The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA BASKETBALL SEC SEEDING MAY IMPROVE IF DOGS CAN BEAT VOLS
UGA wants to avoid playing fifirst- round game Wednesday.
Georgia’s 61-60 loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday was a heartbreaker, but there were some signs of encouragement.
While it was probably the last time Bulldogs fans will see senior Yante Maten play at home, they did get a good opportunity to watch the kind of production freshman guard Teshaun Hightower is capable of.
In 22 minutes of play, Hightower had a breakout game, tallying season highs in points (11), rebounds (five) and assists (four). He was on the floor in clutch time, although a costly turnover at the 1:09 mark opened the door for the Aggies to escape with the SEC victory.
“He’s a really talented young player, andhe’s really torn up about the turnover,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said after the game. “It’s just a part of playing – sometimes you’re going to make some errors. And obviously it came at a critical time. But he’s a very gifted young player who continues to get better and he took a real step forward.”
For all the preseason conversations about Georgia’s returning talent— and Maten has more than done his part on behalf of the veterans, averaging a league-leading 19.5 points — the progress of the freshman class has been a bright spot in what has turned into a disappointing season.
“A lot of times we had three freshmen out there together,” Fox said. “And those guys are growing up.”
Besides Hightower, who has averaged 3.1 points in the 25 games in which he has appeared, rookies who made signifificant — if sporadic — contributions this winter included Rayshaun Hammonds (6.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Nicholas Claxton (3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg), which bodes well for the long term.
What is of a more immediate concern for Georgia (16-13, 7-10 SEC) is its 6 p.m. game today at No. 16 Tennessee (22-7, 12-5). Defeating the Volunteers in a soldout Thompson-Boling Arena isn’t out of the question, as the Bulldogs have a fivegame winning streak over Tennessee, and Georgia has toppled three Top 25 teams this season.
And it could help Georgia avoid a fifirst- round game Wednesday at next week’s SEC Tournament in St. Louis. And at this point, the only way the Bulldogs will make the NCAA Tournament is by winning the conference tournament.
In Georgia’s victory two weeks ago against Tennessee, the Bulldogs had fifive players score in double fifigures, got 29 points from its bench and shot 38 free throws (making 27) to the Volunteers’ 15 trips to the line. And in the much-anticipated battle of the big men, Maten fifinished with a game-high 19 points, while Tennessee’s Grant Williams fouled out late with just five points and four rebounds.