Georgia looks to keep historic season alive in March

BY DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN

BUFFALO, N.Y. — After finishing the regular season with its best record in program history, the Georgia Bulldogs (22-10/10-8) look to keep the season alive in March Madness this year in their 14th tournament appearance. Last year, the Bulldogs lost in the first round to No. 8 Gonzaga 89-68.

The Bulldogs are in the 8 vs. 9 matchup again this year as the eighth seed taking on the No. 9 St. Louis Billikens (28-5/15-3).

“I talked about their offense the other day and as you watch them a bunch, these guys are very, very capable defensively as well,” Georgia head coach Mike White said. “Their defensive numbers are better than ours. Switchable, apply pressure, got speed, quickness and length in the backcourt. Offensively, they’re really sharp with their execution, their role identification, their ability to stretch you at five spots with certain lineups. They just present a lot of problems offensively and have a diverse set of actions and concepts that allows for a bunch of preparation.”

The matchup is also the night cap in Buffalo, with tip-off scheduled for 9:45 p.m.

“We’re going to try to not stay busy because that’s a pretty long day,” Georgia junior guard Marcus Millender said. “But, our day is pretty spread out. We’re going to do some things in the morning like shootaround, then have some film and probably sleep, take a nap and we’re going to be ready to go by 9:00.”

To go along with the best record in program history for Georgia, the Bulldogs are also one of the best scoring teams in the country, averaging 89.8 points per game (PPG) ranked fifth in the nation. Georgia has also scored over 100 points eight times on the year.

“We just try to go out there and play our game,” Millender said. “We try not to let the other team dictate our pace whenever we’re on the court, just executing the offensive strategies that our coaches give us.”

The Bulldogs are going up against a high-powered offense in St. Louis as well though. The Billikens finished 10th in the nation in scoring with 87.1 PPG and are also one of the best three-point shooting teams in DI, shooting at a 40.1 percent clip, the second best in the nation.

“They shoot the three ball pretty much as well as us, they probably shoot it better than us,” Millender said. “They play a fast-paced game which is what we want to do, so I feel like it’s going to be a pretty fun game.”

Leading the way for Georgia include Millender, junior guard Blue Cain and sophomore forward Kanon Catchings. Cain averages 13.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.7 assists per game and garnered 45 steals on the season. Cain has also scored 10-plus points in nine of Georgia’s last 11 games and has hauled in five or more rebounds in back-to-back games for the Bulldogs.

“He’s been consistent with his work. With these 20-year olds these days, no one wants to be called a glue guy, but he’s a guy that does a lot well,” White said. “He’s become very competitive, physically he’s tough as nails. His assist-to-turnover ration, you want to talk about growth, just off the charts in terms of how much better he’s gotten with his decision making and passing since his freshman year. He’s rebounding the ball from his position at a really high rate. He’s turned into a good high major basketball player and he’s very important to everything we do.”

Millender enters the postseason averaging 12.1 PPG with 46 percent shootinf from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. The junior also averages 4.1 APG, 2.7 RPG and grabbed 29 steals. Millender has scored 10 or more in four straight games and in eight of the last nine along with four-plus assists in nine of the last 10.

Catchings posted 12.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 24 steals and 11 blocks on the season while shooting 39 percent from three-point land. The sophomore has a season high of 32 points against Alabama and has scored at least 19 points in the last three matchups. Catchings scored 10 or more in five of the last six outings and notched at least five boards and two steals in the last three games as well.

Catchings will also have the tall task of guarding St. Louis’s do-it-all center Robbie Avila. The senior notched 12.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 4.1 APG along with 21 steals and 17 blocks on 51 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from three. With the season, Avila was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team.

“He’s different from anybody we’ve seen this year,” Catchings said. “He can shoot the ball, pass the ball, he’s very skilled. I’m excited to matchup against him.”

One more key catalyst for the Bulldogs is sophomore Jeremiah Wilkinson averaging 17.0 PPG to lead the squad. The sophomore has also grabbed 49 steals and has scored at least 10 points in seven of the last nine outings with a season-high of 32 points against Ole Miss.

Wilkinson has been coming off the bench, working his way back from an injury.

“He gets really diligent with his treatment. He convicted to come back as quickly as he can,” White said. “He really gets us into an offensive flow immediately like he did not take any time off. Coming off the bench for us, he’s played the same and better down the stretch here, he’s playing as well as he’s played all season.”

Being a part of the South Eastern Conference (SEC), the Bulldogs have been going up against tournament teams all season to get prepared for March Madness. In the Bulldogs last six games, Gerogia has won three against tournament squads.

“Deep, athletic, competitive, the best,” White stated about the SEC conference.

A 76-72 loss to Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC Tournament was potentially the wake up call that the Bulldogs needed as well heading into March.

“I feel like I learned how important it is to start off the game playing hard and to stay locked into the game plan the whole game,” Catchings explained.

With March Madness there comes jitters, but the Bulldogs are ready.

“The breath work, that helps a lot. We do some exercises like that before games with our strength coach,” Millender said. “But for me personally, I just leave it all in God’s hands. I thank the Lord, say my prayer before every game, go into a big arena like this and just leave it in his hands.”

The Georgia Bulldogs and St. Louis Billikens go to battle tonight at 9:45 p.m. at the KeyBank Center. The game will be broadcasted on CBS.