Basketball in Athens just got a whole lot more stressful. If you were looking for a smooth ride through the SEC schedule, Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum probably ruined your week.
People keep asking who's winning the Georgia Bulldog game, and the answer is currently a bitter pill for the Dawg nation to swallow. After an undefeated run at home that had everyone starting to believe this might be the year Mike White really turns the corner, the floor just fell out.
Ole Miss came into our house and walked away with a 97-95 overtime victory. It wasn't just a loss; it was a 45-minute defensive collapse that saw a No. 21 ranked Georgia team get shredded by an unranked Rebels squad. Honestly, it’s the kind of game that makes you want to throw your remote at the wall because you can see the talent is there, but the execution just vanished when it mattered most.
Stegeman Coliseum Was Not a Fortress Tonight
You’ve gotta feel for the 10,000-plus fans who packed out the Steg in Athens. The energy was high, the place was sold out, and for a while, it looked like Georgia’s high-octane offense would simply outrun the Rebels. Jeremiah Wilkinson was playing like a man possessed. He dropped 32 points—a season high—and looked like the best player on the court for long stretches.
But here’s the problem.
Georgia is currently averaging 95.8 points per game. That’s elite. It’s one of the highest-scoring offenses in the entire country. But as Coach Mike White said afterward, "You can't just outscore people in this league." Ole Miss shot a staggering 60% in the second half. At home. With 10,000 people screaming. That's a total failure of "pride" and "attention to detail," to borrow White's frustrated phrasing.
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How the Lead Slipped Away in Overtime
The game went to the extra period after a chaotic finish to regulation. In overtime, it felt like Georgia had grabbed the momentum back. Kanon Catchings, who finished with 17 points, drained a massive three-pointer with less than two minutes on the clock. The building was shaking.
Then, the wheels came off.
Ole Miss didn't blink. A.J. Storr was a nightmare all night, coming off the bench to score 27 points. But the literal backbreaker was Patton Pinkins. He hit a second-chance layup—basically a buzzer-beater—that silenced the crowd and handed Georgia their first home loss of the 2025-2026 season.
It drops the Bulldogs to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. If you're keeping track of who's winning the Georgia Bulldog game in terms of the bigger picture, this loss might have just kicked them out of the Top 25 when the new rankings drop next week.
The Lingering Sting of the Football Playoffs
It’s hard to talk about Georgia sports right now without acknowledging the elephant in the room from earlier this month. The football team also suffered a gut-punch loss to Ole Miss. On January 1st, in the Sugar Bowl (a CFP Quarterfinal), the Rebels stunned the No. 3 Bulldogs 39-34.
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That game was a mirror image of what we just saw on the hardwood.
- Georgia led 21-12 at half.
- They let the lead slip.
- A late field goal by Lucas Carneiro with six seconds left iced it.
- A desperation lateral play resulted in a safety to make the final score look even weirder.
Seeing your season end in the Superdome at the hands of Lane Kiffin is one thing. Seeing your basketball team lose their home invincibility to the same school two weeks later? That’s just cruel.
What’s Wrong with the Dawgs?
The stats tell a weird story. Georgia actually out-rebounded Ole Miss in the basketball game. They forced a decent amount of turnovers. But their field goal percentage at the rim was, quite frankly, pathetic.
They missed easy layups. They missed "wall-up" shots where the Rebels' interior defense just made them uncomfortable. Meanwhile, they let Travis Perry and A.J. Storr get whatever they wanted on the perimeter.
Mike White’s post-game presser was blunt. He basically said the players aren't "buying what we're selling" on the defensive end because they've been winning high-scoring games and haven't had to "pay for it" until now. Well, the bill arrived on Wednesday night, and it was expensive.
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The Road Ahead: Can They Bounce Back?
The schedule doesn't get any easier. Georgia has a ranked Arkansas team coming to town on Saturday. If they play defense like they did against Ole Miss, the Razorbacks will hang 100 on them without breaking a sweat.
Basically, the Bulldogs are at a crossroads. They have the offensive firepower to beat anyone. Jeremiah Wilkinson is a legitimate star. Somto Cyril is a force when he stays out of foul trouble. But if they don't find some defensive identity, they're going to be a "bubble team" by Valentine's Day.
To get back on the winning side of the ledger, keep an eye on these specific adjustments for the next game:
- Defensive Communication: They gave up way too many open looks in the second half because of missed rotations.
- Finishing at the Rim: You can't shoot under 40% in the paint and expect to win SEC games, even at home.
- Bench Production: Outside of a few flashes, the depth was outplayed by the Rebels' second unit.
The loss hurts, but the season isn't over. It's just a lot more precarious than it was 24 hours ago.