Georgia basketball’s shooting struggles continue in victory over Florida A&M

Those in Stegeman Coliseum lifted their hands as the basketball fell through the net.

Some sarcastically cheered, while others jumped in celebration, but all felt the wave of relief exit the arena as Georgia basketball finally made another 3-point shot.

The Bulldogs handled Florida A&M on Monday night with an 87-57 victory, but a familiar concern arose from the win — Georgia’s 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs shot 7.7% from beyond the arc, their lowest mark since shooting 5% during a January 2019 loss to Tennessee.

“I know we shoot better than this, and we will,” coach Mike White said. “Those are some things that we have to overcome.”

Georgia’s first 3-point make came from Justin Bailey with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Jeremiah Wilkinson made its second, and final, one with around three minutes left in the game.

The Bulldogs missed the rest of the 24 attempts they took.

“Just like everything else, there’s highs and lows, there’s ups and downs,” said Dylan James, who finished 0-of-2 from beyond the arc. “If we just keep our confidence high and stay consistent in the gym, I think they’re gonna fall.”

Georgia continues to claim it is a good perimeter shooting team — and in its defense, it’s bad optics to say otherwise — but the statistics are beginning to trend in the other direction.

The Bulldogs shot 26% on 3-pointers across five games, with a 24.8% if including their two exhibition outings against Georgia State and Troy. Georgia also made less than 34% of its 3-point attempts — the SEC average, as of Monday afternoon — in four of its five contests.

“I think teams that press and teams that play really fast often shoot better — it takes them a little time to find that groove from 3,” White said. “They shoot better in the second half of the season … I know we shoot better than this. I see it every day.”

With a struggling 3-point attack, the Bulldogs have found other ways to survive. They entered their game against Florida A&M with 25.5% of their field goals coming on dunks, the highest percentage of any team in the country. Georgia has also thrived in the fast break, ranking first in college basketball in that category.

However, a lack of perimeter shooting will eventually catch up with the Bulldogs.

Georgia plays in the SEC, where eight of the 16 teams average at least 90 points per game. The conference also consists of five programs with field goal percentages above 50% and 12 who make more than 30% of their 3-point attempts.

“Just more reps,” Jake Wilkins said of having good 3-point shots in practice translate into the games. “I’m not really worried about — my confidence will never go down.”

A lack of success from beyond the arc has not tainted Georgia’s confidence. The Bulldogs attempted the second-most 3-pointers per game in the conference before their matchup against Florida A&M — with an average of 35.4 attempts — and they tried 26 more against the Rattlers.

However, the shots have yet to consistently fall the way Georgia expects them to.

One positive from Georgia’s victory over Florida A&M — that extended its record to a perfect 5-0 — was its defense. The Bulldogs have allowed fewer than 63 points per game, which would rank third in the SEC before Monday night.