Hoops: UGA vs. Mississippi St. game blog

Georgia wins 86-64

Some idiot wrote earlier that this was a tougher Mississippi State team than its record indicated. That same dolt also said the line - Georgia by 9.5 - was too much.

Yeah ... ahem ... so anyway.

Actually I still think MSU has a chance to do some things in the SEC West this year. (Clarke County High School could win that division.) But Georgia was just on today, obviously responding well from it's loss the other night.

So Georgia takes care of business, improving to 3-2 in the league and 14-4 overall. Florida is up next in an ESPN game on Tuesday night.

7:00 left in second half, Georgia leads 70-51

Well, this one's a rout, and is going to stay that way.

(Am I jinxing it? Nah, not the way this one is going.) At one point, after Marcus Thornton nailed a three, Georgia had a 25-point lead.

Last week at this time Georgia was rolling over Ole Miss by 22. Now it's routing Mississippi State by a similar margin. Too bad for UGA that it's running out of teams from that state to play.

14:25 left in second half, Georgia leads 53-38

It doesn't appear that Georgia is going to lose any critical game-deciding rebounds this time.

At one point the scoreboard showed Georgia with a rebounding "edge" of 36 to 12. No, I didn't mistype that. And then Georgia got the next rebound.

Plus, there's still no sign Mississippi State is going to make this a game. Ravern Johnson just hit a 3 to cut it to 13, but Travis Leslie answered with a driving layup while being fouled.

It's been like that all game: Georgia off to a quick start, and when MSU started to show life, Georgia answered.

Halftime: Georgia leads 42-29

Georgia's fans are giving their team a standing O as they head to the locker room, as well they should. The Bulldogs put together a pretty good half, with only a slight let-up in the waning moments of the half.

Mississippi State closed within 11, as Georgia showed some signs of sloppiness. But Gerald Robinson answered with a reverse layup. That proved to be the last basket of the half.

Robinson has seven points, while Jeremy Price - yes, Jeremy Price - is tied with Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie with a team-high eight points.

I hate to bang on energy as a factor all the time, but it was obvious from the tip that Georgia had it in abundance - as opposed to Tuesday. The way that one ended probably had a lot to do with why it was a way more energized UGA this time. If that carries into the second half, this one should be a blowout.

3:39 left in first half, Georgia leads 38-21

Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie each have eight points, Gerald Robinson has five ... I could go on. Everybody's doing a lot here so far.

Georgia's ball movement has also been a lot better in this one. The Bulldogs are getting a ton of open looks, and Mississippi State doesn't look like it's being able to set its defense much.

11:59 left in first half, Georgia leads 24-11

The offensive onslaught continues for the Bulldogs, who have hit four 3s so far - two by Trey Thompkins, and one each by Sherrard Brantley and Dustin Ware.

What's becoming more interesting is the reaction to the football recruits. Isaiah Crowell entered fashionably late with running backs coach Bryan McClendon, and students spent the better part of the under-12 timeout chanting "Isaiah! Isaiah! Isaiah!"

Coaching wise, everybody left with "coordinator" in their job title is here: Mike Bobo, Todd Grantham and Rodney Garner. And no, I don't know whether Kent Turene committed or not; He texted the Orlando Sentinel, his hometown newspaper, that he didn't, so until I hear differently that's what I'm going with.

14:23 left in first half, Georgia leads 18-7

OK, early thought: The Vegas oddsmakers had it right. Georgia is on fire right now, both figuratively and ... well not literally, because that would be bad. I mean the Bulldogs - who were so flat against Tennessee - seem to have a fire in their belly for this one, and are on fire from the floor too.

Dustin Ware and Trey Thompkins have hit 3s, and Travis Leslie will be at the line after this timeout with a chance to finish off a three-point play.

Head coach Mark Fox even threw off his jacket less than two minutes into the game, which is pretty unusual for him.

3:58 p.m.: Moments from tipoff

At least the Georgia students did their research. As Mississippi State was warming up, they yelled "Fight! Fight! Fight!", in reference to Renardo Sidney's infamous ways.

They repeated the chant when Sidney was introduced just now.

Georgia was about a 9-point favorite in this one, but that seems kind of steep to me. I would still pick Georgia to win, but the chances of a close one are much better than a blow out. We'll see.