OXFORD — Yante Maten was well aware of the scouting report and knew Ole Miss was one of the best offensive teams in the Southeastern Conference.
That might be true on paper, but the Bulldogs made the Rebels look quite ordinary on Wednesday night.
J.J. Frazier scored 17 points, Maten added 15 points and 11 rebounds and the Georgia men’s basketball team easily handled Ole Miss 69-47 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Georgia (11-5, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) led for almost the entire game, scoring nine-straight points to take a 17-9 lead midway through the first half. Once the Rebels got behind, the Bulldogs weren’t letting them back into contention.
“We just tried to match their physicality,” Maten said. “They don’t let up so you can’t give them any ground.”
Frazier had one of his best games of the season, making three 3-pointers to give Georgia a lift. There was a scary moment late in the game when the 5-foot-10 guard took a hard fall and came out of the game. Georgia coach Mark Fox said Frazier could have returned if needed.
Maten said Frazier’s good game from 3-point range was hopefully a sign of things to come. Frazier had made just one 3-pointer in the first three SEC games.
“J.J.’s one of the best shooters in the league,” Maten said. “He’s capable.”
Ole Miss (10-6, 1-3) had its worst offensive game of the season. Before Wednesday night, the fewest points the Rebels had scored this season was 62 in a loss to Middle Tennessee. Terence Davis led the Rebels with 12 points, while Sebastian Saiz added 11.
Georgia jumped out to a 30-18 halftime lead after Ole Miss shot 5 of 30 (16.7 percent) from the field. The Ole Miss offense was hobbled when Deandre Burnett, who is the team’s leading scorer at 19 points per game, sprained his ankle in the first half and didn’t return.
“We were fortunate that our defense was very good,” Fox said. “I feel for Burnett who got hurt. That impacted the game, obviously.”
For Ole Miss, it was a frustrating loss just a few days after an encouraging road win at Auburn.
“We’ve got to go back to practice, work on our shooting and just try to get our confidence back,” Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree.
Ole Miss had a chance to gain momentum after a nice road victory against Auburn on Saturday. Instead, Ole Miss’ offense looked lost most of the night, especially after Burnett’s injury.
Ole Miss also has been the worst team in the SEC at taking care of the basketball, giving up 15.6 turnovers per game. The Rebels had 13 turnovers against the Bulldogs, but some of them came at crucial junctures when they were trying to climb back into contention.
“Some of the things we do with the ball are unthinkable,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said.
Ole Miss, which entered the game averaging 80 points per game, had only four assists and shot 14 of 51 (27.5 percent) from the field. The Rebels struggled from every spot on the floor, making just 2 of 19 (10.5 percent) 3-pointers and 17 of 32 (53.1) free throws.
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