The No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs will try to keep high-scoring attack on track as they host Long Island on Monday in Athens in their final nonconference game of the season.
Georgia (11-1) leads the nation at 99.8 points per game. It was the highest scoring average of a Division I team on Christmas since The Citadel was averaging 103.2 points in 2016. The Bulldogs have scored 100 points for a school-record six times, the third most of any SEC team over the last 20 years.
“That’s cool, but I would say we just — the whole theme of our team is just trying to play the right way the whole game,” Georgia guard Blue Cain said. “So, whenever we get close, we’re not really concerned with the score. We’re just trying to get the best shot we can and then whatever the score is, the score is.”
Jeremiah Wilkinson leads the team in scoring (18 points), and Cain averages 16 points and 5.5 rebounds. Marcus “Smurf” Millender averages 10.3 points.
Georgia’s Somto Cyril had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds — both career highs — against West Georgia on Monday. He was 6-for-6 from the field for the third straight game. The 15 rebounds were the most by a Bulldog since Toumani Camara had 17 against Montana on Dec. 8, 2020.
“Just challenging ourselves and trying to get guys to be motivated to play hard — as hard as we know we can play,” Cyril said. “Just being out here and trying to figure things out. We’re going to make some mistakes and we’re going to mess up sometimes, but just know who we are as a team and what we can do — what we’re capable of doing. It’s not going to be perfect, but we’ve got to figure it out.”
Georgia will be the second Southeastern Conference opponent for Long Island (6-6) this season. The Sharks lost to Mississippi State on Dec.16, 87-83, in a game that featured nine ties and 16 lead changes. Long Island has faced one other ranked team, losing to then-No. 8 Illinois 98-58 on Nov. 22.
Long Island coach Rod Strickland, the former NBA star and local New York legend, is in his fourth season at the helm and has helped rebuild the program to respectability. Last season the Sharks were 17-16, the team’s most wins since 2017-18 — the last time they made the NCAA Tournament.
“After the first two-years, I kind of knew what I needed, who I was and what our strengths and weaknesses were,” Strickland said. “The culture has gotten better with each year. I think this year, it’s right where it needs to be for us to keep improving.”
Long Island is led by Greg Gordon, who last week was named Northeast Conference Player of the Week for the second time. In the Sharks’ 70-60 win over LaSalle on Dec. 13, Gordon had 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, with three rebounds, two assists and a season-high four steals. Gordon averages 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Malachi Davis, who was named an NEC Prime Performer, had 19 points against LaSalle and has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games this season. He leads the team at 16 points per game. Jamal Fuller averages 15.3 points and a team-leading 5.5 rebounds.
