15) – Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt last season and Auburn this season

• Three consecutive road games – Texas and Vanderbilt last season and Florida State this season

• 12 consecutive home games – beginning with Feb. 25, 2025 against Florida

• 36 consecutive home non-conference games – beginning with Nov. 7, 2022 versus Western Carolina

Double-Digit Dogs’ Have Hit Double Figures

No less than 10 different Georgia Bulldogs recorded double-figure scoring outputs in the first five games of the season.

Those Bulldogs have now combined to produce 61 double-digit performances. Blue Cain leads that pack by scoring 10+ in each game, followed by Jeremiah Wilkinson with 12; Smurf Millender with nine; Somto Cyril with six; Jordan Ross with five: Kanon Catchings and Jake Wilkins with four each; Justin Bailey with three; and Dylan James and Kareem Stagg both with two.

Seven of the aforementioned Bulldogs scored in double digits against Morehead State on Nov. 9. That marked the first time seven Bulldogs hit the 10-point plateau in a single game since a 99-72 decision over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29, 1994 – a span of 979 contests.

Georgia Plays At One Of The Nation’s Quickest Paces

The Bulldogs average possession length on offense is 14.2 seconds, which according to KenPom.com was the second-fastest in the nation entering this week. The Bulldogs also ranked No. 2 by KenPom.com in “adjusted tempo” at 75.8 possessions per 40 minutes.

Dunkyard Dogs Leading The Nation In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia entered this week scoring a nation-leading 22.7 percent of its field goals this season on dunks – 110 of 472 the Bulldogs’ total FGs – as outlined below.

As of Monday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and ranked No. 2 nationally with 42 dunks followed by Kareem Stagg with 16; Jake Wilkins with 15; Jeremiah Wilkinson with nine; Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings with eight apiece; Justin Abson and with seven; and Dylan James with five.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	Georgia	22.7
2.	N. Carolina	20.0
3.	Indiana	17.5
	Duke	17.5
5.	Kentucky	17.3
6.	Louisville	16.9
7.	Arkansas	16.6
8.	Michigan	16.1
9.	Wake Forest	15.9
10.	Florida	15.7

Abson, Cyril Supply Top-25 Swatting Duo

With Georgia leading the nation in blocks per game entering this weekend, largely due to two Bulldogs also being among the top-25 shot swatters in the country.

As of Monday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and No. 5 nationally at 2.9 bpg and Justin Abson was at No. 3 in the league and No. 25 in the country at 2.2 bpg.

Georgia Rewriting Its Scoring Records

The Bulldogs produced two of their top-10 single-game scoring tallies ever this season.

Georgia’s 123 points against Tennessee Tech and 120 versus Morehead State rank No. 3 and No. 7 all-time in program history.

The Bulldogs topped the century mark a school-record seven times in their first 14 outings, besting the 1990-91 campaign’s five for the most 100-point performances.

Georgia topped the century mark back-to-back times twice this season, against Tennessee Tech and Florida State and then Western Carolina and West Georgia. By comparison, the Bulldogs posted consecutive 100-point outings just three times prior to this season – a span of 120 seasons and 1,926 games.

A “Stegtacular” Home Court Advantage

Georgia’s home court advantage? It’s real and it’s Stegtacular.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 51-13 (.797) home mark under Mike White and are a perfect 36-0 versus non-conference competition in Stegeman over his four seasons at UGA.

White’s success at Stegeman is not confined to his UGA tenure. He was 7-1 in Athens as a visiting head coach, leading Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and compiling a 6-1 mark at Florida. That makes White is a combined 58-14 (.805) as a head coach in Stegeman.

Georgia currently owns a 12-game winning streak at Stegeman that began with victories last season over No. 3 Florida on Feb. 25 and Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale.

After producing just eight double-digit home winning streaks in their first 117 seasons of basketball, the Bulldogs have produced four double-digit winning streaks at Stegeman during White’s four seasons alone.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

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