Georgia basketball too ‘emotional’ in loss to Texas

As Athens braced for intense winter weather, Georgia basketball experienced a chill of its own.

The Bulldogs’ offense ran cold Saturday afternoon against Texas, falling to the Longhorns 87-67 in the Moody Center. Georgia only made nine of its 24 field goal attempts in the second half, as Texas outscored the Bulldogs by 27 points.

Coach Mike White claimed the 21st-ranked Bulldogs let the rowdy road atmosphere overwhelm them.

“I just thought we got emotional because of the lack of stops,” White said. “We just got out of character with executing our system and with shot selection.”

Georgia lived up to its 16-4 record — tied for the second-most wins in the conference — during the first half, playing well enough to hold a seven-point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs’ poise vanished after the break, with Texas outscoring them, 57-30.

Georgia showed desperation in the second half, shooting 37.5% from the field — a number representative of its poor shot selection.

“Took a few hero shots,” White said. “You can’t win on the road in the SEC doing that.”

Georgia’s trip to Texas was not its first time playing on the road this season. The Bulldogs previously earned victories at Florida State, South Carolina and Missouri — who post a combined record of 33-27 — while falling to Florida.

It wasn’t even Georgia’s first time becoming overwhelmed by a hostile road crowd. The Bulldogs’ loss to Florida included an ejection of sophomore center Somto Cyril, who White said “lost control of his emotions.”

However, they still let the game unravel, receiving their biggest loss — in terms of points — of the season.

Georgia’s next two matchups will take place in Stegeman Coliseum, but it has plenty of road trips left. The Bulldogs will travel to LSU, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, a slate that includes two of the SEC’s top five teams for attendance in conference games.

“You prepare for it more before your next road game,” White said. “It got loud in here a couple times, but I thought it had to do more with the way Texas was having their way with us on the offensive glass and the way they defended against us. We just didn’t do a very good job of maintaining that composure.”