Mike White breaks down final play of LSU win
Mike White’s Georgia Bulldogs didn’t make it easy on themselves, but they were able to come away with a win over the LSU Tigers earlier this week.
The game would came down to the final seconds in deciding a winner during the SEC clash. In the end, it was the Bulldogs that came out on top by a score of 68-66, in large part due to the play of Justin Hill and Russel Tchewa down the stretch, the latter providing a rebound, hoop and harm score that was the difference.
Speaking with the media afterwards, White explained what went through his mind regarding the end of the clash, and how Georgia was able to notch a win over the Tigers.
“We want to play downhill. We had one. Justin Hill has made plays for us, obviously. The ball is going to be in his hands, and more to come moving forward,” White started. “We’ve got other guys too, that we trust down the stretch. But just trying to get downhill, and thought if we were neutralized, we could use one.
“We ended up getting a couple of looks there, and Russ [Tchewa] made a bonus play obviously. Then converted at the foul line, as well. Huge play by Russ.”
After LSU took the lead 66-65, courtesy of a 3-point swing courtesy of an and-one layup by Jalen Cook, Georgia came down and attempted to recapture the lead with a 3-point jumper by Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim’s shot bounced in and out but was quickly gobbled up by Tchewa, who used some solid footwork to get the layup while being fouled.
Tchewa would make his free throw, giving Georgia a 68-66 lead that would end up being the final score of the contest. Alas, it was another big win for the Bulldogs, who have been looking real good as they continue an impressive campaign,
More on the Georgia Bulldogs, solid 2023-2024 campaign
Continuing, both LSU and Georgia entered the Wednesday night matchup in Athens fresh off of losses in their previous contest. The Tigers fell at home to Texas A&M and another crushing late-game defeat. At the same time, the Bulldogs were able to bounce back from a high-octane offensive battle against the Kentucky Wildcats on the road, where they came up short 105-96.
For betting fans, it was a night to forget as Georgia entered the game as 3.5-point favorites. And with them narrowly escaping with the two-point victory, they failed to cover the point spread. But that is arguably the only bad news on the night for Georgia faithful.
The program has to be feeling optimistic about how they’ve fared to start the 2023-2024 season. Currently, Georgia is No. 6 in the SEC with a 14-5 record. What’s even more impressive is they are 11-1 at home following Wednesday night’s win over LSU.
Their 4-2 conference record is their best start to conference play since the 2016- 2017 season when they just missed out on qualifying for the field of 64. That was also the last time Georgia finished SEC play with a .500 record or better.
On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this article.