ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF
The SEC tournament kicked off in Music City yesterday. For some of these teams, an impressive showing could get them a spot in the dance. The Georgia Bulldogs had their opening game against the Ole Miss Rebels – and Georgia came out hot. They blew out Ole Miss 81-63.
Rayshaun Hammonds shines for Georgia
Four Georgia players had at least nine points in the big win, but Rayshaun Hammonds was the star of the show. The junior posted 22 points in the win, pairing that with 11 rebounds. He also put in work on the defensive end, tallying two steals. He was 2-for-3 from beyond the arch. Six-foot-nine Hammonds is averaging 13 a game, so his 22 points last night were extremely helpful in the win.
Dawgs cruise in the opening round behind a @shaun_coolin double-double‼️ pic.twitter.com/TE61YVZpVo
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) March 12, 2020
Game Recap
Ole Miss played competitively in the first half. At halftime, Georgia was up by just 11 – which could have been a doable comeback for the Rebels. But the bench just isn’t deep enough for Ole Miss. Just three players had over seven points in last night’s loss.
Breein Tyree, Devontae Shuler and KJ Buffen were the only three to post double digits for the Rebels. Tyree posted an impressive 18 points and paired that with two steals. Meanwhile, Shuler tallied 17. Perhaps the most complete game came from Buffe – he had 11 points and eight boards.
Ole Miss kept the game fairly competitive, but got down early. With ten minutes to go in the first half, they were down 20-10. From there, Georgia was able to build on that lead. At half, the score was 41-30.
The second half is when the Bulldogs (16-16, 5-13 SEC) showed their talents. Within the first couple minutes of the second half, Georgia went up 48-32. From there, Georgia was able to maintain that lead for the rest of the game, winning by 18 points.
Georgia was supposed to face the Florida Gators in the second round of the SEC tournament today, in just a few hours. But due to fears of the novel Coronavirus, the SEC tournament has been cancelled. In Gainesville, UF athletics will no longer have fan presence at games until at least March 30th.
