Ole Miss a surprising foe for Georgia in SEC tournament
“We didn’t come here to Nashville to win one game,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We came here to win one game at a time.” The Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament standing went from precarious to a lock after a strong finish that included a 98-88 victory over then-No. 16 Alabama on March 3 that broke the Crimson Tide’s eight-game winning streak. Georgia has won five of its past six games, coinciding with White’s decision to bring leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson (17.3 points per game) off the bench and place 5-foot-11 point guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender and 6-8 forward Kareem Stagg in the starting lineup. Wilkinson had 32 points and six 3-pointers against Ole Miss. Georgia’s Kanon Catchings, a 6-9 sophomore forward, enters as the SEC co-player of the week after getting a combined 55 points and 12 rebounds in victories over Alabama and Mississippi State. He scored a career-high 32 points against Alabama. The Bulldogs are averaging 6.2 blocked shots per game, tied with Virginia for the best in Division I. Georgia’s Somto Cyril, a 6-11 center, is tied for 10th in the nation at 2.4 per game.
