The Georgia Bulldogs are playing basketball after the SEC tournament. And that’s a good thing. What’s even better is that they are scheduled for more hoops, after a nail-biting victory at Stegeman Coliseum Tuesday night.
Xavier came to Athens having lost in the 2nd round of the Big East tournament to conference champs and #1 NCAA seed UConn. The Musketeers finished the regular season 16-17, and 9-11 in conference. It was a similar story to the 2023-24 Bulldogs, in that they finished near the bottom of the conference but were competitive most of the season and wouldn’t go down without a fight. And both teams felt they had something prove, thus did not turn down an invitation to the OG post-season championship tournament.
Both teams were fairly solid in the first half with the occasional injection of jitters here and there. But Georgia felt more comfortable at home, and loosened up to play athletic ball and set the tempo as the first 20 minutes wound down. Led by Justin Hill’s 10 first half points, the Hoop Hounds sniffed out a few turnovers, forced several empty possessions and held the advantage. In a sign of what was to come, the last 2 minutes were a flurry of buckets and scores by the good guys and they built a 46-34 lead heading into the locker room.
And it continued after the break. Georgia maintained a double digit lead well into the 2nd period. But Xavier made the NIT for a reason, and they showed resilience as the defense stepped up and the offense came alive. The Cincinnatians quickly closed the gap, going on a 19-6 run midway through the final 10 minutes, and pulled within 2 scores with under 2 minutes left. Georgia was in the bonus but couldn’t take advantage, while Xavier used a full-court press, and forced the Bulldogs to turn it over on successive possessions to narrow the deficit to 2 points with under 5 ticks on the clock.
Xavier inbounded under their own basket and put up a good look from the paint. It would have been good except for Russel Tchewa, who was waiting. Timing it perfectly, Tchewa blocked the shot off the backboard with 1.9 seconds. Originally called a goaltend, the refs went to review for several minutes before ultimately reversing the call, taking the points off the board, but giving the ball to Xavier with those scant 1.9 seconds left. Another successful inbound for Xavier led to a contested and unsuccessful shot as the horn sounded, and the Bulldogs win.
Georgia now awaits Wednesday’s contest between Wake Forest and Appalachian State. The Bulldogs already defeated Wake Forest back in November in Athens, so there will be some confidence from Mike White’s squad. This is valuable court time for Georgia, as they continue to gel and and Coach White develops all the newcomers for next season. Ring the bell, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!