5 observations as Georgia Bulldogs drop home game vs. Ole Miss

This was supposed to be when the schedule got easier.

Georgia (11-8, 1-5 SEC) squared off with Ole Miss (10-9, 1-5) looking to get back in the win column after a brutal start to the SEC slate. But instead, the season hit its lowest point to date as the Bulldogs became the Rebels’ first conference victim, falling by a score of 70-60 on Saturday in Stegeman Coliseum.

“The thing I kept saying to our team is the most urgent team, the most desperate team, is going to be the one that finds a way to win the game,” Georgia head coach Tom Crean said after the game. “There were times we were that team today, but they were that way more often.”

The Rebels led for most of the first half on the strength of a solid shooting performance, including making all four of their 3-point attempts. Georgia, meanwhile, shot just 9-of-27 from the floor and trailed 35-29 at halftime.

Ole Miss stretched the lead to 11 early in the second half, but the Bulldogs responded with a 14-2 run to seize a 43-42 advantage on a 3-pointer from Anthony Edwards.

But the Rebels snatched the lead back on the next possession and never looked back, holding the Bulldogs at bay to grab their first conference victory of the season.

Here are five observations from the game:

Efficient first half for Ole Miss

It didn’t result in a huge halftime lead, but Ole Miss shot the ball very efficiently in the first half.

The Rebels shot 56 percent from the field, making 15-of-27 shots. They also made all four of the 3-pointers they attempted.

The six Ole Miss turnovers kept Georgia within six points at halftime, but the efficient performance staked the Rebels to an early advantage.

Bulldogs struggle to hit shots

The Rebels were hot early, the Bulldogs were not. Georgia made just 9-of-27 shots in the first half, struggling mightily after Edwards hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes. The team shot just 4-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

As Ole Miss got it going, the Bulldogs had no one to turn to for a bucket. Edwards didn’t make a shot in the final 16:07 of the half, and Jordan Harris co-led the team with just eight points at the break.

Things got even worse in the second half, as Georgia shot just 29 percent from the field after halftime. The final shooting percentage sat at just under 31 percent, the worst shooting performance of the season by far.

“We’re not going to beat anybody shooting the way that we shot,” Crean said. “The bottom line is our offense, over the period of 40 minutes, didn’t give us enough chance to win the game.

Return of the turnover

The Bulldogs had done a fairly decent job of taking care of the ball in their five SEC games to date. Their previous high had been 14, done in the first two conference games against Kentucky and Auburn, but the last three contests saw them not exceed 12 giveaways.

But against Ole Miss Saturday, the turnovers returned with a vengeance.

Georgia committed nine turnovers in the first half, resulting in 12 Rebel points off turnovers. The team finished with 16 giveaways, its highest mark since turning it over 16 times in a 65-62 win over Memphis on Jan. 4.

All these turnovers led to 20 of Ole Miss’ points. In a game that stayed pretty close throughout, that turned out to be way too many.

Breein Tyree gets best of Anthony Edwards

Saturday’s game matched the two highest scorers in SEC play. Ole Miss’ Breein Tyree led all SEC players with 26.8 points per game in conference, followed by Edwards with 20.4 points per contest.

Edwards had the home-court advantage, but it was Tyree that won the battle on Saturday.

The Rebel finished the day with a game-high 20 points. He also led all scorers with nine in the first half.

Edwards, by comparison, finished with 13 points on just 3-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. He made just one field goal after the 16:07 mark of the first half, and he settled for plenty of long contested jumpers.

“He’s got to get to the rim more,” Crean said. “He’s got to continue to cut when they’re denying him. He’s got to continue to cut rather than stand because it becomes very, very easy to guard when he’s just standing in the slots because they’re not coming off him.”

Conference play is the time for a team’s best players to carry their teams to victory in crunch time. In Saturday’s matchup, it was Tyree that was able to do just that for Ole Miss.

Bulldogs clean the glass, get dominated in the paint

It was a mixed bag for Georgia down low on Saturday.

On a positive note, the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle for the first time in SEC play. They pulled won 38 boards compared to Ole Miss’ 28, and they dominated on the offensive glass by an 18-5 margin.

But as far as points in the paint, Georgia got out-physicaled yet again. Ole Miss outscored the Bulldogs 38-20 under the basket, once again highlighting the lack of a big defensive presence for Georgia.

“It’s hard because we don’t have, I guess, a true five,” Edwards said of defending the rim. “We have Jordan Harris playing the four, he’s guarding big dudes. Sometimes I’m guarding big dudes. It’s kind of hard. We’ve just got to be tough and be physical.”

Crean said the gameplan coming in was to switch a lot of matchups rather than playing zone in an attempt to contain Tyree. However, that didn’t work out quite as planned as Tyree still scored 20 points and the Rebels had their way in the paint.

“Our guards did a poor job defending the post tonight when we switched,” Crean said. “We got caught behind way too much.”

That’s just one of many things that went wrong in Athens on Saturday. After dropping a very winnable game, the Bulldogs are once again scratching their heads at where this season has gone off the rails.

Ole Miss vs. Georgia basketball box score

MISSISSIPPI (10-9): Tyree 8-15 3-5 20, Hinson 3-6 2-2 9, Shuler 1-5 1-2 3, Buffen 5-6 4-4 14, Sy 6-12 3-4 16, Williams 3-4 0-0 8, Crowley 0-1 0-0 0, Hunter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 13-17 70.

GEORGIA (11-8): Edwards 3-12 4-4 13, Wheeler 3-8 5-6 11, Hammonds 1-8 2-6 4, Camara 1-5 1-2 3, Harris 5-9 2-2 15, Crump 1-8 2-2 5, Gresham 1-1 1-1 3, Brown 1-1 2-2 4, Fagan 0-2 0-0 0, Howard 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-55 19-25 60.

Halftime—Mississippi 35-29. 3-Point Goals—Mississippi 5-9 (Williams 2-3, Sy 1-1, Hinson 1-2, Tyree 1-2, Buffen 0-1), Georgia 7-23 (Harris 3-4, Edwards 3-10, Crump 1-7, Hammonds 0-1, Wheeler 0-1). Rebounds—Mississippi 25 (Hinson, Shuler 6), Georgia 34 (Harris 8). Assists—Mississippi 8 (Tyree 4), Georgia 8 (Hammonds 4). Total Fouls—Mississippi 18, Georgia 19. A—10,523 (10,523).

This story was originally published January 25, 2020 at 7:44 PM with the headline "5 observations as Georgia Bulldogs drop home game vs. Ole Miss."