Georgia’s 2023-24 basketball season did not get off to the start many hoped for, as they fell to Oregon 82-71 on Monday afternoon. Georgia got off to a slow start in the game and could never fully recover the rest of the game.

Georgia scored the first point of the game, taking a brief 1-0 lead, but that was the only lead they had all day. Oregon answered with 11 straight points to go up 11-1, and Georgia struggled to recover. The lead got as big as 17 in the first half for Oregon (28-11) but Georgia was able to cut the lead to 4 with 2:30 left in the first half. However, Oregon went on a 6-0 run to end the half and led 40-30 going into half time.

The second half followed a similar pattern for the Bulldogs. They managed to cut the lead to 5 right out of the locker room, but Oregon quickly responded and extended their lead to as much as 20 points. Despite a late surge by Georgia, it was too little, too late, and they fell 82-71.

Oregon was led by their big man, N’Faly Dante, who had an impressive 16 points and a whopping 21 rebounds on the night. Dante dominated Georgia throughout the game, and the Bulldogs had no real answer for him. This was disappointing, as Georgia had sought to improve their interior presence during the offseason, but they did not provide much resistance tonight. Oregon outrebounded Georgia by 21 which is a shocking number to see. Dante is a pre-season 1st team PAC-12 player so he will be one of the best centers Georgia sees all year but getting outrebounded by 21 is a brutal way to start. RJ Sunahara was out tonight and he should provide more rebounding for Georgia when he returns.

On the positive side, some of the young players received significant playing time and showed promise. Freshmen Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr. stood out and are expected to continue improving throughout the year, providing Georgia with strong guard play. Blue Cain’s shooting stroke looks incredible, and he finished the game with 12 points. Demary offers well-rounded contributions, excelling in various aspects of the game. He appears to be the lead guard for Georgia and played great defense, while also being the best rebounder on the team tonight. These freshmen should only continue to develop as they gain confidence over the course of the year, and I am excited to watch their progress.

Overall, Georgia has areas that need improvement, particularly in interior play and rebounding, but there are plenty of positive aspects to build upon. They attempted 30 three-pointers tonight, which should be seen as a positive sign, as everyone appeared confident shooting them. Georgia may have appeared a bit too eager coming out of the gate, struggling to make shots. They faced a strong Oregon team and will have to bounce back against Wake Forest on Friday night. See you then!