Since taking over as coach at Georgia three years ago, Mike White has yet to beat his former school or his successor at Florida, Todd Golden.
Under White, the Bulldogs had five cracks at the Gators and lost each time — with none of the games decided by more than 10 points.
On Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla., White and Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC) will get another shot against Golden and No. 5 Florida (17-2, 4-2).
While this is the best Bulldogs team White has brought to the matchup, it’s also Golden’s top Gators squad. During their respective tenures, both coaches have guided their teams to progressively better records each season.
Earlier this month, when the Bulldogs briefly crashed the Associated Press rankings, it was their first appearance in the Top 25 since 2011.
It came after Georgia pulled off consecutive home upsets of ranked teams Kentucky and Oklahoma. Since then, however, the Bulldogs have lost three in a row in a rugged league that includes nine currently ranked teams, five of whom are in the top 10.
“That winning margin — that difference between winning and losing — is just so, so, so small,” White said Wednesday after Georgia squandered a 15-point lead in the final 16 minutes of a 68-65 loss at Arkansas.
The defeat was particularly frustrating after the Bulldogs allowed 18 offensive rebounds and missed four of their six free-throw attempts in the final four minutes.
“Eighteen offensive rebounds on the road, it’s not a good recipe for success,” White said. “Our attention to detail with blocking out, it really cost us.”
Against Florida, Georgia will look to big man Asa Newell, who leads the Bulldogs in points (15.5) and rebounds (6.9), as well as outside threats in Silas Demary Jr. (11.6 points) and Dakota Leffew (11.3).
The Gators counter with one of the most experienced and productive backcourts in the nation.
Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, who have started a total of 309 Division I games, are putting up a combined 47.4 points per game.
“They’re confident dudes. They want the ball in their own hands in big moments and they’re not afraid to take a big shot,” Golden said after the trio helped deliver a 70-69 win Wednesday at South Carolina.
Richard scored the game-winner, a driving layup with 4.8 seconds left that gave the Gators their only lead of the night.
In the final two minutes, Richard and Clayton hit 3-pointers. And in the final minute, Martin made a backcourt steal, drew a foul and hit two free throws.
On a night when Florida scored its season low, the backcourt trio along with the Gators’ fourth guard Denzel Aberdeen combined for 61 points and nine steals.
As coach at Georgia, White has seen enough of Richard, who has averaged 16.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in the five meetings. Clayton averaged 20.3 points in three wins over the Bulldogs last season. This will be White’s first look at Martin in a Gators’ uniform after his transfer from Florida Atlantic.
Florida’s 11-game winning streak over Georgia extends to when White was the Gators’ coach. The Bulldogs’ last win in the series was in 2019.
–Field Level Media
