Vanderbilt gave Georgia the opportunity to win the game, Tyree Crump made a lasting memory out of it.
Buzzer-beater victories are not exactly common in Georgia Basketball History, but Tyree Crump delivered the most emotional and important buzzer-beater since Levi Stukes' game winning three point shot in 2007 against LSU. It was not Georgia's best game on either end and Vanderbilt was effectively attacking the rim and shooting the three point shot very well. However, Vanderbilt gave Georgia the opportunity to win the game due to their poor Free Throw shooting late in the game. Vanderbilt has blown leads very late in games this season and this is just another one that slipped away from the Commodores. Georgia is now 5-2 in games decided by 4 points or less, which is not something one could have said last season as the Dawgs did not win a single game decided by the same margin.
The Buzzer-Beater
The missed Free Throws were a case of Scotty Pippen Jr., a Freshman, attempting a pressurized pair of Free Throws on a night where there the regression to the mean had not taken place. It was a tough spot and it was set up by a pair of unusual plays, one of which hinted at a possibly chaotic end of game sequence if the second Free Throw in the double bonus was missed.🚨 GEORGIA AT THE BUZZER 🚨
Tyree Crump called game. pic.twitter.com/uUAHam1qHV— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 23, 2020
The First Unusual Play: Defense? What defense?
If there is one segment the Vanderbilt base is going to want back, it would be the completely uncontested drive to the basket by Sahvir Wheeler that only used up five seconds of the clock. The decision by Tom Crean to not try to shoot three point shots to get into a position to win the game turned out to be fortuitous. With 22 seconds left, Sahvir Wheeler was able to drive in 5 seconds to the basket without any resistance.
The Second Unusual Play: The Missed Free Throw by Saben Lee and the Poor Blockout with the Bailout.
Saben Lee missed a Free Throw with 12 seconds left in the game, the blockout from Jordan Harris was not there and Braelee Albert was able to secure the rebound with ease. However, the officials made the unusual call that Albert had stepped out of bounds when he did not do so. The case could have been made that Albert traveled, but the unusual call stood and this set up Sahvir Wheeler to rush up the court and draw a blocking foul in the act of shooting on a drive.
The rebounding effort established that Georgia was going to have difficulty with rebounding a missed Free Throw because Vanderbilt was simply more aggressive in going after the loose balls.
It was a night the Wiregrass Duo came up big.
Seniors Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris came through with a big night in Nashville and they made big plays when the team really needed it. Crump and Harris have had a bumpy time in Athens and this was their night to shine. Harris was making three point shots, attacking the basket, and making plays on the glass. Crump came through toward the end when foul trouble caught up to the team and he was making perimeter shots. With Tyree Crump, it is Good Crump/Bad Crump much like the former Ole Miss Quarterback Bo Wallace (Good Bo/Bad Bo), the Senior from Bainbridge was able to keep the positive energy from Wednesday Night going.
What Georgia did right and wrong.
RIGHT: Georgia dominated the glass.
It was a team effort when it came to rebounding. Georgia had as many defensive rebounds as Vanderbilt had total rebounds, it was an excellent effort against a team that struggles with rebounding. An 83.33% defensive rebounding rate is dominant and nobody could ever complain about it. Georgia's 38.46% offensive rebounding rate was also impressive. Georgia won the second chance points battle 13-0.
WRONG: Georgia's maddening turnovers.
Georgia committed 13 turnovers and 10 of them were in the First Half. Why these turnovers happened in the First Half is what causes Tom Crean to lose sleep at night.
The difficulty level of what this roster wants to do on the floor is far beyond their current capabilities. Consider that NBA players live the sport of Basketball and have no restrictions on practice time in their team practice facilities. In College Basketball, these players are student-athletes juggling class schedules, homework, studying, practice, weight room, and of course game sessions. There are limits on how long and often practices take place and there's only just so much time they can play together and on their own to sharpen their skills and chemistry. Of course, if they try to make fancy passes, attempt fancy shots, and try incredibly difficult ball handling moves, it could turn out very poorly.Halftime Observation #1: UGA is careless on offense, but it is not just brainfarts or even bad decisions. They are trying to make plays happen that are at a high level of difficulty. A lot of trying to copy stuff they see in the NBA... poorly. #UGA #UGAvsVandy
— The gBb (@gBbUnderground) February 23, 2020
Vanderbilt was able to get 16 points off turnovers in the First Half.
RIGHT: Greater focus on getting the simple things right in the Second Half.
It was a half of waves and Vanderbilt was able to punch back every single time Georgia made a run to control the game. However, they were not able to get their points off Georgia turnovers like in the First Half, which meant that they had to rely on tougher shots to get them to a victory. With Georgia not as eager to help Vanderbilt's efforts, Vanderbilt had to do things that they were not usually capable of doing.
- Making three point shots
- Making mid-range shots
- Getting to the Free Throw Line
- Getting second chance points
In the Second Half, Georgia had only 3 turnovers and Vanderbilt was only able to score 4 points off those turnovers.
The Dawgs outscored Vanderbilt in the Second Half when it came to points off turnovers by 3.
WRONG: Vanderbilt should not have had it so easy on the offensive end.
Saben Lee was able to attack the basket on a whim and nobody was able to defend him straight-up. The 2-3 Matchup Zone was sloppy and while Vanderbilt was shut out on second chance points, Vanderbilt was able to get the shots they wanted and Georgia let them have their opportunities. Vanderbilt's defense was more disruptive than Georgia's defense. Deflections, blocks, steals, and any sort of disruptions were far too few from the Georgia defense in the man-to-man look. The 2-3 Matchup Zone was far too lethargic and the switches were inappropriate within it.
The only effort at full court pressure was having Sahvir Wheeler play token pressure. Beyond this, the defense was not disruptive and the game plan was not encouraging the team to make the defensive plays needed to shut down their offense.
Georgia will visit South Carolina in Columbia and this should be an interesting game. South Carolina is coming off a loss to LSU and Georgia has to show that they can play with the necessary amount of physicality to beat the Gamecocks. If this Georgia team shows up in Columbia, they will lose by double digits. Georgia needs to be as active and disruptive as they were against Auburn to beat Frank Martin's Gamecocks.
Game Score: 3 stars out of 5.
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