Georgia’s first exhibition gave Mike White a clean early read on what this roster can be.
The Bulldogs rolled past Georgia State 94-61 on Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum, and the box score showed exactly how the night unfolded: 14 different Georgia players saw the floor, the bench piled up 46 points, and a handful of the names expected to matter most in 2026-27 made their presence felt right away.
Freddie Dilione V led Georgia in scoring with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings added 13 apiece, while Jacob Meyer paced Georgia State with 20 points.
The familiar faces were part of the reason Georgia separated early. Cain, Catchings, Smurf Millender and Kareem Stagg were all central to the Bulldogs’ offseason plan, and all four showed up in meaningful spots.
Stagg knocked down an early 3-pointer. Millender helped settle the offense with timely assists.
Catchings helped shut down a Georgia State push with a block and then finished at the other end. And Cain delivered the moment of the half, grabbing a defensive rebound in the closing seconds, pushing up the floor and drilling a half-court shot at the buzzer.
"I knew it was going in as soon as he shot it," Millender said of Cain's half-court heave. "I turned around and looked at the fans.
I threw my hands up. I knew it was going in."
That surge helped Georgia take control after Georgia State trimmed the margin to eight with 7:17 left in the first half. From there, the Bulldogs closed with authority, outscoring the Panthers 19-3 the rest of the way before halftime. The final three points came on Cain’s buzzer-beater.
Dilione may have been the biggest standout of the night, though. The Penn State transfer looked comfortable in his first real game action in Stegeman Coliseum, and he did damage in a bunch of ways. He finished with 14 points, three assists and one steal, then flashed the defensive pressure White wants by picking a Georgia State ball-handler near mid-court and taking it in for an uncontested layup.
"Coach really emphasizes, like, really pressuring the ball, being able to, you know, read guys handling the ball and stuff," said Dilione, who also had 3 assists and 1 steal. "It's exciting for fans to watch, being able to go down, play defense, and score the ball."
Dilione also said after the game that coming off the bench was familiar to him after doing it at Penn State, which matters if Georgia is going to keep using him as a spark piece. Even without a starting role, he looks like someone who will be in the middle of plenty of big possessions.
The frontcourt also offered a few promising glimpses. Sophomore Andrew Osasuyi and freshman David Ugonna Ike each got extended run, and both made the most of it in their own way.
Osasuyi blocked two shots, grabbed five rebounds and scored two points. Ugonna Ike was the more active scorer, finishing with eight points, four rebounds and one block.
Ole Miss transfer James Scott had a quieter line - three points, three blocks and one rebound - but his limited scoring opened the door for the younger bigs to get meaningful minutes. Based on Wednesday, Osasuyi appears to be first in line behind Scott, with Ugonna Ike pushing for a role as well.
White still had plenty to clean up afterward, and he listed several areas that need work: fouling jump shots, defensive communication, defensive rebounding and offensive spacing. That’s not unusual for an early exhibition, especially one played a week earlier than Georgia’s usual timing.
"I think it's good for us. You know, going against somebody different in a game based around fans, doing our game routine," Millender said. "I think it's good for us to get a feel of what the season is going to look like before it actually comes around."
Georgia has two more exhibitions left, including a trip to Clemson on Oct. 16, and White said the extra game should help his team move forward.
"Thankful, really, to the NCAA to have an additional exhibition game. This is the first one that I've ever been a part of that was this early.
So, I think it'll positively impact practices moving forward. Maybe a little bit more so than if we haven't played an early on.
Hope to be better in the next one and even better in the third one and even better in the opener."
Among the standouts, Stagg set an early tone and finished plus-27, Cain had the buzzer moment, Millender kept the offense organized, and Dilione looked every bit like a major piece. For Georgia, it was a strong first look.
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