BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean said the 56-54 exhibition win at UAB wasn’t pretty, but it was a step in the right direction.
The Bulldogs trailed for most of the game (29 minutes, 22 seconds) before stepping up the defensive end and on the glass in the second half to beat the Blazers before a rowdy crowd of 3,437 on Thursday night.
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“We couldn’t have asked for more,” Crean said, pleased his team got the opportunity to play in a hostile road environment right out of the gate. “They usually have a 40-person pep band, they had 200 people tonight right behind us, I loved it.
“The way we played with more physicality, and with more intent and more aggressiveness in the second half was something we can build toward,” Crean said.
“The thing I told our team is that momentum is always up for grabs, and the game is always giving you something, and it may to be what you wanted, or what you planned for, or what’s pretty, but you’ve got to find it, and our guys figured that out tonight when it came to the physicality,” Crean said.
“We had 11 offensive rebounds in the second half, and we had 19 deflections in the second half, those things made us better.”
The Bulldogs return to action on at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1 against West Georgia in an exhibition game in Athens.
Georgia opens the regular season in Stegeman Coliseum at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, against Savannah State.
First five on the floor at UAB
Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean