ATHENS – It’s “Senior Day” like no other at the Stegeman Coliseum for basketball from Georgia to South Carolina in the city.
Bulldogs (14-9, 7-9 SEC) host Gamecocks (5-12, 3-10) at 1 pm (TV: SEC Network) with transfer graduates Justin Kier, PJ Horne and Andrew Garcia being recognized.
As coach Tom Crean pointed out, it is a “unique” Senior Citizens Day.
The Bulldogs have another game at home (next Saturday) on account of the SEC league office recently adding league leader Alabama to the list as part of a COVID-related schedule overhaul, and veterans have the opportunity to come back for another year.
“It is a unique senior day, not only because of the season, but because they will have the option to return if they want to,” said Crean. “I think that the three, if we are going to generalize, brought a real maturity. They brought an excellent spirit. They were well trained and it benefited us a lot when they entered.
“They have been great to live with. They got better. I would say that what I also loved is that they enjoyed being in a school like the University of Georgia. “
One of the plots against the Gamecocks figures to quickly switch to second-year guard Sahvir Wheeler, who on the heels of UGA’s first triple-double seems to break the school’s mark for assists.
RELATED: Wheeler Makes History, UGA Dominates LSU
Wheeler has 165 assists this season, the second nationally and four fewer than the school mark currently held by Pertha Robinson.
South Carolina proved to be a tough fight for Crean, who has yet to beat his friend Frank Martin since arriving in Athens 0-5, including an 83-59 loss at Columbia earlier in the season.
It is part of a nine-game losing streak that Georgia has for the Gamecocks, as Mark Fox lost his last four games to South Carolina before being fired.
RELATED: Georgia Beats Kentucky and Hits 14 Consecutive Games
“It’s not about getting one from Frank, it’s about getting one from South Carolina, no doubt,” said Crean. “They are a very tough opponent. They defend themselves very well. They are aggressive. They have been very difficult. Most of the time, they won the repercussion game against us ”.
Georgia starts the day playing its best basketball of the season after defeating LSU 91-78 last Tuesday night to complete a series of five NCAA tournament teams designed with a 2-3 mark.
Sequences from the current Georgia basketball series:
5 wins: Georgia Tech, last loss on November 14, 2014, Atlanta
Won 4: Vanderbilt, last loss on February 7, 2018, Nashville
3rd victory: Ole Miss, last defeat on January 25, 2020, Athens
1st victory: Auburn, last defeat on January 13, 2021 Athens
Won 1: Missouri, last loss on January 29, 2020, in Columbia
Won 1: LSU, last defeat on January 6, 2021, at Baton Rouge
Lost 9: South Carolina, last victory on March 11, 2016, in Nashville
Lost 4: State of Mississippi, last victory on February 14, 2017, Athens
Lost 4: Florida, last win on March 2, 2019 in Gainesville
Lost 3: Alabama, last win on January 6, 2018, Athens
Lost 1: Arkansas, last win on February 29, 2020 Athens
Lost 1: Texas A&M, last win on February 1, 2020, Athens
Lost 1: Tennessee, last win on January 15, 2020, Athens
1st win: Kentucky, last loss on January 21, 2020, Lexington