Georgia entered Saturday’s game with a plan for trying to contain Tennessee’s Josh Richardson. Never could the Bulldogs have imagined shutting him out.
They didn’t, but they came incredibly close to it. The SEC’s fourth-leading scorer managed to make a layup with 30.9 seconds remaining in the game, but nothing else. Not coincidentally, Georgia came away with a 56-53 victory.
Some of that had to do with Richardson having a bad night. Averaging 16.2 points per game, the 6-foot-6 senior was 1-for-13 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range.
But a lot of it had to do with Georgia’s defensive attention. Junior guard Kenny Gaines gets primary credit, but it was a focused team effort.
“He’s their leading scorer and a terrific player,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “I don’t know how many he ended up with, but we made a point to slow him. We trapped him off ball screens, but Kenny drew the majority of the assignment.”
Richardson ended up with the Volunteers’ last shot of the game, a desperation 3-pointer from the top of the key. He missed it left.
“At the end of the day, he’s a very good player and we run a lot of offense through him,” Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said. “And even though he didn’t finish tonight, most nights he finishes.”
Fox's 100th: Mark Fox downplayed the significance of Saturday's victory being his 100th as the Bulldogs' head coach. It's not about me; it's about Georgia." But put in the context of the Bulldogs' basketball history, it's no small accomplishment.
Fox became the fourth of 22 UGA basketball coaches to win 100 games. The other three were Herman J. Stegeman (170-78 from 1920-31), Harbin “Red” Lawson (112-241, 1952-65) and Hugh Durham (298-216, 1979-95).
Said Fox: “It’s about this school having a basketball program we all can be proud of. It’s great to have that win, but it pales in comparison with what we’re trying to do.”
Still shorthanded: While Georgia got back Thornton, it was forced to play again without Juwan Parker and Kenny Paul Geno. Parker, the Bulldogs' starting small forward, has been out seven games and missed most of the last eight with an Achilles tendon injury. Geno, his backup at small forward, missed his ninth consecutive game Saturday with a broken wrist.
Including other injuries the Bulldogs have incurred this season, Georgia players have recorded a total of 21 “DNPs” in its scorebook this season.
Etc.: Nemanja Djurisic recorded the 1,000th point of his career on a 3-pointer in the first half. He became the 44th player in school history to reach this milestone, and the first since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2013. The senior forward now has 1,002. … Georgia committed only 12 team fouls, tying for the lowest mark of the season (Norfolk State). The Bulldogs tied their season-worst mark of 20 turnovers (LSU). Not coicidentally, they attempted a season-low 38 field goals.
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