TAMPA — Everybody wanted to ask Tom Crean about his future Tuesday. All Georgia’s beleaguered basketball coach wanted to talk about was the present.
At the moment, that’s all about the Bulldogs’ SEC Tournament first-round matchup against Vanderbilt at Amalie Arena. They’ll face off in Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Commodores have defeated Georgia twice this season, and a third time will mean an end to the season for the Bulldogs.
“I’m really locked in on Vanderbilt and what we need to do there and what we could do if we advanced from that,” Crean said during a video conference call before the Bulldogs traveled to Tampa. “That’s really where my mind has been. Where we can get better from each game, what we try to improve on, what we try to make up for, those types of things. That’s where I’m at.”
The Bulldogs enter the tournament in last place with a 1-17 conference record, 6-25 overall. Those are the worst marks in program history.
Vanderbilt, the No. 11 seed, is 15-15 (7-11 SEC). They defeated Georgia 73-66 in Athens on Jan. 15 and 85-77 in Nashville on Jan. 29. If the Bulldogs advance, they’ll draw the only SEC team they beat this season – Alabama (19-12, 9-9). No. 3-seed Kentucky (25-6, 14-4) awaits beyond that.
The Bulldogs are 1-2 in SEC Tournament play under Crean. They defeated Ole Miss 81-63 in a first-round matchup in Nashville in 2020. But the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic before Georgia could meet Florida the next day.
Crean is motivated to extend this season as long as he can. It’s expected to be his last at UGA as the Bulldogs have struggled in their worst four-year stretch since the 1970s under his leadership. Georgia is 47-74 (15-57 SEC) under Crean. Accordingly, UGA already has contracted a search firm to vet potential successors.
Crean wasn’t interested in discussing any of that.
“I’m really just focused on doing my job,” he said. “I think any questions about my future would have to go to the athletic department because I’m locked into what I’m trying to do.”
To get past the Commodores, Georgia is going to have to do a better job defending the 3-point line. Vandy made 21 3′s in the two regular-season matchups, with Scotty Pippen and Jordan Wright scoring 36 and 35 points, respectively, in those contests.
“They’re far more than just Scotty Pippen Jr., although Scotty Pippen Jr. is outstanding,” Crean said of the SEC’s scoring leader. “They’re far more than him. They have a lot of different ways that they can beat you offensively.”
Georgia is a solid team on offense as well. Senior center Braelen Bridges leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally in field-goal percentage at .642, which is No. 2 on the Bulldogs’ all-time list. Sophomore transfer Kario Oquendo has recorded 10 20-point games in SEC play, including a career-high 33 against Texas A&M. And Aaron Cook, who transferred from Gonzaga to take over at point guard, needs only eight more assists to move to second on Georgia’s single-season list. He currently has 161.
“The energy is high,” Crean said of the Bulldogs’ mindset. “The energy has been very, very good.”
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