ATHENS – Georgia basketball got its first taste of SEC victory on Tuesday and came back hungry on Saturday, beating No. 17 Oklahoma 72-62 before a national ESPN2 audience.
The Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1 SEC) made a strong case for their first AP top 25 ranking since 2011 after two ranked wins this week. UGA upset No. 6 Kentucky at home on Tuesday night, its first top 10 win since January of 2021.
The AP releases its weekly rankings around noon on Monday. There were 10 teams separating Georgia and the top 25 last week, but the ranked wins should dramatically bump UGA’s standing.
The Bulldogs and Sooners traded blows through the first 32 minutes before UGA took control at the foul line.
Georgia’s physicality forced a flurry of Oklahoma fouls, putting the Bulldogs at free throw line early and often in the second half. The Sooners hit the 10-foul bonus with 7:19 remaining in the game.
UGA certainly took advantage, sinking six free throws on a 10-2 scoring run for a 63-54 lead.
The Bulldogs made nine more foul shots to close the Sooners out. UGA finished the game 27 of 37 from the free throw line.
Transfer guard Dakota Leffew co-led Georgia with 15 points, shooting 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. Superstar forward Asa Newell also had 15 points with 5 rebounds.
UGA’s defense also dominated in the second half, holding Oklahoma to 26 points on 31% shooting. That started by stopping freshman guard Jeremiah Fears, who entered Saturday averaging the fifth-most points in the SEC (17.6).
Fears scored a career-low 2 points and shot 1 for 11 with four turnovers.
“We took the challenge mentally, and that started with Silas and a couple of these other guards,” White said. “The attention to detail with him and the activity, we extended on him a little bit and really exerted ourselves physically.”
Georgia also flexed its size with 8 blocks, with 6-11 freshmen Newell and Somto Cyril combining for six of them. The Bulldogs have forced 94 blocks this season and average the third-most in the SEC (5.7).
Friday’s winter storm didn’t stop Georgia fans from helping the Bulldogs extend their home winning streak to 13 games. Students who marched through wintery slush and endured the line wrapping halfway around the Coliseum were rewarded with UGA beanies and trapper hats at the door.
The Bulldogs didn’t wait to get the crowd rolling, thanks to an electrifying dunk from Demary.
The physical guard posterized 6-10 center Sam Godwin for UGA’s third bucket of the game, sending the nearby student section into frenzy. It was UGA’s 89th dunk of the season, good for the most in the SEC, according to barttorkvik.com.
Georgia looked unstoppable through the first eight minutes, jumping out to a 19-10 lead. RJ Godrey and Demary dominated in the paint and at the free throw line, combining to score 10 points by the 11:46 mark.
Then the Sooner offense appeared to find its stride, mounting a 16-3 scoring run to take a 26-22 lead. Oklahoma was 7-of-12 shooting during the run while Georgia shot just 1 of 7.
Cain revived the Bulldog attack with a five-point swing. The sophomore broke a three-minute scoring drought with a layup before intercepting a pass on Oklahoma’s next possession.
Cain paced the Bulldogs down the middle of the court before kicking out to a wide open Leffew, who nailed a 3-pointer for a 27-26 lead.
Oklahoma took the lead back before halftime, but Georgia did enough near the rim to cut its deficit to 36-33 at the buzzer.
Georgia’s top 25 opportunities just keep coming. The Bulldogs start a daunting week at No. 1 Tennessee 8 p.m. on Wednesday before hosting No. 2 Auburn on Saturday.
The Auburn game will mark five straight ranked games for Georgia, the most in school history.
A top 25 ranking would be another good sign in the third year of White’s rebuild at Georgia, but his team doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the poll. Several Bulldogs have downplayed top 25 talk over the last week.
“Rankings, that’s someone’s opinion,” Cyril said. “Since we have been at Georgia, we have outside noises like, ‘Why are you at Georgia? Georgia is not good at basketball.’
“Today’s game is over with, we won the game, it’s behind us. We’re going to focus on Monday, when we get back to practice, how we’re going to prepare for Tennessee.”