Georgia Bulldogs Basketball

The No. 3 Michigan State Spartans topped the Georgia Bulldogs 93-85 in their Maui Invitational matchup Tuesday afternoon, but Georgia's margin of defeat would have been much larger if not for freshman guard Anthony Edwards.

Edwards scored a game-high 37 points in the Bulldogs' loss on 11-of-26 shooting from the field, including 7-of-16 from three-point range. The Bulldogs were trailing 61-33 with 16:26 remaining in the second half when Edwards poured in 26 points to cut Michigan State's lead to 80-76 with 3:50 to go.

Anthony Edwards has ARRIVED! 🔥

The Ant Man dropped 33pts in the second half alone, nearly bringing @UGABasketball back from 28 down against No. 3 Michigan State.pic.twitter.com/zYZdbk4MF7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 26, 2019

The Spartans were able to pull away again and secure the victory, but they did not pull the spotlight off of Edwards: 

If anyone was wondering why we had been touting Anthony Edwards as a potential #1 pick, that’s why. Elite physical profile with deep shotmaking ability and glimpses of a killer mentality. What a performance. Stay tuned for his film room breakdown. pic.twitter.com/I4U18iwVHA

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) November 26, 2019

Anthony Edwards making his case for the No. 1 pick. If he continues to shoot it like this from deep ...

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 26, 2019

Georgia loses to Michigan State, but man, Anthony Edwards with 33 points in the second half. Egads. Enjoy him while he’s here, Georgia fans.

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) November 26, 2019

Edwards posted six rebounds, two assists, four steals and three blocks in addition to his career-high 37 points.

The Atlanta native's previous high was 29 points in Georgia's second game of the season on Nov. 12 against Citadel, a 95-86 win.

Edwards entered this game against Michigan State averaging 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals across five games.

The Holy Spirit Preparatory School product was labeled a five-star recruit by 247Sports, ranked second nationally and first in Georgia among class of 2019 prospects. Evan Daniels, the website's director of basketball recruiting, scouted Edwards in Sept. 2018 and compared him to Houston Rockets All-Star James Harden: 

A year-plus removed from Daniels' evaluation, Edwards' top-pick potential is only growing:

Anthony Edwards now up to 32 points on 22 shots. Making it look easy against a stout defense. He can get to his pull up at will and then use that powerful, 225 pound frame to live at the free throw line eventually. Looks like the #1 pick today in a room full of NBA execs.

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) November 26, 2019

It came in a loss, but what a second-half performance by Anthony Edwards against Michigan State. 33 points after halftime, including seven 3-pointers, along with three rebounds and two assists. Finished with 37 points total.

Strong, strong case to be the No. 1 pick in June.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) November 26, 2019

Even Utah Jazz star point guard Donovan Mitchell took notice:

Ayo who is this Anthony Edwards kid and why am I just hearing about him??? Bruh is nice asf

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) November 26, 2019

Edwards is already the highest-ranked prospect in the Bulldogs' program history and their first five-star since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope committed in 2011 (h/t Sports Illustrated's Emily Caron). Caldwell-Pope was then drafted eighth overall in the 2013 NBA draft. 

The 2020 NBA draft has several candidates already emerging as potential No. 1 overall selections, such as LaMelo Ball and James Wiseman.

CBS Sports Gary Parrish's latest mock on Nov. 19 had Edwards going fourth overall behind Wiseman, Ball and Cole Anthony, but Edwards has the rest of this season to claim the top spot. Performances like the one he turned in against Michigan State will be hard to argue against.

Anthony Edwards is a 5-star prospect, per 24/7 Sports, and could be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, according to NBADraft.net. Edwards is the No. 1 shooting guard from the class of 2019 and is committed to Georgia. Watch the video above for more about his decision to play for his hometown squad.

    

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Georgia landed one of the most sought-after prizes on the recruiting trail Monday when shooting guard Anthony Edwards joined its 2019 class.

"Two of my favorite players, Dwyane Wade and Victor Oladipo, were coached by Tom Crean, and he's a great coach," Edwards told 247Sports' Evan Daniels. "They came in, not highly rated, and came out really good. It weighed big on me."

"I went to a game and I felt the fans in the gym, everybody showing love, and I felt like I was home," Edwards added. "My sister just had my nephew, I want to see him grow, so [staying close to home] was a big factor."

Anthony Edwards, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft, just committed to Georgia https://t.co/mJmSlJ5tdV

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 11, 2019

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Edwards is a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 overall player, No. 1 shooting guard and No. 1 player from the state of Georgia in his class.

The 6'5" and 215-pound playmaker reclassified from the 2020 class to 2019 and still finds himself near the top of the recruiting rankings as he prepares for the next step of his basketball career.

NBADraft.net has Edwards as the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. ESPN's Jonathan Givony has him slotted at No. 2.

Many of the sport's ultimate blue bloods—Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State and UCLA—were featured when he cut his list to eight in November, underscoring his talent level and the type of programs interested in him.

Daniels noted Edwards posted 21 points and 6.1 rebounds a night as a member of Atlanta Xpress while playing on the Under Armour circuit. He also drilled 45 percent of his three-point attempts.

Edwards' combination of size and shooting ability makes him an almost impossible matchup.

He can either shoot over smaller defenders or overpower them by driving into the lane and playing through contact. However, bigger defenders have difficulty keeping up with his quickness and countering the separation he creates with his ball-handling.

The shooting guard can also help his frontcourt teammates battle for rebounds and either keep possessions alive or look for transition opportunities going the other way. His length and athleticism figure to help on the defensive end as well, seeing how he can challenge jump shots and cut off penetration.

Edwards is the type of playmaker who can step on campus and immediately elevate to the position of go-to option. The NBA could well be in his not-too-distant future given his skill set, and he possesses the talent to become a household name in the collegiate ranks.

Georgia hopes he delivers on that talent and helps it compete against formidable programs such as Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee and Auburn in the SEC.

The Bulldogs haven't been to the NCAA tournament since the 2014-15 campaign and are looking to change the direction of the basketball program in the coming years. Landing playmakers like Edwards, especially when they are from Georgia, is the road map to doing just that.

Tom Crean is returning to the sidelines as the new head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, the school announced.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the former Marquette and Indiana head coach was "finalizing an agreement." 

Wojnarowski added it's a six-year contract.

While Crean served as an ESPN analyst during the 2017-18 college basketball season, he remained a marquee name to fill potential openings. Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported he was interested in the Georgia job after ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello reported the Bulldogs fired Mark Fox.

Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News said of Crean, "He is expected to draw interest from a number of major-conference schools with job openings," and Borzello reported he met with Pittsburgh after it fired Kevin Stallings.

One look at Crean's resume underscores why multiple schools were reportedly interested in hiring him after he accumulated a 356-231 record at his previous two coaching stops.

He guided Marquette for nine seasons from 1999 to 2008 and led the Golden Eagles to five NCAA tournament appearances. He burst onto the national scene during the 2002-03 campaign, as Marquette won the Conference USA title and reached the Final Four behind a playmaking guard named Dwyane Wade.

Crean eventually took over one of college basketball's blue-blood programs following his tenure at Marquette when the Indiana job opened after Kelvin Sampson resigned in 2008 because of a recruiting violations scandal.

Crean coached nine seasons at Indiana before he was fired in March 2017. While the Hoosiers started slow during the rebuilding process after the scandal and went 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20 in his first three seasons, he ultimately rebuilt them into a Big Ten power and reached the NCAA tournament in four of the next five years.

He also won the conference crown in 2012-13 and 2015-16 and guided Indiana to three Sweet 16 appearances while coaching notable names such as Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, OG Anunoby and Noah Vonleh.

The desire to coach didn't leave Crean while he was working as an ESPN analyst either.

"I've never lost the drive to coach, but I haven't (been) consumed with the fact I'm not coaching," Crean said, per Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. "I've tried to dive into everything I'm involved with. I just look at everything as an opportunity to be even better than what I was and what we were."

His next opportunity will come with Georgia, as he looks to lead it back to the NCAA tournament after it missed the last three.

This will be a unique challenge for Crean, considering football is king when it comes to the Bulldogs, and he is accustomed to coaching at a basketball hotbed at Indiana. But he already has experience dealing with the pressure of the sport's highest stage at the Final Four and has proved himself as a solid recruiter in the past.

Georgia has made just three NCAA tournaments since the 2001-02 campaign, and Crean will strive to establish consistency at the program in his third act as a college basketball head coach.

Thad Matta, the former men's basketball head coach for Ohio State, Xavier and Butler, is a "serious candidate for the vacancy at Georgia," according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Per that report, "Discussions between both sides could begin as early as today."

Rothstein added, "A source also informed FanRag Sports that Matta has told confidants that he’s intrigued with the idea of coaching and living in the South."

The Bulldogs (18-15) fired Mark Fox on Saturday after nine seasons as the program's head coach, per ESPN.com. Georgia reached the NCAA tournament just twice during his tenure.

"In the end, I felt like we have not reached our full potential as a basketball program," athletic director Greg McGarity said in a statement, per ESPN. "I really thought we were on the way to turning the corner this year. We just did not achieve the level of success as a program that I believe we should at the University of Georgia."

"For the past nine years, we have had the good fortune to coach some terrific young men," Fox added. "This chapter has closed, and I am grateful to the many who have helped us along the way but especially to the young men who wore the red and black. We've been able to reach a couple of NCAA tournaments, a couple more NITs and graduate our players. Hopefully, our time here can be the groundwork for more success."

Matta, meanwhile, last coached the Buckeyes in the 2016-17 season. In his 13 seasons with Ohio State, he led the team to the NCAA tournament nine times and to the Final Four twice. Overall, he's gone 439-154 in his college coaching career with 13 NCAA tournament appearances. 

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic broke down the potential appeal of Georgia for Matta: 

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/972902761586032640

Georgia isn't alone in its reported interest, however. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported that Matta met with Ole Miss officials a week ago about their head coaching gig and that Matta, who dealt with health concerns during his time at Ohio State, "currently is in much better shape physically and is rejuvenated after dealing with back and foot issues."

"He wouldn't take any job," a source told Goodman. "But he'd possibly consider coming back for the right one."

Former Marquette and Indiana men's basketball head coach Tom Crean is reportedly interested in the vacant head coaching position at Georgia, according to Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News.

Georgia reportedly fired Mark Fox on Saturday after a nine-year stint as the Bulldogs' head coach, per ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello.

DeCourcy added that Crean—who is an ESPN analyst—is likely to receive interest from several other big-conference schools as well.

The 51-year-old Crean has 18 years of head coaching experience to his credit, and he boasts a 356-231 record.

In nine seasons at Marquette, he went 190-96 and made the NCAA tournament on five occasions. That included one trip to the Final Four.

Crean took over at Indiana when the program was down and out, and he managed to resurrect it after three rebuilding years.

He went 166-135 overall for the Hoosiers, and in his final six seasons at the school, he made the NCAA tournament four times, reached the Sweet 16 three times and won two regular-season Big Ten titles.

Crean hasn't coached since parting ways with Indiana after the 2016-17 season.

Georgia went 18-15 this season, and it was eliminated by Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament on Friday.

The Bulldogs last reached the NCAA tournament in 2014-15, and they have only made it three times in the past 16 seasons.

Mark Fox's tenure as Georgia's head basketball coach has reportedly come to an end after nine seasons. 

Per ESPN's Jeff Goodman, Georgia is expected to part ways with Fox. 

Fox compiled a 163-133 record with the Bulldogs after taking over the program in 2009. He led the team to NCAA tournament appearances in 2011 and 2015, though it lost its first game both times. 

Despite posting winning records under Fox in each of the past five seasons, Georgia (18-15) will likely be on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament field for the third straight year. 

Georgia's reported decision to move on from Fox comes one day after it was defeated by Kentucky in the SEC tournament quarterfinals. 

The 49-year-old Fox spent five years as head coach at Nevada before being hired at Georgia. He owns a 286-176 career record in 14 seasons. 

Highly regarded point guard prospect Ashton Hagans is no longer part of the Georgia Bulldogs' recruiting class and will remain a recruit in the class of 2019. 

The Game Elite 2019 coach Chris Williams said as much on Twitter, explaining Hagans did decommit from the Bulldogs but will not reclassify to 2018. This comes after Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com reported the point guard planned on reclassifying earlier Monday.

"Just opening his options to see how everything plays over the next few weeks," Williams said when explaining Hagans' decision to open up his recruitment, per Borzello.

Hagans is a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports, and the No. 8 overall player, No. 1 point guard and No. 1 player from the state of Georgia in the 2019 class.

Hagans committed to Georgia in December, but Borzello noted head coach Mark Fox may be facing job security issues as the Bulldogs struggle through another mediocre season—his ninth at the helm. They are just 16-12 overall and 7-9 in SEC play and have made the NCAA tournament just twice in Fox's tenure.

According to Evan Daniels of 247Sports, Hagans picked Georgia over the likes of Kentucky, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Tennessee when he initially committed.

Since he is not reclassifying to the 2018 class, any interested programs, including those ones, figure to have some additional time to recruit him.

The Georgia Bulldogs' football program has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2018, per 247Sports, and their success has apparently rubbed off on the men's basketball team.

Ashton Hagans, who is a 5-star prospect and the No. 11 overall player, No. 2 point guard and No. 1 player from the state of Georgia in the 2019 recruiting class, per 247Sports, announced Thursday he will play college basketball for the Bulldogs:

Without the man above i wouldnt be able to make this decision #GODAWGS pic.twitter.com/62rXb3W4Oe

— ashton hagans (@H23Ash) December 22, 2017

Hagans pointed to his long-standing relationship with the coaching staff as a primary reason he chose Georgia over Georgia Tech and others.

"I'm headed to UGA," he said, per Evan Daniels of 247Sports. "They offered me when I was in the eighth grade. They've been there from the beginning. The coaches showed love and stayed in touch with my family. It was also tough with Georgia Tech. It was between Georgia Tech and Georgia. It was a tough decision."

Daniels noted Hagans' cousin, Trey Thompkins, played for Georgia assistant coach Jonas Hayes, so there was a natural connection.

Hagans will give the Bulldogs athleticism and speed in the open floor, which is something they don't have in bunches this season. They are just 251st in the country in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted tempo rankings and could use Hagans to develop more of an uptempo attack in the near future.

This is also an important commitment for a program looking to establish consistency. It has been to just one NCAA tournament since the 2010-11 season under head coach Mark Fox and checked in at a mere 55th in the country in the 2018 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports.

Landing a potential program-changer like Hagans figures to give the Bulldogs more momentum on the recruiting trail moving forward.

Bubble watch was the name of the game Thursday at the 2017 SEC tournament.

Vanderbilt, Georgia and (kind of) Ole Miss each traveled to Nashville in hopes of impressing the committee enough to earn an at-large bid—or make a Cinderella run and clinch it themselves. The Commodores were one of the final byes predicted by ESPN's Joe Lunardi, while Georgia was among the next four out. Ole Miss would likely need to make the championship game to get consideration.

Along with Alabama, all three were in action against lower-seeded teams Thursday. The four so-called "home" teams truly kicked off the two-day period of all-day basketball in Nashville after the bottom four SEC teams had what were essentially play-ins Thursday.

Here is a look at how all the action played out.

Thursday Results

Matchup	Result
No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Tennessee	Georgia 59, Tennessee 57
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 Mississippi State	Alabama 75, Mississippi State 55
No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Texas A&M	Vanderbilt 66, Texas A&M 41
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 14 Missouri	Ole Miss 86, Missouri 74

 

Friday Schedule

Matchup	Time (ET)	Network
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 8 Georgia	12 p.m.	SEC Network
No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Alabama	2 p.m.	SEC Network
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt	7 p.m.	SEC Network
No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 6	9 p.m.	SEC Network

Georgia 59, Tennessee 57

J.J. Frazier scored 17 points and Yante Maten added 12 as Georgia held on for an ugly 59-57 win over Tennessee.

The Bulldogs did not score for the game's final minute and 36 seconds, allowing Tennessee multiple opportunities to come back. The Vols instead made a grand total of one free throw as Jordan Bone and Admiral Schofield each missed critical shot attempts down the stretch.

Tennessee shot just 32.8 percent from the floor as a team. Bone and Lamonte Turner were the only Vols players in double figures.

Georgia will move on to play top-seeded Kentucky.

Alabama 75, Mississippi State 55

Dazon Ingram scored 17 points to lead four Alabama players in double figures as the Crimson Tide earned a 75-55 blowout win over Mississippi State.

The Tide never trailed and led for the game's final 38 minutes and 25 seconds. Mississippi State never got within single digits in the second half and trailed by as many as 30 points.

Corban Collins (14 points), Avery Johnson Jr. (10 points) and Donta Hall (10 points) were also in double figures off the bench. Forty-two of the Tide's 75 points came from reserves.

Mississippi State shot 39.1 percent from the floor, which included a 2-of-12 rate from beyond the arc. 

Alabama moves on to play fourth-seeded South Carolina.

Vanderbilt 66, Texas A&M 41

Joe Toye scored 18 points and Riley LaChance added 14 as Vanderbilt overcame a rough first half to score a 66-41 win over Texas A&M.

The Commodores scored just 23 points and led by three points at the break before turning things on in the final 20 minutes. They put together a dominant two-way performance down the stretch, pushing their lead to double digits within three minutes and leading by more than 10 points for the final 13-plus minutes.

Texas A&M shot just 33.3 percent as a team and got zero points from its bench. Tyler Davis had 18 points and eight rebounds, but he was the only Aggies starter with an above-average performance.

Vanderbilt knocked down 11 three-pointers, nine of which were by Toye or LaChance. Nolan Cressler added 11 points to round out scoring for the Commodores.

Ole Miss 86, Missouri 74

Deandre Burnett scored 23 points off the bench and Terence Davis added 19, as Ole Miss advanced with an 86-74 win over Missouri.

The Rebels went to the line 47 times, compared to just 13 for Ole Miss. The difference in fouls and free throws were enough to make all the difference in a game that was otherwise evenly played from a percentage standpoint.

Missouri actually shot a slightly better percentage (42.6) than Ole Miss (41.8) and knocked down 12 threes compared to the Rebels' nine. Kevin Puryear, Jordan Barnett and Terrence Phillips all scored 15 points for the Tigers. Three of their five starters fouled out, and Puryear finished with four fouls.

Sebastian Saiz finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Breein Tyree, who had 11 points, rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Rebels.