Georgia basketball coach Mike White defined the next benchmark for his rapidly growing program after a gritty home win over Mississippi State on Wednesday night.
“The next step is at some point, we’ve got to break through on the road,” White said after the win.
The Bulldogs (13-4, 3-1 SEC), who were 0-3 in true road games before Saturday, did just that.
White’s team displayed a higher level of fight than its opponents again, knocking off Ole Miss 62-58 for its first conference road win of the season. Georgia outscored the Rebels (8-9, 0-5) 20-15 in the game’s last 10 minutes.
“If our guys weren’t connected and hadn’t grown in the mental toughness category as much as we have in the past couple months, that wouldn’t have happened,” White said.
UGA, which entered as a 5.5-point underdog, has won six of its last seven games. Its physical style has continued to dominate late in games, resulting in last-minute scoring runs to claim upset wins over the likes of Notre Dame, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.
Georgia’s physicality was especially important in a game where it shot just 21 of 59 from the floor. Terry Roberts, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Jusuan Holt and Justin Hill headed a team effort of 39 rebounds.
“We’ve got to hang our hat on that,” White said. “When you’re missing shot after shot after shot and you continue to chase it through block outs, through physicality, it speaks to some mental toughness and you’ve got to have that every night.”
Kario Oquendo and Roberts led the Bulldogs offensively. Oquendo notched 15 points and 2 assists while Roberts added 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal.
Oquendo caught fire late, scoring Georgia’s last 12 points. The Florida SouthWestern State transfer nailed two 3-pointers as he led Georgia on a 10-2 run in the game’s final four minutes.
The Bulldogs amassed a couple of first half micro-runs to take a slight 30-29 halftime advantage. Moncrieffe kickstarted a 6-0 run from the 14:53 mark to 13:39 as the teams traded blows through the first half.
Roberts and Braelen Bridges both sunk a couple of late shots on a 7-2 run to keep UGA ahead going into the locker rooms.
Sharp shooting from the free throw line has also aided the Bulldogs in recent conference wins. UGA has out-shot its opponent in all three of its conference wins this season in both total points and percentage.
White mentioned Georgia’s underwhelming win over Rider, where the Bulldogs shot just 13 of 22 from the foul line, as a turning point for his team’s free throws.
“You felt guys tighten up a little bit. Empty possession after empty possession based on just not converting at the foul line,” he said. “These last couple games have been the opposite, where you just feel a little more confident collectively.”
The Bulldogs were 13-of-14 shooting from the line, compared to Ole Miss’ 5 of 8.
Ole Miss, White’s alma mater, was a particularly special spot for his first road win.
Georgia will look to shock the conference yet again by knocking off Kentucky at 9 p.m. on Tuesday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
