Georgia Defeats Ohio State - Advances to NIT Final Four

The Georgia Bulldogs have defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to advance to the final four of the NIT

Tatum Esparza | Mar 26, 2024

Mar 26, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Jamison Battle (10) shoots a three / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Pre Game

Columbus, OH – The Georgia Bulldogs travel to Columbus to face The Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the NIT tonight at 7 PM EST. The Bulldogs advanced after beating Wake Forest on the road 72-66. The Buckeyes, favored by 8.5 tonight, beat Virginia Tech 81-73 to move on. Georgia finished off the regular season 17-16 (now 19-16), while Ohio St. ended 20-13 (now 22-13).

Georgia now has a 15-14 overall record in the NIT, and the Wake Forest game marked UGA’s first road victory in the NIT since 1998. This is also UGA’s third-ever trip to the NIT quarterfinals, the most recent trip being in 1998 with a win against Vanderbilt.

In their win over Wake Forest, the Dawgs traded baskets with the Demon Deacons for the first seven minutes until freshman forward Dylan James sank two back-to-back three-point jumpers to tie the game and take the lead for Georgia with 11:33 on the clock. Despite Wake Forest trying the game 14 a piece with 9:50 remaining, UGA never trailed for the rest of the game. By the end of the first half, Georgia gained a 39-24 lead, which the Dawgs built upon in the second. The UGA lead peaked at 19 points (49-30) with 16:46 left in the game. Wake Forest was able to make it a four-point game (68-64) with 45 seconds remaining, but graduate student guard Noah Thomasson and senior guard Justin Hill made four total free throws to seal the 72-66 Georgia victory. Hill led the team and recorded a season-high 21 points. Thomasson followed with 19 points, and James racked up 14 himself. The Dawgs shot well the entire game, going 43.1% on field goals, 51.9% on 27 three-point attempts, and 82.4% from behind the line. With graduate student center Russel Tchewa out due to sickness, senior center Frank Anselem-Ibe led Georgia defensively with 8 rebounds. With the Wake Forest win, the Dawgs are now 28-2 under head coach Mike White’s past two seasons at UGA when keeping opponents to under 70 points, 15-1 this season.

Georgia is averaging 74.8 ppg, and Thomasson leads this scoring effort, averaging 12.9 points per game (ppg). Thomasson is also the only Bulldog to start every game this season. Senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim is second behind Thomasson with 12.2 ppg but has missed the last six games due to an ankle injury (his first DNPs while at Georgia). The UGA bench is also a major part of its scoring effort, contributing 28.6 ppg and ranking No. 20 nationally. Hill is the leading distributor for the Dawgs, averaging 3.2 assists per game. Tchewa is a major contributor to UGA’s defensive game, leading with 6.6 rebounds per game (although he missed the Wake Forest game on Sunday). Junior guard R.J. Melendez follows Tchewa with 4.3 rebounds per game.

Three Buckeyes are averaging points in the double-digit range this season: sophomore guard Bruce Thornton (15.8 ppg), senior forward Jamison Battle (15.1 ppg), and sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (13.6 ppg). As a team, Ohio St. is averaging 74.9 ppg. Thornton and Gayle Jr. lead the team in assists, sending out 4.6 and 3.0 assists, respectively. Defensively, sophomore center Felix Okapara leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 6.4 per game. Battle is second with 5.1 rpg, and Gayle Jr. is second with 4.6 rpg.

Georgia is 9-8 in one-possession games at the 5:00 mark, and 7-5 in one-possession games switch 30 seconds left. A win for UGA on Sunday would keep the Bulldog season alive and be huge in momentum and confidence heading into next season.

Mar 26, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Evan Mahaffey (12) dribbles between / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Post game

Columbus, OH – The Georgia Bulldogs downed the Ohio State Buckeyes tonight in a 79-77 thriller that came down to the final seconds.

Georgia won the opening tipoff, but Ohio State scored first with a second-chance layup from senior forward Jamison Battle at 18:56. Senior center Frank Anselem-Ibe struck first for the Dawgs with a dunk 13 seconds later. Georgia went on a 6-0 run to go up seven (15-8) with 12:59 left in the half. Ohio St. matched this and tied the game 15 a piece with a 7-0 run ending just before the halfway point of the first period (10:58). Junior guard R.J. Melendez took the lead back for the Dawgs with a layup, and graduate student guard Noah Thomasson took it one step further with a jumper to put UGA up 4. OSu then went on a 10-0 run spanning over three minutes to take the lead 27-23 at the 5:03 mark in the first half. Over the last five minutes of the period, the two teams alternated scores, each taking the lead multiple times. Freshman guard Silas Demary Jr., however, hit a layup with three seconds remaining to send the Dawgs into the locker room up 36-35.

Thomasson added to the scoreboard first for the Bulldogs on a layup in the second minute. Sophomore center Felix Okapara hit a jumper for OSU, but UGA went on an 8-0 run to take a nine-point lead, 46-37, with 16:55 left. Georgia took its largest lead thus far, 12 points, just over a minute later off a three-pointer from freshman guard Blue Cain. OSU answered with an 8-0 run, which started with 15:22 left and ended with 13:48 left; it brought the Buckeyes within four (47-51). Georgia once again made it a double-digit game, this time off a 9-0 run spanning just over a minute, and went up 60-47. The Buckeyes brought it back to a single-digit game (53-60) with a 6-0 run. Battle hit a three-pointer to cap off a 17-0 Ohio State run, which put the Buckeyes up 70-64 with 4:52 left. UGA ended the OSU run and a five-minute scoring drought with a Cain three-pointer with 4:33 remaining in the game. Thomasson followed up for the Dawgs with another three, tying the game 70-70. Each team hit shots, alternating leads. Cain went 2 for 2 on free throws with 25.1 seconds left to send the Dawgs up 79-76, but Thornton hit a free throw with 19.1 seconds left to bring the Buckeyes within two. Despite the Ohio State effort, Georgia came out with a 79-77 win.

Thomasson led the scoring effort for the Dawgs, putting up 21 points. Cain also had 17, and Anselem-Ibe grabbed 10. Senior guard Justin Hill was the leading distributor and dished out five assists. With graduate student center Russel Tchewa still out, Anselem-Ibe got his second start of the season and led in rebounds tonight for UGA with 10. Cain and Deamry Jr. followed, collecting 8 and 6, respectively.

With the win, the Dawgs keep their season alive and advance to the semi-finals of the NIT where they will either play UNLV or Seton Hall on April 2nd.

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Published Mar 26, 2024

TATUM ESPARZA