Fresh off its first ranked win away from home in five seasons, Georgia returns to Athens, Ga., on Saturday to host upset-minded Jacksonville.
Georgia (6-1) split a pair of games in the Bahamas last weekend, falling 80-69 to No. 15 Marquette before earning a 66-63 victory over No. 22 St. John’s.
The win over the Red Storm was Georgia’s first ranked win outside of Stegeman Coliseum since a Jan. 4, 2020 upset at No. 9 Memphis. True freshman Asa Newell led the Bulldogs with 18 points, followed by sophomore Silas Demary Jr.’s 15.
Paced by its young talent, Georgia looks to continue its momentum into Saturday.
“It was a really emotional game, but we didn’t allow ourselves to be over-emotional,” Georgia head coach Mike White said of the latest victory. “We play with a lot of maturity, especially with our age as a team. … It’s proof that we are a better team (than last year). We just beat a legitimate team. St. John’s could beat anybody in the country. We were right there with Marquette. Two days in a row where we were ultra competitive against two of the better teams in the country.”
Newell, a five-star recruit from last year’s class, leads the Bulldogs with 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Demary adds 14 points and a team-high 3.6 assists per contest.
Georgia will now look to improve to 12-0 all-time against Atlantic Sun Conference member Jacksonville.
The Dolphins (4-3) enter winners in three of four games, including one of the more impressive victories in program history. On Nov. 20, Jacksonville topped Virginia Tech 74-64 on the road, earning its first win over an ACC team since 1990.
Most recently, the Dolphins took third place in the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament, dropping a 90-89 overtime thriller to Mercer, before rebounding with a 75-64 win over Siena on Tuesday.
Led by head coach Jordan Mincy, the group now vies for another power conference upset.
“This is a learning experience, not for just the guys but for the staff as well,” Mincy said. “We want these non-con games to prepare us for moving forward. Being able to understand where we are at, what we need to do and where we need to be as a collective, this all helps us going forward.”
Robert McCray V’s 17.4 points per game lead the Dolphins, while Zach Bell chips in 11.4 points.
