Georgia does quick scout on Xavier, ready for challenge in NIT

ATHENS, Ga. — From the time Georgia’s draw in the NIT was announced to the time the Bulldogs tip off later tonight against Xavier, less than 48 hours will have passed. It’s an incredibly quick turn and an incredibly big opportunity for the UGA program, creating what one can only imagine is a bit of chaos in the Bulldog basketball offices.

“There will be a bunch of film. We’ll break it up more than we normally do so, have shorter film sessions because we’ll have more of them. We’ll watch film right up until the game and when we tip Tuesday night,” Georgia head coach Mike White said on Sunday after the announcement of the NIT bracket about the preparation to play Xavier. “We’ll do something Tuesday morning, do something at pregame meal and shootaround, do something in the locker room and it’ll all start tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. We’ll probably do something tomorrow night.”

“Physically, I like that we got something done today, so you don’t feel like you need to make up for three days off,” he added, telling reporters that the team practiced earlier in the day on Sunday even without knowing for certain whether there was more basketball to be played. “We can go an hour over the next couple of days and not be overly physically taxing. It’ll be the normal physical routine, but from a mental standpoint, we’ve got to shorten and consolidate it as much as possible.”

For the Bulldogs, there’s certainly lots to learn about their opponent. Playing Xavier, who enters the postseason at 16-17 overall after finishing ninth in the Big East, represent a return to non-conference competition that Georgia hasn’t seen since December. It’s been all SEC after turning the calendar to 2024, and White likes to believe his team has improved since it took on the non-SEC power conference opponents early in the season.

“It’ll be interesting for those guys and for us, just to see where we stack up against a different league,” White said. “It’s exciting to play an opponent from a different league, something we haven’t seen in a long time. That said, the level will be very similar. Obviously I’m biased and think the SEC is the best league in the country, but Xavier is in a really good league, is a really good program that wins year in and year out. I’m sure the talent level, the execution, the physicality, the toughness, I’m sure there will a lot of similarities to our league.”

Georgia’s leading scorer Noah Thomasson agrees with White. He’s anxious to see how this Bulldog group stacks up against competition from outside the SEC.

“I’m really excited. When I was watching on TV and saw we were playing Xavier, I said, ‘That’s a big opportunity for us. They’re really really good.’ I think they’ve done a lot of really good things, were in games with a lot of really good opponents, took Houston down the wire, so I think it’s going to be a really good game,” Thomasson said. “I think this is a huge test for us and our program, and hopefully we do what we need to do to get the win and advance … It’s funny, my first year at Niagara we played Xavier. I hit a full court shot at the end of the game. That’s something people don’t know. It’s a different coaching staff now with Sean Miller, obviously he’s a good coach and they’ve got some good scorers on their team. They play really hard and physical. It’s the Big East, one of the premier leagues in the country, so I know it’s going to be a dog fight. I think we have a lot of momentum.”

As for how Thomasson is planning to prepare for what could be his last collegiate contest, he was hopping off of the Selection Sunday Zoom and getting right to film study.

“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it yet. I’m excited to be in this opportunity, and I think we’ll take it just like it’s any other game,” Thomasson said. “Obviously if we lose, it’d be it for me for sure, but you can’t look at it like that. You’ve got to play the game the right way, take the right shot, make the right pass and guard their best players because I know they’ve got some big time scorers. That’s how I’m looking at it every day. Trying to study my opponent after we get off this Zoom and lock in to play Xavier.”

The Musketeers are led by a trio of double-digit scorers, Quincy Olivari, Desmond Claude and Dayvion McKnight. Olivari, an Atlanta native who’s averaging 19.4 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding (5.6 boards per game), was an All-Big East Honorable Mention. Meanwhile, Dailyn Swain and Trey Green were both chosen to the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

As for Georgia, it’s Thomasson that leads the way with 12.8 points per game, one of two Bulldogs in double-figures. RJ Melendez is closest to 10.0 but still below at 9.8 while All-SEC Freshman Team selection Silas Demary is averaging 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per outing with a team-high 1.5 steals per game. Russel Tchewa leads the team in rebounds with 6.7 per game while Justin Hill holds the mark for team-high assists total.

“I’m excited to dive into the Xavier scout and learn as much about them as possible in a really quick turn, but, you know, they’ve got the same thing. It’s part of the excitement of this time of year. In particular with the NIT opportunities because some of these, like this one, just come really quick,” White said about the opportunity. “It gives young people an opportunity, you know, for more opportunity, right? For development and for experience, whether it’s our fifth-year guys or our freshmen or anyone in between, they’ve earned the right to play postseason and no one can ever take that away from them. It’s not the NCAA Tournament of course, but the NIT’s a prestigious event that we’re proud to be a part of.”

Tip time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum on ESPN. This will be Georgia’s 15th ever appearance in the NIT, combining for a 13-14 record in the previous trips. The Bulldogs have advanced out of the first round eight times, most recently in 2016, and have gone as far as the semifinals/third place game in 1998, beating Fresno State to end the season on a high note. UGA also made a semifinals appearance in 1982, falling to Purdue.