No. 23 Georgia’s high-scoring offense enjoys strong start in SEC opener despite rebounding concerns

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — An overtime win over Auburn in its Southeastern Conference opening game showed No. 23 Georgia’s high-scoring offense is no fluke.

It also showed Georgia’s three-guard lineup presents rebounding challenges that must be addressed as the Bulldogs prepare for Tuesday night’s game at No. 22 Florida.

Georgia (13-1, 1-0 SEC) opened its SEC schedule with Saturday’s 104-100 overtime win over Auburn. Georgia has scored 100 or more points in seven of its 14 games and leads the nation with 99 points per game. The Bulldogs also lead the nation with 27.54 fast-break points per game.

Guard Jeremiah Wilkinson leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game after his game-high 31 points against Auburn.

Wilkinson hit two of his four 3-pointers in overtime to help Georgia outscore Auburn 12-8 in overtime.

“I stay in the gym (and) I work really hard,” Wilkinson said. “I put up a lot of shots.”

Auburn outrebounded the Bulldogs 50-35. Georgia’s three-guard lineup may be a concern as conference play continues. Georgia gave up 23 offensive rebounds.

“There’s a lot of stuff we can continue to get better at,” coach Mike White said. “It’s early. It’s one game. I know this, the 23 offensive rebounds isn’t going to translate to a lot of wins. We’ve got to fix that. We can’t bank on scoring 104 in these SEC games.”

Wilkinson said he was practicing at Stegeman Coliseum at midnight before Saturday’s game.

“Those shots at the end of the game, it feels like I’m just shooting by myself, just trying to get a good shot, not settle and get what the team needs,” Wilkinson said.

There were some questions about Georgia’s ability to maintain its offensive prowess against an Auburn team coming off a Final Four appearance.

“Auburn is similar to us with (its) speed and shot-making ability,” Wilkinson said. “It’s SEC play. We expect it. We knew we had a tough one to kick it off. We went 1-0 today.”

Wilkinson was seemingly not concerned with the questions surrounding Georgia’s offensive numbers prior to SEC play.

“We have to play the teams on our schedule,” Wilkinson said. “The last game it was (Long Island University), on (Saturday) it was Auburn. Our goal is to go 1-0 every time no matter if it’s the Golden State Warriors or a seventh grade team.”

Marcus “Smurf” Millender, who scored 24 points against Auburn, credited Georgia’s coaching staff regarding the Bulldogs’ offensive output this season.

“We have extreme talent all over the court, from the guys who start to the guys on the bench,” Millender said. “It shows. Putting up 100, we try to do that every game.”

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