Georgia Basketball hit a new low on Wednesday night in South Carolina.
The Bulldogs played an ugly game against the Gamecocks, losing 83-59 to drop to 9-6 overall (2-6 seconds). The defeat adds more heat to coach Tom Crean’s seat, as disciplinary issues and lethargic play began to emerge.
Everything seemed right at the beginning of the game. Georgia led 17 to 13 with 8:21 remaining in the first half, but things went south. South Carolina ended the break with a 23-9 run to take a 36-26 lead for the break. Gamecocks had their first advantage of 20 points by the 7:11 mark of the second half. Three minutes later, they had a 30-point lead.
Let’s get straight to the point: here’s the downside, the worst, and the nasty side of Georgia’s defeat to South Carolina.
The evil
Unforgivable turnover leading to easy baskets
If Georgia did one thing well on Wednesday, it was defending itself in the half. The Bulldogs obstructed the tracks within the arc and forced South Carolina to throw three points. To Gamecocks’ credit, they sunk nine out of 19 three-point attempts.
If the game had come to a half-block defense, the score might not have looked too bad. But Georgia has given up many easy baskets by not taking care of the ball in attack.
During the 23-9 run in South Carolina, four steals in two and a half minutes led to three quick counterattacks. The Gamecocks drained a three-point basket after a fifth theft just a minute later.
These robberies were not good moves by Gamecocks, but bad moves by Bulldogs. Tye Fagan, tried to spin around South Carolina and lost control. KD Johnson made a bad pass and Justin Kier also lost control of the dribble.
Worse
Three-point shot
There are bad filming nights and then whatever Georgia has on Wednesday. The Bulldogs made only four of their 26 long-range attempts. Georgia missed its first nine three-point shots. PJ Horne missed all seven attempts and Kier missed the four shots. Sahvir Wheeler made just three points in five attempts.
Georgia’s three-point shooting problems were aggravated by its inability to penetrate the South Carolina defense zone. Strikers Horne and Toumani Camara were absent from the game, adding just 13 points.
The ugly
Bad basketball in the final minutes, and not giving Josh Taylor a chance
Georgia has a size problem. His lack of height and mass has been a problem all year. Somehow, Crean and the Bulldogs found a way to make the size issue even worse.
Camara suffered his fourth foul 15 minutes from time. With 9:43 left, Tyron McMillan was removed from the court for entering the South Carolina huddle and inciting a dispute between the teams.
McMillan, a 6-9 and 220 pounds. second year, was on the floor to replace the lost size with Camara in trouble. With all three of those on the bench, Georgia had just one big man to turn to, freshman 6-9, Josh Taylor.
Instead of giving the freshman valuable play time, Crean kept Taylor on the bench. For the next two minutes, Georgia played without a player for more than 6-6.
Andrew Garcia also committed four fouls at the time. With the two most physical players in Georgia having to play carefully and their tallest substitute in the doghouse, the game was a lost cause. South Carolina led 56-42 when McMillan made the wrong decisions. When Camara returned two minutes later, Gamecocks had extended their lead to 64-44.
At no point during the SEC game did Georgia look like a team capable of winning a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs are likely to end the 2020-21 season with a losing record and Tom Crean will enter the next season with his sizzling seat.
Why not give Taylor a chance? He hasn’t played since the Arkansas game. So what if Taylor has difficulties? He would be playing significant minutes against SEC teams. That experience would be valuable next season. A Josh Taylor ready for SEC basketball could change the appearance of the Georgia team from 2021-22 for the better. It may even save Crean’s job.