Mike White believes final score does not indicate competitiveness vs. Mississippi State

Mike White’s Bulldogs fell to Mississippi State by 13 on Wednesday, but the Georgia leader believes the game was closer than the box score would indicate.

Georgia made it interesting throughout, only down by three points as the minutes ticked away late in the game, but Mississippi State pulled away in the end, making it look like an easier game than it actually was against White’s squad.

Speaking with the media afterwards, White explained his point of view, elaborating on why he felt good about Georgia following the loss.

“I really liked the way we played in the first half. I really liked the looks, against as stingy of a defensive team as there is in the country, especially at home. Their numbers indicate that obviously, and we’ve seen that live,” White explained. “This is a team that’s going to go to the NCAA Tournament. We scored 62. That said, I’ll take those looks against this defense. I thought we did a lot of good things.

“Obviously, we missed some that we’ve got to make. We didn’t get to the foul line enough. We had some live ball turnovers that haunted us. They converted. They made nine threes. They converted at a high level. Credit Mississippi State, and the way that they just defend consistently. … Down three, on the road in the SEC, with a few minutes? We gave ourselves a chance. The final score, I don’t think, indicates how competitive the game was down the stretch. They go back to back threes, boom-boom, break it open. That’s it. But the effort was there. The physicality was there. I thought our guys played really hard.”

In the end, Noah Thomasson led the Bulldogs with 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done, as Mississippi State advanced to 15-8 on the season, and 4-6 within the SEC. The loss dropped Georgia to 14-9, and 4-6 within the conference.

Alas, Georgia is looking to make an NCAA Tournament run, but they’re cutting it close with the way they’ve been playing. White’s team has lost five of their last six, and currently are the not-so-proud owners of a four-game losing streak.

They’ll be back in action on Saturday, on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks. We’ll see if the Georgia Bulldogs and Mike White can get back on the winning side of things, or if their skid continues in Fayetteville this weekend.