KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No sense dipping their toes into SEC play. The Georgia Bulldogs dove right into the deep end with an opening trip to Rocky Top to face No. 3-ranked Tennessee.
Then nearly drowned.
The Bulldogs were down 29 points by halftime and it’d only get worse from there. Tennessee finally threw Georgia a life preserver late in the second half and let the Bulldogs leave sold-out Thompson-Boling dragging a 96-50 loss.
With the defeat, the Bulldogs dropped to 8-5 on the season and 0-1 in SEC play. They’ll try to get back in the win column when Vanderbilt visits Stegeman Coliseum Wednesday night at 6:30 (TV: SEC Network; radio WSB 750-AM & 95.5 FM).
The defending SEC champion Vols (12-1, 1-0) looked like they could repeat. With the game billed as a matchup between Tennessee’s star forwards Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield and Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton and Rayshaun Hammonds, it was no contest. Williams and Schofield combined for 36 points to 6 for the Claxton-Hammonds combo.
Georgia’s biggest problem, however, was Tennessee junior guard Jordan Bowden, who finished with 20 points. Derek Ogbeide led the Bulldogs with 17 points.
The referees didn’t make Georgia’s task any easier. The Bulldogs’ interior players simply weren’t allowed to defend, or just couldn’t without fouling. Ogbeide had two fouls in the game’s first minute and Claxton and Hammonds were whistled for a combined six fouls in the first half. That included four for Claxton, who left the floor with 4:01 remaining before halftime and did not to return until well in the second half.
By then, the game was ridiculously out of hand. At 10:47 mark of the second half, the Vols’ lead swelled to 43 points on a Schofield jump shot. It was about that time that Tennessee coach Rick Barnes began to liberally mix in some bench players. But Schofield, Williams and other starters remained on the court well after that.
It wasn’t until the 6:06 mark when Tennessee led 84-36 that Barnes sat his star players. Oddly enough, Barnes had complained recently about his front-line players playing too many minutes.
Ogbeide finished as Georgia’s only player to score in double figures. His 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting was just one point shy of his career high.
Compounding Georgia’s issues was an early injury to sophomore guard Teshaun Hightower, who appeared to sprain his right ankle during fastbreak at the 14:17 mark. Hightower returned and was able to finish the game.
