Georgia cruised to a 112-74 victory in Thursday night’s exhibition game against Valdosta State.
The Bulldogs scored 61 second half points to pull away, with Yante Maten pacing the Bulldogs with 24 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Derek Ogbeide added 17 points, while highly-touted freshman Rayshaun Hammonds scored 17 and contributed 11 rebounds.
Mark Fox’s team shot 61 percent from the floor and dominated the glass with a 51-27 advantage.
Georgia will open the season on November 10 in Athens against Bryant.
Lovell’s Analysis
I’ve repeatedly said not to get too high or too low with results of an exhibition game.
However, since I watched a lot of this game, there were some things that stood out.
For starters, Hammonds can play. Fox talked to us this summer about Hammonds’ versatility and the ability to play him at multiple positions, and there’s no longer any doubt about that.
Elsewhere, Maten is still Maten, and he will likely lead this team in scoring pretty much every single game this season.
Obgeide’s offensive game is continuing to progress, and he can become a consistent threat on that side of the floor, it’ll complement his outstanding rebounding and defensive skills very well.
It still remains to be seen how the guard situation will shake out, but Fox obviously has options.
Georgia was picked in a variety of spots in the preseason rankings, as they are one of the teams that’s hard to get a feel on just yet.
But if Hammonds continues to show his ability to be an impact player and the guards take care of the ball, this team has the pieces to make a run at an NCAA Tournament berth.