Georgia basketball is on a roll, and Coach Mike White’s team is doing it with a formula Bulldogs’ football fans can appreciate.

Elite, physical defense, process-driven, player connection … sound familiar?

Indeed, White’s Georgia team ranks at or near the top of the SEC in the defensive categories, and looks to continue to forge an identity around that.

“It’s just who we are, I believe every single person on this team, at one point they were getting recruited, and we come here because of our defensive motor and how we play, we take pride in defense,” said UGA big man Somto Cyril, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound force.

“We can score, we know that, but we have to stop guys from scoring, that’s what we do. So far it’s been working for us.”

The Bulldogs have opened the season 14-2 and 2-1 in the rugged SEC, which had nine teams ranked in the AP Top 25 last week, including six in the Top 10.

Georgia could be on the verge of breaking into the Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2011 on the heels of back-to-back home wins over No. 6 Kentucky and No. 17 Oklahoma.

But White, and his players, have shrugged off the relevance of what that ranking would mean.

“If that (Top 25 ranking) were to happen, I’d be happy for our fans,” White said after Georgia’s 72-62 win over Oklahoma on Saturday. “I don’t really care.”

White’s approach is appropriate when one considers how fleeting such a ranking might be with a trip to No. 1 Tennessee on deck at 8 p.m. on Wednesday followed by a home game with No. 2 Auburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

White is more concerned with ensuring Georgia gets better, despite its impressive defensive statistics against a schedule that has already included five ranked teams.

Per the Pomeroy advanced metrics, the Bulldogs rank 16th in the nation on defense, and are the ninth-best team in the SEC and 35th-best in the nation.

Georgia’s recent success has led to sellout crowds at Stegeman Coliseum and more fanfare than the program has seen since No. 1 overall pick Anthony “Antman” Edwards was packing the building.

But Asa Newell, this season’s one-and-done surefire first-round NBA pick, made it clear the Bulldogs aren’t getting carried away with themselves.

“We can’t let the outside noise in, because that’s poison, we just stay true to ourselves and stay consistent,” Newell said. “We’re just trusting the process, we don’t want to get too high or too low.

“We’re trying to raise the standard of Georgia basketball.”

To date, Georgia ranks in the SEC …

• First in rebounding defense (30.0 per game)

• Second in scoring defense (64.3)

• Third in blocked shots (5.88 per game)

• Third in field goal percentage defense (.386)

• Fourth in 3-point FG defense (.280)

• Sixth in steals (8.44 per game)

White has lamented the Georgia passing game, more specifically, the turnovers, as the Bulldogs are 15th out of 16 tams with a 1.07 assist/turnover ratio.

But Cyril points out this Bulldogs’ team knows how to band together and make the proper adjustments.

Georgia trailed by three points at the half against the Sooners after leading by as many as nine points in the opening 20 minutes.

There was no panic or special message from White or his staff at halftime.

“The coaches didn’t say anything to us,” Cyril said. “We have great individuals, we know who we are, we know what we can do, we talk to each other in the huddle.

“It’s about how we get better throughout the game. We talked to each other and responded pretty well.”

Newell, who flashes NBA-level performance — needing only to mature physically into his 6-foot-11 frame — said the ability to respond to deficits is part of the team’s makeup.

“This team handles adversity well, just like last game, we re-create it in practice all the time,” Newell said. “This team continues to strive and push through adversity, and we’re all very connected.”