Sahvir Wheeler wrote himself in the Georgia ledger during his team’s shocking turnaround against LSU on Tuesday night.
Wheeler recorded the first triple-double of the program, with the Bulldogs, who were homemakers, achieving a 91-78 victory over the Tigers.
Georgia will host South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Athens. The game is second among rivals at the Southeast Conference this season.
Bulldogs (14-9, 7-9 MON) hope that Wheeler can double his record-breaking display.
Wheeler’s excellent night earned 14 points and his career record of 13 assists and 11 rebounds. The Houston native needs five assists to break the 169 mark of the Georgia season, set by Pertha Robinson in 1994-95.
“I had no idea why I don’t look at the statistics of the game,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said of the triple-double. “But it’s phenomenal, incredible when you think they played basketball here 116 years ago and it’s the first time here.”
The Gamecocks (5-12, 3-10) were overwhelmed with a six game skid – including a couple of losses for the state of Mississippi. South Carolina lost the 69-48 decision to the Bulldogs on Wednesday.
The team’s last victory was a 72-66 decision over Florida on February 3. In all, South Carolina has lost 10 of the last 12 disputes.
Frustration was evident with coach Frank Martin after his team shot badly (29.0 percent) and was defeated in the painting against the state of Mississippi.
“When you get open shots, you can’t do all of them, but you need to do some,” said Martin. “At the moment, we never got it right. If we are not going to do open kicks, it will be very difficult to win.
“Listen, basketball is not rocket science. When you throw 29% of the field on the road at the SEC, you are not winning. And when you shoot 29% and are overtaken by 25 (49 to 24), you are not winning.”
The streak of six consecutive defeats is the longest during Martin’s nine-year tenure and has been accentuated by playing with few players, especially in the backcourt.
Seventh Woods is out due to a head injury and Trae Hannibal “needed a day off,” according to Martin.
While the two teams are trending in opposite directions – Georgia have won five of their last eight games – Gamecocks won their first encounter in a home explosion on January 27.
South Carolina beat the Bulldogs 83-59, behind Keyshawn Bryant’s double-double (19 points, 10 bags) and Jermaine Couisnard’s 18 points.
– Field-level media