Rebels, Bulldogs look to put losses in rear-view mirror
Georgia faces Mississippi on Saturday in Athens in a matchup of two teams who are coming off lopsided losses and remain stuck near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings.
The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-6 SEC) were inept offensively in an 83-59 loss to South Carolina on Wednesday. Georgia shot 31.8% from the field, including 4-of-26 from 3-point distance, and committed 17 turnovers as it struggled to solve the Gamecocks’ zone defense.
“A lack of respect for our shooting,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said. “They didn’t come out and (guard) us at all. At the end of the day, we missed open shots and that’s a factor. Do we make shots in practices and in some games? Absolutely. But the bottom line is we’re not making them right now.”
South Carolina ended the first half on a 23-9 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break, which they stretched to 54-39 with 10:43 left. The Gamecocks led by 30 with 3:58 remaining.
Mississippi’s problems in Wednesday’s 74-59 loss at Arkansas stemmed from its inability to stop the Razorbacks. The Rebels (8-7, 3-5), who were coming off consecutive wins over Mississippi State and Texas A&M, held those teams to 46 and 50 points.
But they regressed against Arkansas, which shot 48.1% from the field, including 41.2% (7-of-7) from beyond the arc.
“Right now with our inability to generate points and having some guys that we thought were going to be able to score not doing so, we are struggling and I take full responsibility for that,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. “We have got to continue to work, but we have got to improve defensively because that is all we can hang our hats on.”
Ole Miss trailed Arkansas 37-25 at halftime and the Razorbacks put the game away by extending their advantage to 53-33 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Georgia and Ole Miss had no problem scoring against each other in their first meeting — a 78-74 win by the visiting Bulldogs on Jan. 16 in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Bulldogs were 9-of-15 from 3-point range to highlight a day in which they shot 58.7% from the field, including a blistering 75% (18-of24) in the second half. Tye Fagan made all nine of his shots from the field, which included a 3-pointer, to finish with a team-high 19 points.