Georgia Basketball celebrates step in right direction with win in NIT

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball is moving on in the postseason for the first time since 2016, and to Mike White, it marks a milestone for the program. While there’s no doubt the Dawgs would rather be playing in the Big Dance later this week, winning in the opening round of the NIT Tuesday night over Xavier is improvement that can be built upon.

“As a staff and as a team we go in there and talk about the fact that you’ve got to learn from that. We’re always going to preach growth and learning through wins and losses. Bottom line though is we just got an NIT win,” White said in his postgame press conference. “We got a postseason win against a Big East opponent. It was a good win for our program. It’s something that hopefully gives the returning players confidence moving forward.”

“It’s another step in the right direction, and it’s obviously something that we’ll use in recruiting,” he added. “At the end of the day, everyone wants to be in the NCAA Tournament, but we’re honored to be a part of the NIT and honored to still be a part of it — to survive and advance.”

Georgia’s players recognize that too. With a team that featured nine newcomers this year, several came to Athens for the exact purpose of trying to help turn the program around. In a second season under the direction of White and with some promising talent that could be here to stay, an appearance in the NIT – and a win in the opening round – makes it feel like a small mission accomplished in the bigger goal of getting Georgia Basketball back on the map.

“It feels great. Being able to have a postseason for the first time since 2017, it’s amazing to be here and see the fans coming to support us,” RJ Melendez, who scored 14 points on the night, said. “It’s good to stay together as a team and keep battling. We thought the season was over after the (SEC) tournament, but we got an opportunity, so we’ve got to take advantage of it. It’s one game, but we’ve got to keep building on it. Watch film, keep getting better every single day.”

Georgia used its highest scoring first half to jump out to a lead over Xavier and was able to hold on in the lead. Ahead by as many as 23 with 13:25 to go, the Bulldog defense slipped down the stretch but did just enough to hold on thanks to a block by Russel Tchewa and pressure that didn’t allow for Xavier to get up a game-tying attempt before the clock ran out, both on possessions that started with inbounds passes with under 10 seconds to go.

“The way we played in the first 30 minutes, I thought we played really, really well — as well as we’ve played all year,” White said about the performance. “I thought we played really well against Florida, at times against Missouri and, you know, the first, say, 25 and the last five minutes of course the way we finished that game. We got another opportunity potentially Saturday or Sunday, correct, where maybe we can put 40 together of playing at that level.”

“Really the same message all year. I’m not creative enough to give a different one. It was the way I was taught it, and it’s what I’ve always preached to our teams,” White added when asked what his message to the players was prior to the last possession. “Your championship-level teams, the best teams I’ve been a part of don’t look at the scoreboard. They play the same way whether they’re down 20 or up 20. You know, ‘Stay in the moment, let’s get an A shot, let’s get a stop. Let’s get an A shot, let’s get a stop.’ It’s not about, ‘Man, I hope we hold on and win this one. Well, we’ve played really good for 30 minutes.’ If you’re thinking about those things, then you’re not in the moment and you’re not executing what you should be in that millisecond of the game. It’s a game of split seconds.”

All things considered about Georgia’s performance, White was pleased. There have been times this season when the Bulldogs weren’t able to hold onto leads against teams of equal or greater talent. On Tuesday, they were able to do exactly that – and did so in front of the home crowd, another aspect that should be considered in the importance of the opening round victory.

“I thought in a couple of home games this year where we’ve gotten sizable leads, it was a little more apparent mentally and physically that we were a completely different team than we were when we were building that lead. I didn’t see that as much in this one,” White said.

“It was definitely a great opportunity. We’ve let the fans down at home at times, had some big wins and some tough losses, but to get another win in front of the home crowd, it was good for us, good for the University,” added All-SEC Freshman selection Silas Demary. “It was pretty hectic, up and down and overall pretty emotional. After the Florida game, a couple of the GAs were very emotional thinking it was the last one, but everybody knew we still had a chance for some big time games. We had been in games. It’s been emotional, very up and down, but after the game, we got back home, had a good reset, had a good practice on Sunday and yesterday, and that was best for us. Come home, relax, understand that we might still have something to play for and be with the teammates. It was great for us.”

Next up for Georgia, either a matchup with Wake Forest (20-13, 11-9 ACC) or Appalachian State (27-6, 16-2 Sun Belt). The Demon Deacons and Mountaineers tip it up at 8:00 p.m. ET Wednesday night, allowing White and his staff to get an advanced scouting report on their next opponent.

“You can tell Forbes I’m cheering for App State so we can get a home game. I say that, I should watch what I say because App’s really good and Wake’s really good, too. We’re just really happy to be still involved,” White said. “We’ll watch it closely. We’re more familiar with Wake having played them, but we’ll learn more about App State tomorrow throughout the day then more tomorrow night.”