Georgia coach Tom Crean will take his fourth stab at notching his 400th career victory when the Bulldogs host the Wofford Terriers in a nonconference game on Sunday in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (2-4) are coming off a 78-62 loss to Northwestern in the third-place game of the Romans Legends Classic on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J. The defeat followed a 65-55 setback to Virginia in the event’s opener and extended the Bulldogs’ losing streak to three games. Georgia lost to Georgia Tech 88-78 on Nov. 19.
Against Northwestern, Georgia shot an abysmal 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from the field in the first half, including going 1-for-12 from 3-point range en route to trailing by 20 points at the half. For the game, Bulldogs shot 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) from the field, including 20.8 percent (5-for-24) from 3-point range, committed 14 turnovers and were outrebounded 38-34.
“We never overcame our own adversities and circumstances in the first half,” Crean said. “In the second half, we sucked it up and we went — but in the first half, we never overcame it and put ourselves in a hole. (Northwestern) is too good of a shooting team, too good of a free throw-shooting team and too good of a passing team to do that.”
Crean, who is in his fourth season at Georgia after spending nine at Indiana (2008-2017) and nine at Marquette (1999-2008), has a career mark of 399-284. But he’s 43-53, good for a winning percentage of .448, with the Bulldogs after going 166-135 (.551) with the Hoosiers and 190-96 (.664) at Marquette.
Aaron Cook leads Georgia with 7.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game to go along with a 12.3 scoring average that’s second behind Braelen Bridges’ 13.8. Jailyn Ingram averages 10.2 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game.
Wofford (4-2) is coming off an 85-74 loss at South Carolina on Tuesday that snapped the Terriers’ three-game winning streak. The Terriers tied the game at 50 on Morgan Safford’s 3-pointer with 14:45 remaining, but South Carolina went on a 10-0 run and never looked back.
“In crucial segments, it felt like we were just pressed and trying a little too hard to make the home run plays instead of embracing pressure, letting them get all jumpy, play off two feet, do what we do and knock those shots down,” Wofford coach Jay McAuley said. “As those shots continued to not go down, the rim got a little smaller, and that affected our connectivity on the defensive end.”
Max Klesmit averages a team-high 16.3 points per game, while B.J. Mack averages 12 points and Ryan Larson adds 11.2 points and a team-high 4.3 assists per game. Isaiah Bigelow averages 8.0 points to go along with a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
