The Starting 5

• Georgia wraps up a two-game homestand by hosting league-leading Texas A&M at Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. matinee matchup.
• The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back from an 86-85 overtime loss to Tennessee on Wednesday, Georgia’s school-record fourth OT contest of the 2025-26 season.
• Georgia is 52-15 (.776) at Stegeman Coliseum under Mike White. White was 7-1 as a head coach in Stegeman before arriving at UGA, making him an even more impressive 59-16 (.787) in the arena.
• Georgia is No. 2 nationally in scoring (93.0 ppg) and is producing 46.5 percent (43.2 ppg) of its scoring either in a hurry – No. 1 in fastbreak points (22.6 ppg) – or standing still – No. 3 in FT makes (20.6 ppg).
• Somto Cyril joined Georgia’s top-10 single-season leaders in blocks at Texas. The sophomore from Enugu, Nigeria now as 60 rejections this season, 34 shy of Charles Claxton’s record of 94 in 1994-95.

Keeping An Eye On…

Entering Today’s Game – Among UGA’s Career Leaders

Blue Cain is…

• 1 3-pointers from No. 18 Rashad Wright

• 5 3-pointers from No. 17 Turtle Jackson

• 5 3-point attempts from No. 18 Ty Wilson

• 9 3-point attempts from No. 17 Terrance Woodbury

• 9 3-point attempts from No. 16 Jody Patton

Somto Cyril is…

• 6 blocks from No. 11 Trey Thompkins

• 8 blocks from No. 10 Chris Daniels

• 9 blocks from No. 9 Marcus Thornton

• 12 blocks from co-No. 7 Willie Anderson and Nicolas Clayton

Entering Today’s Game – Among UGA’s Season Leaders

Somto Cyril is…

• 1 blocks from No. 7 Yante Maten (’16)

• 16 blocks from No. 6 Lavon Mercer (’80)

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs return to action on Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum when they entertain SEC-leading Texas A&M at 1:00 p.m.

Georgia will attempt to snap its first two-game losing skid of the 2025-26 season. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs dropped an 86-85 overtime decision to Tennessee, which was Georgia’s school-record fourth OT contest this season.

The Bulldogs and Aggies are two of the college basketball’s most prolific offenses this season. Georgia ranks second nationally in scoring (93.0 ppg), while Texas A&M is No. 7 (91.8 ppg).

Georgia’s statistical data for the 2025-26 campaign has been incredibly impressive.

As of Friday, the Bulldogs were ranked in the top 25 nationally in 10 of the 28 statistics tracked by the NCAA, including leading all 365 Division I programs in fastbreak points (22.6 ppg) and blocks (7.2 bpg).

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

Eleven Bulldogs are averaging double-figure minutes, and according to the oft-used metric KenPom.com, Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 6 nationally in adjusted tempo (73.3) and No. 7 in average offensive possession length (14.9).

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 86 double-figure scoring outputs this season.

Jeremiah Wilkinson is averaging a team-high 17.1 ppg, while Blue Cain is contributing 13.3 ppg, Marcus “Smurf” Millender is chipping in 12.0 ppg and Kanon Catchings is adding 10.5 ppg.

Somto Cyril also is knocking on the double-digit door at 9.6 ppg. He leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (6.1 rpg), blocks (2.9 bpg) and field goal percentage (.765).

Scouting The Aggies

Texas A&M sits atop the SEC standings entering this weekend with a 6-1 league record. The Aggies are 16-4 overall under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan.

Texas A&M sports a quintet of active double-digit scorers. Rashaun Agee leads the Aggies in both scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.7).

In addition, Ruben Dominguez adds 12.9 ppg, Rylan Griffen chips in 11.6 ppg, Pop Isaacs contributes 10.4 ppg and Marcus Hill rounds out the group at 10.1 ppg. Mackenzie Mgbako was averaging 10.4 ppg during seven games played for Texas A&M before suffering a season-ending foot injury.

Series History With A&M

Texas A&M owns a 10-5 edge in all-time matchups between the Bulldogs and the Aggies.

No. 8 Texas A&M rallied to defeat Georgia, 69-53, after a hot start by the Bulldogs last season on Feb. 11 in College Station. The Bulldogs led for 24:30 of the contest and by as much as 11 on three occasions, lastly at 34-23 with 19:31 left in the game, before the Aggies notched the victory.

The contest came in a brutal stretch where Georgia played 10 top-25 teams in a 13-game span, including six outings versus top-10 foes.

In A&M’s last trip to Stegeman Coliseum two seasons ago on March 2, 2024, freshman Blue Cain scored a team-high 11 points in a 70-56 setback to the Aggies.

Georgia trailed 60-56 following Cain’s floating jumper with 6:35 remaining before the Aggies closed out the day on a 10-0 surge.

Last Time Out

Kanon Catchings scored a season-high 22 points; however, Tennessee rallied for an 86-85 overtime win over Georgia on Wednesday.

Catchings, whose aunt Tamika is one of Tennessee’s greatest women’s players ever, scored 14 first-half points to help the Bulldogs to a 34-28 halftime advantage, but the Vols surged thereafter.

“I thought we played really hard,” head coach Mike White said. “It’s a really tough loss for our guys. We’ve had a couple losses where I’ve used effort, and I’ve used intensity and lulls, and I’ve had that type of language. Just openly with you guys, specifically our last game in the second half, just defensively was horrendous. I thought we fought today, really fought, proud of the effort.”

Bulldogs Play School-Record Fourth Overtime Outing

Georgia’s overtime setback to Tennessee was the Bulldogs’ fourth contest this season that has been extended by five minutes to determine the outcome.

That ties Georgia’s record for most OT games in a season. The Bulldogs have played four overtime outings eight different times, most recently in 2012-13. The other seasons were 2010-11, 1998-99, 1986-87, 1983-84, 1876-77 and 1959-60.

Georgia is 1-3 in overtime this season, defeating Auburn and falling to Clemson, Ole Miss and the Volunteers. The Bulldogs are now 61-82 all-time in games going to OT.

Dunkyard Dawgs Leading The Nation In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia entered this weekend leading the nation in percentage of its field goals this season on dunks at 19.4 – 136 of 663 the Bulldogs’ total FGs – as outlined below.

Somto Cyril’s 56 dunks ranked No. 2 nationally and led all SEC players by a wide gap of 21 slams. Kareem Stagg was second among Bulldogs with 18 dunks; followed by Jake Wilkins with 16; Justin Abson and Jeremiah Wilkinson both with 11; Kanon Catchings with 10; Blue Cain with nine; and Dylan James with five.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	Georgia	19.4
2.	N. Carolina	19.3
3.	Arkansas	17.0
4.	Duke	16.2
5.	Indiana	15.6
6.	Kentucky	15.5
7.	Florida	15.4
8.	Kansas	15.3
9.	Providence	14.8
	Wake Forest	14.8

A “Stegtacular” Home Court Advantage

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

The Bulldogs are 11-2 this season and have compiled a 52-15 (.776) home mark under Mike White, including 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 and compiling a 6-1 mark at Florida. That makes White is a combined 59-16 (.787) as a head coach in Stegeman.

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.

Bulldogs Among Nation’s Top Offensive Teams

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 2 in D-I in scoring offense at 93.0 points per game.

Much of Georgia’s production has come either in a hurry or while standing still. The Bulldogs lead the country in fastbreak points (22.6 ppg) and are No. 3 free throws made (20.6 ppg). That equates to roughly 46.5 percent (43.2 of 93.0 ppg) of Georgia’s offensive output.

Georgia’s scoring has been consistent. In 42 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 34 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 21 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in 12 outings and surpassed the century mark in a school-record seven contests.

Georgia Among Nation’s Top-10 In Six Stats

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

As of Friday, Georgia was ranked in the nation’s top-25 teams in 10 of the 28 stats the NCAA measures, including six in the top 10 as outlined below.

Top-10 Stats
Statistic	Rk.	No.
Fastbreak Points	1	22.6
Blocks Per Game	1	7.2
Scoring Offense	2	93.0
FTs Made Per Game	3	20.5
FTAs Per Game	7	27.3
Bench Points	8	36.0

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 86 double-digit performances. Jeremiah Wilkinson leads that pack with 17, followed by Blue Cain with 16; Smurf Millender with 14; Kanon Catchings with 10; Somto Cyril with nine; Jordan Ross with seven; Jake Wilkins with five; Justin Bailey and Dylan James with three; 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.

Somto Surging On UGA Swatting Ledgers

Sophomore Somto Cyril is quickly climbing on Georgia’s single-season and career leaders lists for blocked shots.

In 33 games last season, Cyril swatted 51 shots, which was then the 11th-best tally ever by a Bulldog and the second-most by a Georgia freshman.

In 21 contests this season, the Enugu, Nigeria native has already blocked 60 shots. That’s the No. 8 season mark by a Bulldog.

Cyril’s numbers are bolstered two career-high outputs in SEC play – six swats against Auburn and an eight-block outing versus Arkansas.

Cyril’s 111 rejections over two seasons already ranks No. 12 among Georgia’s career leaders, just eight shy of the top-10.

Dogs’ Dishing, Ball Control Considerably Better

Mike White has called the 2025-26 Bulldogs one of the better passing teams he’s coached.

A year ago, the Bulldogs ranked No. 262 nationally in assists per game at 12.5 and No. 298 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.96. This season, Georgia entered this weekend a much improved No. 133 in assists (14.9 apg) and No. 113 in assist-to-turnovers (1.33).

A large part of that is the performance of the four guards Georgia added via the transfer portal during the offseason – Justin Bailey, Marcus “Smurf” Millender, Jordan Ross and Jeremiah Wilkinson. That quartet has delivered a combined 180 passes-to-points while committing just 95 turnovers – equating to 8.6 apg and a stellar ratio of 1.89 assists-to-TOs.

Millender Tops Millennium Mark; More Dogs Approaching 1,000

Houston native Marcus “Smurf” Millender reached 1,000 career points with approximately 30 family and friends on hand for his return to the Lone Star State. Millender ascended to the millennium mark with a 3-pointer from the right wing with 15:22 left in the game at Texas.

Millender scored his 1000 points at three different schools, with 309 as a freshman at South Alabama, 461 as a sophomore at UT San Antonio and 230 in his junior campaign as a Bulldog.

Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson all are on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season.

Cain and Wilkinson have scored 872 and 843 points, respectively. At their current scoring averages, both Bulldogs would reach 1,000 points in 10 games (March 7 at Mississippi State).

Cain would become the first player to score 1,000 points exclusively for Georgia since Yante Maten reached that plateau on Jan. 4, 2017.

Kanon Takes Off In SEC Outings

Kanon Catchings’ production has increased dramatically over the last seven games.

After averaging 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 38.8 from the field and 24.2 from 3-point range in the first 14 games of the season, Catchings has upped each effort to 14.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 46.1 FG pct. (35-of-76) and 41.9 3FG pct. (18-of-43) in the seven most recent contests.

The sophomore from Brownsburg, Ind., notched four double-figure scoring tallies in the first 14 games before recording six double-digit point performances his last seven outings.

Smurf’s Game Gets Bigger In Last 16 Outings

Marcus “Smurf” Millender’s season-high 24-point outing against Auburn in the SEC opener headlines a strong series of performances over the Bulldogs’ last 16 contests.

The stretch includes two dramatic game winners. Millender canned a clutch 3-pointer with 11 seconds left against Xavier in the opening round of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic on Nov. 21 and converted a three-point play with 5.5 seconds left at Missouri on Jan. 20.

Millender has now put out double-digit scoring tallies in 13 of 16 games and distributed six or more assists in four of those contests. After averaging 6.8 points in Georgia’s first five games, he is contributing 13.6 ppg in the Bulldogs’ last 16 outings.

Millender’s efficiency from the field also has increased dramatically. 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 has connected on 53.3 percent (73-of-137) of his field goals, including 45.8 percent (33-of-72) of his 3s, thereafter.

Wilkinson Putting Up Big Numbers For Bulldogs

Jeremiah Wilkinson leads Georgia with eight 20-point outputs this season, including a pair of 30-point performances.

Wilkinson has three 20-point tallies in SEC play, popping for 31 against Auburn; putting up 32 versus Ole Miss, the single-game high of any Bulldog this season; and scoring 20 against Arkansas.

Big numbers have been a big part of the Powder Springs product’s game.

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.

Abson, Cyril Supply Top Shot-Swatting Duo

Georgia is 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 Friday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and was No. 2 nationally at 2.9 bpg and Justin Abson was at No. 3 in the league and No. 24 in the country at 2.1 bpg.

This is the third time in his career Abson has been a top-25 shot swatter. Nationally In his two seasons at Appalachian State before transferring to Georgia, he ranked No. 5 (2.8 bpg) as a sophomore and No. 19 (2.2 bpg) as a freshman.

Georgia entered this week ranked No. 3 nationally in defensive blocks percentage according to KenPom.com, swatting away 16.5 percent of the opponents’ shots from the field.

White Quickly Takes Losing Teams To The Top 25

When the Bulldogs climbed into the polls last January, it represented the third program Mike White took from a losing record the season prior to his arrival to a top-25 ranking in less than three years.

Georgia was 6-26 in 2021-22 and joined both editions of the Jan. 20, 2025, polls after improving to 14-4 with wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma.

White took less than two seasons to earn a top-25 ranking at his previous two head coaching stops. Louisiana Tech was in 12-20 in 2010-11 before White had those Bulldogs ranked No. 25 in 2013. Florida, 16-17 in 2014-15, topped out at No. 12 during the Gators’ 2017 “Elite Eight” campaign during White’s second season.

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