Georgia did something different in the buildup to the 2026-27 season as it played exhibitions against Georgia State, Charlotte and Clemson.

The whole point was to find out what this team is all about, considering the roster turnover from a season ago.

The Bulldogs cruised past Georgia State and Charlotte. The test against Clemson was much tougher.

Clemson beat Georgia 82-80 on a buzzer-beater put-back. It came after the Bulldogs had erased an 11-point deficit, with a Kanon Catchings three-pointer tying the game.

The Tigers’ ability to create second-chance opportunities proved to be the difference, as Clemson scored 25 second-chance points while outrebounding Georgia 38-35, including 16 offensive rebounds.

It was something that hurt Georgia last season. Heading into Monday night’s season-opener against N.C. Central, Georgia coach Mike White is once again worried.

“Defensive rebounding continues to be just like last year, our Achilles’ heel, as it was at Clemson,” White said.

While there have been some signs of improvement across the three exhibitions, it is not where White wants it to be. He said Georgia made defensive rebounding “a huge point of emphasis” during the off week to help correct things now and not later this season.

“It needs to be right now for this team at this point of this season, and did a better job of it today. Now we got to do a better job of it on Monday night,” White said. “We got to have carryover... and a bunch of just good guys that know that it’s a deficiency.”

Among those most responsible for fixing this concerning issue will be Ole Miss transfer James Scott, Saint Louis transfer Brady Dunlap, Kareem Stagg, freshmen David Ugonna Ike and Mading Kuany, who has White thinks will step up big for Georgia this year.

Georgia should easily win its first three games against N.C. Central, Presbyterian and Florida Gulf Coast. The first real test for Georgia comes on Nov. 13 when it has a road trip to play North Carolina.

White hopes the experience gained from playing at Clemson during the preseason will help the Bulldogs feel more comfortable when they travel to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina in two weeks.

“I’m sure it will be rocking at North Carolina at a different level because it’ll be regular season,” he said. “But some of those adversities we’ll face in that game, we got a chance to face the other day.”

But the Georgia basketball coach made it clear the Bulldogs are not overlooking Monday’s opponent.

Last season the Eagles went 14-18, but have overhauled most of its roster by bringing in 14 newcomers. Only one player from last year’s team returns.

“Monday night is huge for us against a program that’s won a lot of games and is always competing at the top of their league,” White said. “We’ve got to continue to get better to be our best version.”