UGA MBB
Next Opponent: Mississippi State
National Rankings
UGA - State
PPG 115 185
FG% 262 172
FT% 131 304
3P% 124 297
REB 168 37
A 242 109
TO 148 280
A/TO 192 141
BS 145 186
Mississippi State
Five Things To Know: State-Georgia
“State featured a suffocating defense in year one under Chris Jans being one of two teams to rank inside the nation's top 25 last season in scoring defense (61.0 – 2nd SEC – 9th nationally), field goal percentage defense (39.4 – 3rd SEC – 10th nationally) and steals (8.6 – 2nd SEC – 23rd nationally).
This season, the Bulldogs possesses national top 50 rankings in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.7 – 1st SEC – 9th nation), bench points (29.91 – 4th SEC – 17th nation), rebound margin (+6.2 – 3rd SEC – 31st nation) and total rebounds (39.32 – 5th SEC – 44th nation).
State also has dialed up top 50 marks from KenPom.com in three additional defensive categories: adjusted defensive efficiency (96.0 – 20th), effective field goal percentage defense (46.8 – 37th) and steal percentage (11.9 – 48th).”
Commercial Dispatch: Mississippi State to be without D.J. Jeffries for ‘a while’; Fort and Murphy day-to-day
“Mississippi State will be without a key member of its starting lineup and one of its most important defensive players for an extended period of time. D.J. Jeffries, who sustained an injury after being knocked down by a screen during Saturday night’s loss at Alabama, is out “for a while” with a knee issue, Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans told reporters Monday.
Jeffries, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Memphis, has started 87 out of 90 games over the last three years at MSU. He is averaging six points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season, slightly below last year’s numbers, but is in the top 25 among all Southeastern Conference players in conference play in defensive rebound percentage, block percentage and steal percentage. He has also frequently been assigned to guard the other team’s top scorer.
“We’ve been playing eight guys, for the most part, so if you take him out of the equation, that’s seven,” Jans said. “He’s arguably our best defender, depending on who you ask (and) how you define individual best defender. So there are some big shoes to fill. A lot of minutes that we’re going to have to spread around. There’s no one that I’m saying needs to replace D.J.”
Jans mentioned Shawn Jones Jr. as a candidate to take some of Jeffries’ minutes. A sophomore from Houston, Jones played a season-high 31 minutes against the Crimson Tide and finished with 10 points, also a season high.
Another option would be for the Bulldogs to go small and start three guards — Shakeel Moore, Josh Hubbard and Dashawn Davis — but finding time for them to rest could be tricky with Trey Fort still day-to-day with a thumb injury on his shooting hand. KeShawn Murphy, who participated in warmups Saturday night but did not play, is day-to-day as well, Jans said.
“(Jones) showed a lot of fight on Saturday and played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half,” Jans said. “He’s a guy we’ll certainly try to lean on to soak up some of those minutes. We just all need to play better.”
Turnovers hurting MSU’s defense
The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament last year pretty much entirely on the strength of their defense — only South Carolina scored fewer points per game among SEC teams, but only Tennessee allowed fewer. This year, MSU’s defense has regressed to fifth in the conference, thanks in large part to the Bulldogs’ struggles to take care of the basketball. MSU commits 13.1 turnovers per game, the most in the SEC.
Overall, MSU’s offensive numbers are up from a year ago, but the turnovers have affected the Bulldogs (14-8, 3-6 SEC) on the defensive end. Jans also said a new rule making it harder for offensive players to be called for a charging foul has affected how a lot of teams, including his own, play defense.
“Sometimes things we do on offense affect our defense because of being put in some bad situations with all the turnovers we’re committing,” Jans said. “Probably the hardest thing to guard is turnovers. Shot selection, bad shots, early shots that aren’t in rhythm and open turn into fast-break opportunities for our opponents.”
Scouting Georgia
MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night to host the SEC’s other Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5), who have lost their last three games. Georgia has wins in non-conference play over Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech and beat South Carolina on the road on Jan. 16, a win that has aged quite nicely as the Gamecocks have surged into the AP Top 25.
UGA might not jack up 3-pointers like Alabama — Georgia attempts 23.4 per game, ninth in the conference — but head coach Mike White’s team spaces the floor well and runs much of its offense along the perimeter.
“One of the reasons they have great spacing is they almost always have four guys on the court who are proficient 3-point shooters,” Jans said. “They’ve got some guards out front who can put their heads down and bully-drive you and create help situations. … I’ve really been impressed with their ability on offense to put the defense in tough spots and really make you think (about) how you’re going to game plan against them.”
Jabri Abdur-Rahim leads Georgia with 13.4 points per game while shooting 39 percent from deep, and Noah Thomasson is also a scoring threat. Illinois transfer RJ Melendez, who recently rejoined the starting lineup, is UGA’s third player averaging double figures, while 7-footer Russell Tchewa leads the squad in rebounding by a healthy margin.
As MSU starts the second half of the SEC schedule, State again finds itself in need of a late surge to lock up a postseason spot, and with Wednesday being the first of three straight games against teams in the bottom half of the standings, it is all but a must-win for Jans and company.
“Just because we had a turnaround last year doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to have one this year,” Jans said. “That’s what I have to make sure they understand, it doesn’t work that way. It’s important that everybody in our program doesn’t rely on (last season) other than the fact that we do have that experience. We understand what that feels like. How it unfolds is going to be how it unfolds.”
https://cdispatch.com/sports/missis...fries-for-a-while-fort-and-murphy-day-to-day/
2025 Recruiting
4-Star PG Acaden Lewis plans to visit UGA, among other visits will be UVA, Georgetown plus a couple more. He has already visited FSU.
JR Leonard
Next Opponent: Mississippi State
National Rankings
UGA - State
PPG 115 185
FG% 262 172
FT% 131 304
3P% 124 297
REB 168 37
A 242 109
TO 148 280
A/TO 192 141
BS 145 186
Mississippi State
Five Things To Know: State-Georgia
“State featured a suffocating defense in year one under Chris Jans being one of two teams to rank inside the nation's top 25 last season in scoring defense (61.0 – 2nd SEC – 9th nationally), field goal percentage defense (39.4 – 3rd SEC – 10th nationally) and steals (8.6 – 2nd SEC – 23rd nationally).
This season, the Bulldogs possesses national top 50 rankings in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.7 – 1st SEC – 9th nation), bench points (29.91 – 4th SEC – 17th nation), rebound margin (+6.2 – 3rd SEC – 31st nation) and total rebounds (39.32 – 5th SEC – 44th nation).
State also has dialed up top 50 marks from KenPom.com in three additional defensive categories: adjusted defensive efficiency (96.0 – 20th), effective field goal percentage defense (46.8 – 37th) and steal percentage (11.9 – 48th).”
Commercial Dispatch: Mississippi State to be without D.J. Jeffries for ‘a while’; Fort and Murphy day-to-day
“Mississippi State will be without a key member of its starting lineup and one of its most important defensive players for an extended period of time. D.J. Jeffries, who sustained an injury after being knocked down by a screen during Saturday night’s loss at Alabama, is out “for a while” with a knee issue, Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans told reporters Monday.
Jeffries, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Memphis, has started 87 out of 90 games over the last three years at MSU. He is averaging six points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season, slightly below last year’s numbers, but is in the top 25 among all Southeastern Conference players in conference play in defensive rebound percentage, block percentage and steal percentage. He has also frequently been assigned to guard the other team’s top scorer.
“We’ve been playing eight guys, for the most part, so if you take him out of the equation, that’s seven,” Jans said. “He’s arguably our best defender, depending on who you ask (and) how you define individual best defender. So there are some big shoes to fill. A lot of minutes that we’re going to have to spread around. There’s no one that I’m saying needs to replace D.J.”
Jans mentioned Shawn Jones Jr. as a candidate to take some of Jeffries’ minutes. A sophomore from Houston, Jones played a season-high 31 minutes against the Crimson Tide and finished with 10 points, also a season high.
Another option would be for the Bulldogs to go small and start three guards — Shakeel Moore, Josh Hubbard and Dashawn Davis — but finding time for them to rest could be tricky with Trey Fort still day-to-day with a thumb injury on his shooting hand. KeShawn Murphy, who participated in warmups Saturday night but did not play, is day-to-day as well, Jans said.
“(Jones) showed a lot of fight on Saturday and played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half,” Jans said. “He’s a guy we’ll certainly try to lean on to soak up some of those minutes. We just all need to play better.”
Turnovers hurting MSU’s defense
The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament last year pretty much entirely on the strength of their defense — only South Carolina scored fewer points per game among SEC teams, but only Tennessee allowed fewer. This year, MSU’s defense has regressed to fifth in the conference, thanks in large part to the Bulldogs’ struggles to take care of the basketball. MSU commits 13.1 turnovers per game, the most in the SEC.
Overall, MSU’s offensive numbers are up from a year ago, but the turnovers have affected the Bulldogs (14-8, 3-6 SEC) on the defensive end. Jans also said a new rule making it harder for offensive players to be called for a charging foul has affected how a lot of teams, including his own, play defense.
“Sometimes things we do on offense affect our defense because of being put in some bad situations with all the turnovers we’re committing,” Jans said. “Probably the hardest thing to guard is turnovers. Shot selection, bad shots, early shots that aren’t in rhythm and open turn into fast-break opportunities for our opponents.”
Scouting Georgia
MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night to host the SEC’s other Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5), who have lost their last three games. Georgia has wins in non-conference play over Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech and beat South Carolina on the road on Jan. 16, a win that has aged quite nicely as the Gamecocks have surged into the AP Top 25.
UGA might not jack up 3-pointers like Alabama — Georgia attempts 23.4 per game, ninth in the conference — but head coach Mike White’s team spaces the floor well and runs much of its offense along the perimeter.
“One of the reasons they have great spacing is they almost always have four guys on the court who are proficient 3-point shooters,” Jans said. “They’ve got some guards out front who can put their heads down and bully-drive you and create help situations. … I’ve really been impressed with their ability on offense to put the defense in tough spots and really make you think (about) how you’re going to game plan against them.”
Jabri Abdur-Rahim leads Georgia with 13.4 points per game while shooting 39 percent from deep, and Noah Thomasson is also a scoring threat. Illinois transfer RJ Melendez, who recently rejoined the starting lineup, is UGA’s third player averaging double figures, while 7-footer Russell Tchewa leads the squad in rebounding by a healthy margin.
As MSU starts the second half of the SEC schedule, State again finds itself in need of a late surge to lock up a postseason spot, and with Wednesday being the first of three straight games against teams in the bottom half of the standings, it is all but a must-win for Jans and company.
“Just because we had a turnaround last year doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to have one this year,” Jans said. “That’s what I have to make sure they understand, it doesn’t work that way. It’s important that everybody in our program doesn’t rely on (last season) other than the fact that we do have that experience. We understand what that feels like. How it unfolds is going to be how it unfolds.”
https://cdispatch.com/sports/missis...fries-for-a-while-fort-and-murphy-day-to-day/
2025 Recruiting
4-Star PG Acaden Lewis plans to visit UGA, among other visits will be UVA, Georgetown plus a couple more. He has already visited FSU.
JR Leonard
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