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Tom Crean, Georgia set SEC record for single-season losses

by:Jack Mathison03/06/22
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NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 12: A volunteer wipes condensation and dirt off of the court during a timeout as the Vanderbilt Commodores play against the Georgia Bulldogs during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Tom Crean and Georgia’s 2021-2022 Georgia basketball regular season came to an end Saturday afternoon following its 79-69 loss to the Missouri Tigers.

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 6-25 overall record, only managing to win one of their 18 contests against SEC competition.

Georgia’s 25 losses are more than any other programs’ losses in a single season in SEC history.

The Bulldogs’ matchup against the Tigers was branded as the contest between the two worst teams in the SEC, as Missouri’s 10-20 record was only more impressive than Georgia’s 6-24 record.

Although the outcome of the game had no impact in the Bulldogs’ seeding for next week’s SEC Tournament, a win against the Tigers would have given the Bulldogs a boost of confidence for their matchup on Tuesday night.

Georgia started out the game with a 14-2 lead, making all of their first 10 field goal attempts. At halftime, the Bulldogs led the Tigers by a score of 39-30, as Georgia shot 56% from the field and 60% from 3-point land.

A different team came out in the second half for Tom Crean’s Bulldogs

Georgia was outscored 49-30 in the second period. The size of the rim shrank for the Dawgs, who only managed to make 33% of all field goals and 14% from deep.

Although Georgia found immense success getting to the free throw line against the physical Tigers, the Bulldogs only made 64% of their shots, which is the third worst in a game for Georgia this season.

Only six Bulldogs scored points.

Kario Oquendo, Aaron Cook, and Braelen Bridges combined for 52 of the Bulldogs’ 69 points.

Oquendo’s aggressiveness allowed the guard to get to the free throw line, but he struggled to knock down shots, only making 8 of his 15 attempts.

“Offensively, we missed some layups at the end,” said Tom Crean. “We shot uncharacteristically poor from the free throw line. 21 of 33 or whatever it was, I don’t think it was nearly as good for us.”

The Bulldogs’ lack of depth in the front-court hurt them yet again

Missouri out-rebounded Georgia 43-24 (14-6 offensive).

“We weren’t physically aggressive,” said Crean.

“We didn’t have a high level of compete and physicality on the glass at all. And when that happens, it’s indicative a lot of times of where our defense is at.”

An astonishing stat from the contest was Georgia’s assist to turnover ratio.

The Bulldogs had a season-low mark in turnovers, only managing to give up the ball eight times.

However, Georgia’s four assists also set a season-low. The second-least was eight assists at Mississippi State.

No Bulldogs contributed more than one assist in the loss.

Although the Bulldogs’ regular season has come to an end, Georgia will head to Tampa to participate in the SEC Tournament.

Tom Crean and the Dawgs are set to face the No. 11 seed Vanderbilt Commodores next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

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