Another blown lead looks familiar for Georgia basketball
A familiar feeling encompassed Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night as the final seconds ticked off the game clock.
Sophomore guard Jeremiah Wilkinson’s free throw had just extended Georgia’s lead over Ole Miss to four points with 48 seconds remaining, a usually comfortable margin that still had a sold-out arena feeling uneasy.
That’s because the Bulldogs experienced similar situations before, and they often ended poorly. They knew no lead was safe, a suspicion that came to fruition 48 seconds later when the buzzer signaling overtime sounded.
Georgia blew its lead against the Rebels and eventually lost to Ole Miss, 97-95.
“It’s unacceptable the way that we defended,” coach Mike White said. “Hopefully, leading into practice tomorrow, our mindset is better, and the defensive end is correct.”
The Bulldogs found themselves in a similar situation to begin conference play against Auburn, holding a four-point lead with five seconds left in regulation. An inopportune foul gave the Tigers a chance to regain the lead, which they did with near-perfect execution.
Georgia eventually won the game in overtime, but its problem remained — the Bulldogs struggle to finish games.
“The Auburn one we won, we were fortunate,” White said. “We’ve taken leads, too, from other teams. This one was back-and-forth. I think we both blew leads.”
Georgia’s closing struggles date to the 2025 season, when five of its 10 conference losses were in games in which they held the lead at halftime. This season, the Bulldogs trailed after the first half in all three of their losses but held a late lead — within the final 20 seconds — in one of them. The Bulldogs did not trail Ole Miss for most of the five-minute overtime period, falling behind only on the Rebels’ buzzer-beating jumper that gave them the upset victory.
There are instances of Georgia playing its best late in a game, such as its victory over South Carolina that ended with a 21-8 run from the Bulldogs.
However, its inconsistency with finishing games also led to losses, like the one it suffered against Ole Miss as a 10½-point favorite.
“Just staying poised,” Wilkinson said. “We had a couple of dumb fouls at the end, a couple of shots that we gave up. Couldn’t grab a rebound, it comes down to a lot of little things.”
It is unfair to expect Georgia, who was ranked No. 21 in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll, to display a perfect 40 minutes of basketball every time it takes the court. But there is a small margin of error in conference play, and every mistake made late in a game can turn fatal.
That will be heightened even more Saturday when the Bulldogs host No. 17 Arkansas.
“You would hope that they would embrace some type of collective frustration,” White said of moving on from the loss. “All of us should be frustrated.”
The Bulldogs, who possess a 14-3 record with a 2-2 mark in conference play, will need to play disciplined late in the game to beat an Arkansas team with wins over Tennessee, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
Or else a familiar feeling will return to Stegeman Coliseum.
About the Author
Olivia Sayer joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 as an intern on the sports beat. She is earning a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia with a minor in sport management and a sports media certificate. Olivia previously held the titles of digital and assistant sports editor at The Red & Black.
