BATON ROUGE – The Georgia Bulldogs used a scoring run that countered a strong LSU start and that proved to be too much for LSU to overcome in the second half as UGA scored an 83-71 win over the Tigers Saturday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU’s Max Mackinnon had a strong night for the Tigers with 26 points with two treys and 10-of-10 free throws to go with four assists and five rebounds. It was his 14th consecutive double figure scoring game.
Marquel Sutton was LSU’s other double figure scoring, getting 14 points.
The Tigers opened up a 31-16 lead 10 minutes into the game as LSU was able to get off to a solid start showing some of the same things that were successful against South Carolina a week ago.
But Georgia, which was averaging over 92 points a game and likes to score quickly and off turnovers, was able to slowly work back into the game, outscoring LSU 27-6 over the last 10 minutes to lead at the break, 42-37.
LSU was not able to keep up with the Bulldogs in the second half as Georgia held LSU to 9-of-23 from the field and 0-of-7 from distance in the final 20 minutes.
Kanon Catchings had 23 points and 5-of-6 from distance to lead Georgia, while Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 18, Somto Cyril 12 and Blue Cain 10.
Georgia shot 50.8 percent for the game (30-of-59), making 10-of-25 from three for 40 percent. Georgia was 13-of-24 at the line for 54.2 percent.
LSU finished the game at 41.8 percent (23-of-55). After starting 5-of-6 from deep, LSU finished 5-of-23 for 21.7 percent. The Tigers had another good game at the free throw line, making 20-of-24 for 83.3 percent.
Georgia out rebounded LSU, 36-34, but Pablo Tamba of LSU had the best night on the board with 12 total, including six offensive boards. UGA had 38 points in the paint to 36 for LSU. LSU had 14 turnovers to 11 for Georgia with the Bulldogs having a 23-21 advantage in points off turnovers.
LSU led for 18 minutes in the game, all in the first half and Georgia led for just shy of 21 minutes.
The Tigers return to the floor on Tuesday to face the Arkansas Razorbacks in an 8 p.m. contest at the Maravich Center. Tickets are on sale at LSUTix.net.
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LSU vs. Georgia Men’s Basketball
February 7, 2026
Post-game Quotes
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon
Opening Statement…
“We were thrilled with the start of the game during the first 10 minutes. I thought we were really dialed in on both sides of the ball and executed at a high level. Our off-ball screening actions were really effective, and we were sharing the basketball and had nine assists to only two turnovers at that point. Credit to Georgia; they started switching a lot of screens and were really physical on their defensive side to get them out in transition. I thought there were two things in the difference to the game: after the nine (assists) to two (turnovers) ratio, we were three (assists) to 12 (turnovers) the rest of the game. Then, after only giving up four offensive rebounds in the first half, we give up 12 in the second. A lot of those led to dagger three pointers and they made us pay in the fight and pursuit for those 50/50 plays.”
On what he saw after a strong start to the game…
“The things that stand out in live play was that I thought the ball really moved in that stretch (opening 10 minutes). We were able to get some stops and did a good job attacking the press, so we were able to play in the open floor and get some high-quality shots there. I thought that defensively we did a better job containing them off the bounce, so we weren’t scrambling to cover three-point shooters as much in the first 10 minutes. When they went to the switching and they top locked some of our shooters coming off actions, it disrupted our timing. We ended up trying to make a lot of plays off the dribble, and that was not very effective for us. And then again, just coming back to the offensive glass in the second half, I thought they just punished us on the glass.”
On the lack of success from three-point range tonight after the strong start…
“Credit to Georgia, I thought their defense and their physicality bumped us off some cuts and the switching disrupted some of the timing. I did think we got some pretty good looks in the second half when it was a seven-point game, but unfortunately, we just we were unable to knock those down. I think we might have been 0-of-7 in the second half from behind the arc after getting off to the great start that we did there.”
Fifth-Year Senior Marquel Sutton
On the shift in momentum after the hot start offensively…
“I feel like we came out with energy, had the hot start, we had a lot of momentum for the first 10 minutes and we just kind of let our guard down and kind of let up the last 30 minutes and the rest of the game, and we can’t do that.”
On keeping the morale up moving forward despite the conference record…
“We can’t separate. We’ve got to stay together as a group, as a team, just like we’ve been doing that all season. When adversity hits you’ve got to stay together and we’ve got to move on to the next game and put this one behind us.”
Senior Guard Max Mackinnon
On the troubles on the defensive glass…
“I think sometimes we got put in rotations and missed box outs, I know I missed some box outs, but they’re good athletes and sometimes if you can’t win a jumping contest, you’ve got to be able to hit first”
On the inability to make threes after the hot start…
“I think I got some open looks, sometimes it feels like it was contested but I’m really not too sure. I’ve got to go watch the film. Obviously, we got off to a hot start, but we’ve got to just go and watch the film and learn from it.”
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UGA Head Coach Mike White
On what it took to get the win…
“I thought we were pretty sharp for 40 minutes defensively. They overcame good defense early and made some shots. We missed a couple of block outs, and they drew a couple of fouls early. We got down because of some empty offensive possessions, but I liked our looks. Our shot-selection early was pretty good; they were just playing better offense than we were. I thought we were close defensively. We settled in defensively and probably played as good of 30 minutes collectively defensively as we have all year. That’s what it takes to win on the road in this league. I’m really proud of the effort. There was a lot of carryover from practice. These guys worked hard, and our attention to detail was pretty good against an LSU team that is capable of beating anybody in our league. This is a really big win for us.”
On gaining confidence moving forward in the SEC…
“We gained some confidence today because we have respect for the LSU program and how they execute. They’re coming off a game against South Carolina, where they executed at a really high level offensively and defensively. They had their way offensively against a high-level defensive program in South Carolina. We were locked in this week in preparation. That doesn’t always mean there’s carryover, but there was with this one, especially defensively in the last 30 minutes. We needed to get a win. That three-game skid wasn’t fun, but that’s life in the SEC these days. As I mentioned earlier this week, LSU could’ve easily been sitting here with two or three more SEC wins. They’ll continue to be super competitive.”