The Starting 5

• The Georgia Bulldogs will make their first-ever trip to Norman, Okla., on Saturday to face Oklahoma’s Sooners in just the fourth meeting in the series between the two programs.
• Saturday’s contest will be the third road outing over the last four weeks for the Bulldogs. In addition, Georgia’s last three weekend opponents were coming off of a mid-week open date.
• Georgia entered this weekend leading the nation in percentage of field goals that are dunks at 18.6 percent (151 of 694 FG). Somto Cyril paces the “Dunkyard Dawgs” with 63 rim-rattling finishes, which as of Friday ranked No. 3 nationally and was 24 more than any other SEC player.
• Kanon Catchings’ production has increased considerably over the last 10 games. He averaged 8.3 ppg in the first 14 games, but is contributing 14.9 ppg thereafter, including nine double-digit outings.
• After using the same starting five for 19 of the season’s first 22 outings, Georgia has used different lineups in each of its last three outings.

Keeping An Eye On…

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

Blue Cain is…

• 4 3-pointers from No. 16 Terrance Woodbury

• 12 3-pointers from No. 15 Jabri Abdur-Rahim

• 6 3-points attempts from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines

• 33 3-point attempts from No. 12 Ray Harrison

Somto Cyril is…

• 4 blocks from No. 11 Trey Thompkins

• 6 blocks from No. 10 Chris Daniels

• 7 blocks from No. 9 Marcus Thornton

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

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

Somto Cyril is…

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

The Opening Tip

Georgia makes its first-ever visit to the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday when the Bulldogs face Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Dogs and Sooners have only met three times previously, with two of those matchups coming last season following a 37-season gap between the initial contest between UGA and OU.

The Bulldogs are looking to continue their success on the road. Georgia is 4-2 in true road outings this season. That record was initiated with a 107-73 thumping of Florida State in the ACC/Challenge and has continued in league play with victories at South Carolina, Missouri and LSU.

Georgia’s statistical resume for the 2025-26 campaign is quite impressive.

As of Friday, the Bulldogs were ranked in the top 25 nationally in 9 of the 28 statistics tracked by the NCAA, including leading all 365 Division I programs in fastbreak points (22.3 ppg) and blocks (6.7 bpg).

Georgia has a deep 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. 7 nationally in adjusted tempo (73.0) and No. 8 in average offensive possession length (15.0).

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 99 double-figure scoring outputs this season.

Jeremiah Wilkinson is averaging a team-high 17.1 ppg, while Blue Cain is contributing 13.4 ppg, Marcus “Smurf” Millender is chipping in 11.8 ppg and Kanon Catchings is adding 11.2 ppg.

Scouting The Sooners

Oklahoma returns to action on Saturday following an open date the Sooners might not have wanted. Last Saturday, Oklahoma snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 92-91 upset of No. 15 Vanderbilt in Nashville.

The Sooners are now 12-12 overall and 2-9 in league play.

Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack supply OU with a potent 1-2 scoring punch, averaging 16.6 ppg and 15.9 ppg, respectively. Two more Sooners are scoring at double-digit clips – Tae Davis at 12.7 ppg and Derrion Reid at 11.8 ppg.

Series History With Oklahoma

Oklahoma owns a slim 2-1 advantage in the brief series history between the Bulldogs and the Sooners. UGA and OU split two matchups last season, their first meetings in 37 seasons.

Oklahoma eked out an 81-75 victory in the most recent matchup on March 12 in the opening round of last season’s SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Current Atlanta Hawk Asa Newell scored 21 points and added a season-high 17 rebounds – the most by a Bulldog in a single game since current Portland Trail Blazer Toumani Camara’s 17 against Montana in Dec. 2020 – to garner his seventh double-double. Newell went on to be the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The back-and-forth affair featured no less than six ties and 10 lead changes. After Georgia equaled its largest advantage of the night at 64-58 on a Blue Cain 3-pointer with 8:26 remaining, Oklahoma answered with a 14-0 surge to take the lead for good.

Two months and one day earlier on Jan. 11 in Athens, Dakota Leffew and Newell each scored a team-high 15 points to lead Georgia in a 72-62 win over No. 17/16 Oklahoma before a raucous sold-out Stegeman Coliseum crowd.

A Justin Abson hook shot put the Bulldogs up 51-50 with 10:36 remaining and ignited a 9-2 surge by Georgia, which then led for the rest of the evening.

With the win, the Bulldogs garnered back-to-back victories over ranked foes for the first time since January 2007. Georgia also defeated No. 6/7 Kentucky, 82-69, the previous Tuesday.

Oklahoma won the initial meeting between the Bulldogs and the Sooners, a 93-90 decision on Christmas Day 1987 at the Chaminade Christmas Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The No. 12-ranked Sooners improved to 10-0 led by 30- and 26-point performances from Mookie Blaylock and Harvey Grant, respectively. Toney Mack poured in 32 points to lead Georgia, while Alec Kessler added a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Last Time Out

Blue Cain’s double-double of 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds led Georgia in an 86-66 setback to No. 14 Florida on Wednesday night.

Freshman Kareem Stagg, who scored six points in the Bulldogs’ first 10 league games, notched nine points against the Gators.

“I thought that was the biggest positive,” head coach Mike White said. “Kareem Stagg was good. He showed what the potential ceiling he’s got. He’s got some skill level, some talent, but the biggest positive.”

After Consistent Nods, Dogs Shuffle Starting Lineup

Georgia’s starting five was extremely consistent . . . for the first 22 games of the season.

During that span, the quintet of Blue Cain, Somto Cyril, Jordan Ross, Jeremiah Wilkinson and Kanon Catchings was only interrupted for three games.

The Bulldogs have sent different lineups for the opening tip of the last three games. After using the aforementioned set of starters against Texas A&M, Justin Abson got his first career start at a Bulldog at LSU. He replaced Cyril, who missed practice most of the week with an illness. Dylan James got the nod against Florida when Jeremiah Wilkinson was a DNP with a slight injury.

Georgia Putting Up Points At A Record-Breaking Pace

The Bulldogs are well on their way to shattering the program’s all-time scoring record.

Georgia is currently averaging 90.8 points per game 24 contests into the campaign, an extremely healthy 8.1 ppg better than the Bulldogs’ current best-ever effort of 82.7 ppg en route to winning the 1990 SEC Championship.

Those Bulldogs scored 2,399 points over 29 games. By comparison, Georgia has already scored 2,180 points this season.

Dunkyard Dawgs Lead The Nation In Slams

According to BartTorvik.com, Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 1 the nation in percentage of its field goals this season on dunks at 18.6 – 161 of 749 the Bulldogs’ total FGs – as outlined below.

Somto Cyril’s 63 dunks ranked No. 3 nationally and led all SEC players by a wide gap of 24 slams. Kareem Stagg was second among Bulldogs with 19 dunks; followed by Jake Wilkins with 17; Kanon Catchings and Jeremiah Wilkinson both with 12; Justin Abson with 11; Blue Cain with 10; and Dylan James with seven.

Dunking It
Rank	Team	Pct.
1.	Georgia	18.6
2.	N. Carolina	17.8
3.	Arkansas	16.2
	Florida	16.2
5.	Duke	16.1
6.	Kansas	15.6
7.	Michigan	15.5
8.	Indiana	15.1
9.	Kentucky	14.9
10.	Providence	14.5

Bulldogs Among Nation’s Top Scoring Teams In Several Ways

Georgia entered this weekend ranked No. 6 in D-I in scoring offense at 90.8 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 (22.3 ppg) and are No. 1 free throws made (19.3 ppg). That equates to roughly 45.8 percent (41.6 of 90.8 ppg) of Georgia’s offensive output.

Georgia’s scoring has been consistent.

In 48 halves of hoops, the Bulldogs scored 40 or more points 37 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 24 games this season, Georgia has topped 90 points in 12 outings and surpassed the century mark in a school-record seven contests.

Abson, Cyril Supply Top Shot-Swatting Duo

Georgia is leading the nation in blocks per game entering this weekend at 6.7 swats per contest, largely due to two Bulldogs also being among the shot swatters in the country.

As of Friday, Somto Cyril led the SEC and was No. 8 nationally at 2.6 bpg and Justin Abson was at No. 3 in the league and No. 46 in the country at 1.8 bpg.

This is the third time in his career Abson has been a top-50 shot swatter. In his two seasons at Appalachian State before transferring to Georgia, he ranked No. 5 (2.8 bpg) nationally as a sophomore and No. 19 (2.2 bpg) as a freshman.

Kanon Takes Off In SEC Outings

Kanon Catchings’ production has increased dramatically over the last 10 games.

After averaging 8.3 points while shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from 3-point range in the first 14 games of the season, Catchings has upped each effort to 14.9 ppg, 45.6 FG pct. (52-of-114) and 45.9 3FG pct. (26-of-61) in the 10 most recent contests.

The sophomore from Brownsburg, Ind., notched four double-figure scoring tallies in the first 14 games before recording nine double-digit point performances his last 10 outings, including a pair of 20-point tallies.

Somto Surging On Blocks Ledgers

Somto Cyril, who was named to the 2026 Naismith Men’s College Defensive Player of the Year Watch List the Atlanta Tipoff Club in January, 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 24 contests this season, the Enugu, Nigeria native has already blocked 62 shots. That’s the No. 7 season mark by a Bulldog and 32 off the school record.

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

Cyril’s 113 total rejections rank No. 12 among Georgia’s career leaders, six 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 well over 100 spots better in each stat – No. 142 in assists (14.6 apg) and No. 118 in assist-to-turnovers (1.31).

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 206 passes-to-points while committing just 106 turnovers – equating to 8.6 apg and a stellar ratio of 1.94 assists-to-TOs.

Resilient Dogs Rally From Double-Digit Deficits

Georgia certainly didn’t look like it was headed to a double-figure victory at LSU when the Bulldogs trailed by 15 points just after the midway point of the first half in Baton Rouge.

After falling behind 31-16, Georgia outscored the Tigers 67-40 the rest of the way.

That marked the fourth game this season the Bulldogs overcame a double-digit gap en route to a win, also doing so against Cincinnati, LIU and South Carolina. In two more outings – Clemson and Ole Miss – UGA recovered from 10+-point deficits to lead before eventually losing in overtime.

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 99 double-digit performances.

Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson lead that pack with 19 each, followed by; Smurf Millender with 16; Kanon Catchings with 13; Somto Cyril with 11; Jordan Ross with seven; Jake Wilkins with five; Dylan James with four; Justin Bailey with three; and Kareem Stagg 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.

Smurf’s Game Gets Bigger

After a slow start early in the season, Marcus “Smurf” Millender has nearly doubled his production and shooting efficiency over the last 19 games.

After averaging 6.8 points in Georgia’s first five games, Millender is contributing 13.2 ppg in the Bulldogs’ last 19 outings. He connected on just 26.2 percent (11-of-42) overall and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range in the first five games, but has upped those tallies o 51.2 percent (87-of-170) overall and 42.0 percent (37-of-88) on 3-pointers thereafter.

Millender has now put up double-digit scoring tallies in 14 of 19 games and distributed five or more assists in six of those 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 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 at Texas on Jan. 24.

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 also are on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season.

Cain and Wilkinson have scored 913 and 878 points, respectively. At their current averages, both Bulldogs would reach 1,000 points this season. Cain would become the first player to score 1,000 points exclusively for Georgia since Yante Maten reached that plateau on Jan. 4, 2017.

Cain Joins UGA’s Free Throw Leaders

Blue Cain has met the minimums to be included in Georgia’s single-season and career leaders in free throw percentage. He enters the LSU game ranked No. 3 in both season and career success rate among all Bulldogs.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia’s single-season free throw percentage leaders is 50 made attempts, which Cain reached with two makes at South Carolina on Jan. 19. Cain is currently 59-of-66 and his 89.4 conversion rate is the third-best ever by a Bulldog.

The minimum to qualify for Georgia’s career free throw leaders percentage leaders is 125 made attempts, which Cain achieved with two free throws at Florida on Jan. 6. Cain is now 135-of-162 and his 83.3 conversion rate is now the fifth-best ever by a Bulldog.

Dogs Play School-Record Fourth OT Outing

Georgia’s overtime setback to Tennessee on Jan. 27 was its fourth 45-minute contest this season.

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.

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