Matchups for the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge have been set. According to a report by Jon Rothstein, Georgia will host Notre Dame for the second iteration of the conference clash on Tuesday, December 3rd. Last year, UGA went on the road and defeated Florida State, coming back from a 17-point deficit to take down the Seminoles. It helped the 14-game event come out to a 7-7 tie. This year, there will be 16 games with the SEC adding two additional teams.
It’s not the first time these two teams have met with Mike White at the helm. Georgia and Notre Dame matched up in a neutral site game at State Farm Arena in White’s first year. UGA won 77-62 thanks to a big game from Braelen Bridges, who went 9-for-9 from the field, a double-double from Jabri Abdur-Rahim (12 points, 11 rebounds) and 10+ points from M.A. Moncrieffe and Terry Roberts as well.
Of course, none of those four names from above will take the court for Georgia in this meeting. The Bulldogs will be led by a trio of returnees from last year’s team that made a run to the NIT semifinals and won 20 games for the first time in eight seasons. Freshman All-SEC point guard Silas Demary returns alongside Blue Cain and Dylan James and will be joined by a talented cast of newcomers. In the Class of 2024, Georgia signed five-star plus+ forward Asa Newell, former Kentucky commit Somto Cyril and Jordyn Kee. Meanwhile, by way of the transfer portal, the Bulldogs added the likes of DeShayne Montgomery (Mount St. Mary’s), Justin Abson (Appalachian State), Dakota Leffew (Mount St. Mary’s), RJ Godfrey (Clemson) and Tyrin Lawrence (Vanderbilt).
“Really excited about these guys. Veteran guards with ball skills that give us versatility in the backcourt with athleticism and length and defensive and rebounding prowess up front with those fours and fives we signed,” White said. “A couple of high school kids that athletically bring a lot to the table. We’re excited about Asa Newell and Somto Cyril. Representing the state of Georgia with our class with Somto being OTE. Dakota Leffew, Tyrin Lawrence, RJ Godfrey all come back to the greater Atlanta area. Super excited about this group.”
“If I pinpointed one, I’ll have six mad a me. I feel good about all these guys, I really do,” the head coach continued. “… RJ Godfrey is a guy who comes to mind who played on a really good team behind a couple of really good frontcourt players. I think for an outsider looking at our class, I think he might be considered a sleeper. Of course, you’ve got the high school guys who are really highly ranked, you’ve got the guards from (Mount) St. Mary’s (DeShayne Montgomery and Dakota Leffew) who put up really good numbers against us. You’ve got Tyrin (Lawrence) who most in the SEC are familiar with. I’m excited about all of them, but he (Godfrey) could be in particular a little bit more of a sleeper.”
Georgia’s Growing List of Games
The date against the Irish comes as the latest in a growing list of non-conference games on the schedule and gives Georgia four against power conference opponents (Marquette, St. John’s, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech). Last year, UGA was the only team in the six basketball power conferences to play a pair of games against power conference opponents to open the season and took on six in total (Oregon, Wake Forest, Miami, Providence, Florida State, Georgia Tech) across the 13 non-conference games.
Georgia also knows its opponents for SEC play with the league announcing matchups. Coming to Stegeman Coliseum next season are Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. As is tradition, Georgia will play Bruce Pearl’s Tigers twice. The same is true too for both the Gators of Florida and Gamecocks of South Carolina. Then, on the road where things get difficult oftentimes are games against Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M – plus the squads Georgia double-dips against.
Confidence from the Coach
Mike White feels good about his team heading into the 2024-25 campaign. The Bulldogs recently began summer workouts, and even beforehand, it was clear to the head coach that this team could be competitive in one of the nation’s toughest leagues.
“I think we’ve got a chance to be very good,” White said during an appearance at Georgia’s athletic association board of directors meeting. “We talked about the metrics earlier and the improvements from year one to year two and from the previous staff to the end of year one. We’re anticipating significant improvements in year three.”
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