Georgia basketball’s trip to Nashville, Tennessee, for the SEC tournament will be short-lived.
The seventh-seeded Bulldogs fell to No. 15 Ole Miss, 76-72, Thursday night in the second round. Georgia, who earned its first opening-round bye in five years, will now await its draw for the NCAA tournament. The bracket will be revealed Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The loss, Georgia’s second against Ole Miss this year, dropped the Bulldogs to 22-10 on the season.
“I didn’t see that coming,” coach Mike White said, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. “I thought we’d have good offensive flow and rhythm.”
Georgia was the higher-seeded team, but Ole Miss dominated the game from the opening tipoff. The Rebels did not trail and led by as many as 23 points with 13 minutes left in the matchup.
The Bulldogs closed the gap late with a 13-point run, but it was too little, too late, as they suffered a loss in their first game of the SEC tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
“I thought the way we started the second half, a couple minutes into the second half, our energy level just elevated without having to make a shot,” White said.
It did not help Georgia that starting center Somto Cyril was ejected in the second half for elbowing Ole Miss’ Travis Perry under the basket. It was Cyril’s sixth time leaving a game this season due to either an ejection or foul out.
Cyril’s absence hurt the Bulldogs on the glass, but they still outrebounded Ole Miss. Their struggles came from a lack of offensive production, as the SEC’s second-highest-scoring team tallied just 20 points in the first half, its lowest total of the season.
“Credit to Ole Miss,” White said. “They’ve got momentum, and they’re playing really well.”
Sophomore forward Kanon Catchings led the team with 19 points — his third consecutive game scoring at least that many. Catchings and junior guard Smurf Millender (11) were the only Bulldogs to finish with double-digit points — the first time only two players did so in a game this season. Jeremiah Wilkinson, Kareem Stagg and Dylan James each tallied eight.
Georgia’s 72 points marked its lowest total since Feb. 11 when it scored 66 in a defeat to Florida.
The Bulldogs’ loss eliminated them from the SEC tournament one victory shy of making the quarterfinals, a feat they have not accomplished in eight years.
Luckily for Georgia, it is expected to receive a chance to redeem itself in the NCAA tournament.
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