Georgia coach Mark Fox refused to answer any questions about No. 1 Kentucky before Saturday’s game against Missouri and he forbid his players from doing the same.
After the Bulldogs’ dispatched the rag-tag Tigers 68-44, Fox finally lifted the gag order.
“Kentucky’s got a great team, one of the great teams of all time,” said Fox, who will play host to the undefeated Wildcats (28-0, 15-0 SEC) at 9 p.m. Tuesday. “They’ve got a frontline that I think’s bigger than every NBA team, than maybe one. So, how do we get ready for Kentucky? I’ll call Bud (coach Mike Budenholzer) over there and see if we can scrimmage the Hawks tomorrow.”
No, as they were implored by former Georgia coach Hugh Durham when he spoke at their practice Friday night, the Bulldogs’ put their total focus on putting forth an intense defensive effort against Missouri early in the game. Apparently the players were listening, as they held the Tigers to 25 percent shooting in the opening half and built a 20-point lead in the process.
The victory came on a day when Durham and his 1990 SEC championship team were honored on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of that accomplishment. That remains Georgia’s only team to win a regular-season championship in men’s basketball.
Saturday’s win further enhances Georgia’s postseason resume. The Bulldogs, who came in with an RPI average in the low-30s, improve to 19-9 on the season and 10-6 in SEC.
“I was real pleased with how we started the game,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “I didn’t think he handled the situation great once we got a big lead. We kind of took our feet off the gas for a minute. But certainly at the end of the day it was a good win for Georgia.”
Missouri falls to 8-21 overall and, at 2-14 in SEC, is virtually assured of the No. 14 seed for the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Tigers play host to Auburn on Tuesday.
Georgia played in a manner that made both Durham and Fox proud. The Bulldogs dominated on defense, holding the Tigers to 28 percent shooting, and won the rebounding battle 47-30. Georgia led 41-23 at halftime and built that into a 28-point advantage in the second half.
“I think Georgia did a great job early of playing hard,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “That is one of their strengths. They got every loose ball, and every rebound that flew off they seemed to get. They got (19) offensive rebounds, and we didn’t react well to them and the way they played. That’s a compliment to them. I thought they played well from the very beginning.”
The Bulldogs played a decent offensive game, at least for 30 of the 40-minute contest. But they went cold midway through the second half. They came away empty on eight consecutive possessions and failed to score for 6:12 until Marcus Thornton broke the streak with a pair of free throws at the 6:31 mark. Georgia led by 26 points at the time.
“For me, for us, we just want to win,” said sophomore guard J.J. Frazier, who finished with 10 points and five assists.. “Coach always says, ‘an ugly girlfriend is still a girlfriend.’ So we’re just glad to win.”
Senior forward Nemanja Djurisic led the Bulldogs with 14 points and made two more 3-pointers. Cameron Forte came off the bench to add 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting as Georgia played a season-high 14 players.
“I knew I had to be a little more aggressive and make sure I did my part,” Djurisic said. “We were really focused and determined to do things that right way, do all the little things and make sure we protected our court.”
Even Juwan Parker, who has missed the past 11 games with an Achilles injury, got into the game and finished with one point and one assist. Five players had five or more rebounds.
