Chattanooga: post mortem

Let's start by saying the season is not over.  This isn't football.

Let's also point out, as many have, that Chattanooga is a pretty good team that's probably going to win their conference and go to the NCAA tournament.  It's not an embarrassing loss.

With that said, Georgia should have won this game.  Georgia beat this same team by 31 points two years in a row, and Chattanooga is not 31 points better than they were last year.  It was a disappointing home opener for a Georgia team hoping to "take the next step:"

• Thanks to Friday traffic (these weekday drives from Alpharetta are brutal), it was already 11-3 by the time my butt hit my seat, and the energy had been completely sucked out of the building.  Credit the Mocs for that.  They didn't come to play, they came to win.  Their team - and bench - brought energy all night long.
• If Georgia defends the 3-point line as poorly as they did last night, it's going to be a long season.  Vanderbilt might win by 100.
• Here are some numbers explaining the Georgia loss:
• 21: turnovers.  7 for Charles Mann.  Ugh.
• 17: number of missed free throws.  Chattanooga missed 11, but about half of those were in overtime.  If Georgia takes care of business at the line, they don't just win - they blow the Mocs out of the building.
• 16: number of minutes for Kenny Gaines before he fouled out.  Is the result different if Kenny is on the floor for 30 minutes?  Almost certainly.
• 15: number of offensive rebounds given up by Georgia.  If you're not defending the 3-point line, and you're not rebounding, what are you doing exactly?
•  Does the fact that E'Torrion Wilridge got 26 minutes mean Fox thinks he's farther along than the other freshmen, or is it just that injuries and fouls dictated that strategy?  My guess is a little bit of both.  Fortunately, there was more good than bad with Toe.  Now get in the gym and shoot a couple hundred free throws.
• I'd rather see more of Mike Edwards and less of Houston Kessler.  Kessler is a great kid, but his minutes feel wasted.
• Keep shooting, Kenny.
• Keep shooting, J.J.
• Keep working, Yante.  Way more good than bad out of him tonight, and remember, he's just sophomore. 
• Does Juwan Parker make a difference if he plays tonight?  I'm betting he does, particularly his experience on the defensive end.
• A word on the officiating: it was painful.  It reminded me of the atrocity that was Georgia's loss to Davidson in Charleston two years ago.  Just like then, officials are trying to adjust to the new points of emphasis this season.  Let's hope things settle down a bit.  Basketball is a game of rhythm, and even though the score was much higher, I doubt anyone particularly enjoyed watching that game last night.
• Another word on the officiating: it did feel a tad uneven at times, yes (Chattanooga was called for more fouls, sure, but Georgia was way more aggressive in trying to get the ball inside), but when you blow as many chances as Georgia did at the line, you're not allowed to complain about the zebras.
• As bad as it all was, but for a circus layup by (I think) Casey Jones, Georgia still wins the game. 

Because of the schedule, Georgia is a team without much margin for error.  That margin just got slimmer.  Wins will not be easy to come by this year, and I think the Dawgs need at least 8 in the non-conference.  There are no gimmes.

See you next Friday.

Chattanooga: post mortem

It's hard to find much fault with a win like that.  Just how good Chattanooga is remains to be seen, but they are always tough to beat at home, and Georgia made it look easy.  We're now Mocs fans, and we will hope UTC can make a nice run in the Southern Conference.

A few thoughts:

• Welcome back, Kenny Gaines.
• Attacking Kenny is so much more fun that passive Kenny.  The infusion of confidence he gets when his threes start going down makes him the most dangerous scorer on the team.
• Then there is Marcus Thornton, who missed one shot all night en route to a career high 24 points.  UTC had absolutely no answer.  Seeing Marcus healthy is a real treat.  It makes you wonder what could have been with him had his knees cooperated earlier in his career.
• I could do without the random Thornton 3-pointers, though.  At least he knocked it down tonight.
• Charles Mann had a much better time in Chattanooga than he did in New York.  He protected the ball, attacked when he had the chance, and handed out 5 assists to boot.  His free throw shooting is coming around, too.
• Rebounding continues to be a bit of a concern.  Statistically, Georgia dominated, but much of that was due to that fact that they just didn't miss many shots, meaning Chattanooga had very few chances at defensive rebounds.  The Mocs did collect 11 offensive boards, though, and Georgia needs to get that under control.
• The defense continues to give up a lot of open looks from the 3-point line, too.  I can live with well contested threes, but that's not what I'm seeing.
• Yante Maten had a tough night offensively, but he's turning into a nice shot-blocking threat, isn't he?  I was going to type this even before I checked the box score and saw he had 6 in the game.
• Nice to see Juwan Parker knock down a three.  He is much improved, and if he can find that range, he has a chance to do some damage over the next few years.
• Ho-hum, another near double-double for Nemi.

The team we saw tonight would have beaten Minnesota, probably handily, which makes that loss all the more baffling.  They took care of the ball, got good shots, and defended well enough.  It's going to take a similar effort at home on Sunday when Colorado comes calling in what is now an absolutely huge game for the Dawgs.  Be there.  And bring a friend.

Game card: Chattanooga

Opponent:  Chattanooga
Mascot:  Mocs
Primary color(s):  Green and Gold
Record:  3-4
Best player:  Casey Jones
Line:  Georgia -8

Why Georgia will win:  Despite a disappointing 0-2 showing in New York, Georgia has played well in stretches.  The long scoring droughts are gone, and Chattanooga doesn't have the size to control Nemanja Djurisic and Marcus Thornton inside.  The game is a must-win, and UGA knows this.

Why Georgia will lose:  Georgia hasn't won away from Stegeman Coliseum yet and Chattanooga is battle tested, already having played Wisconsin and Butler.  They are 3-0 at home, and are ready to kick a Georgia team while it's down.

What I think will happen:  Georgia wins 77-64, but it's not yet enough to stem the disappointment.