Georgia finishes on high note with win over Vanderbilt
Dakota Leffew added 14 points, while fellow reserve Tyrin Lawrence chipped in 13, as Georgia (20-11, 8-10 SEC) won its fourth straight regular season game, all but securing its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015.
Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt (20-11, 8-10) with 24 points, followed by Chris Manon and Jaylen Carey, who finished with 10 points each. The Commodores dropped their second straight game to close out the regular season. Vanderbilt is also projected to make the NCAA Tournament, which would be its first appearance since 2017.
After the halftime-score was tied at 39, Georgia took its largest lead to that point on Dylan James and Demary's back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Bulldogs a 51-44 edge.
Leffew's driving layup then extended Georgia's advantage to 10 with 13:12 remaining, before Devin McGlockton's basket stamped an 8-0 Vanderbilt spree to trim the Commodores' deficit to 59-56 with less than 10 minutes left.
Georgia then answered with another run, this time a game-clinching 15-0 stretch that included Leffew's 10 points. Edwards' free throws at the 3:38 mark stopped the bleeding for Vanderbilt, snapping a six-plus minute scoring drought and cutting the Bulldogs' lead to 73-58.
Leffew's floater in the lane pushed Georgia's edge to 78-64 with 1:41 remaining, sealing the Bulldogs' first home win over Vanderbilt since February 2021.
After Carey's triple gave Vanderbilt an early 18-16 edge, James' putback dunk and Newell's triple swung the lead to the Bulldogs midway through the opening half.
Minutes later, Demary's free throws gave Georgia 27-25 lead, before Edwards' 3-pointer began a 7-0 Commodores' run. Demary's ensuing layup then jumpstarted an 8-0 Georgia spurt. Newell knocked in a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left, knotting the halftime-score at 39.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Tour Championship prediction, best bets & golf odds
The top 30 PGA players are back in action again on Thursday as the Tour Championship takes place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Fresh from two out of three tips coming in at the BMW Championship last week, the pressure is on to follow it up with another win this weekend. Scottie Scheffler's win made him the highest-ranked American, and Tommy Fleetwood carried on his impressive record of top 10 finishes. Golf betting sites have Scheffler as short as 1/10 to finish in the top 10, and Fleetwood is also odds-on for another strong performance. Scheffler is the overwhelming favourite to win his sixth tournament of the year, while Rory McIlroy and Fleetwood are also strong contenders in the latest golf betting odds. The Englishman, who finished fourth in Maryland, has now gone 163 events on the PGA Tour without a win, but his recent form suggests he's getting closer to ending his drought. He finished second at the Travelers Championship in June and has enjoyed third and fourth-place finishes in his last two outings. Could this finally be his time? With a record $40m purse, it wouldn't be a bad one to win. Tour Championship tips: Scheffler to win again Scheffler won at the East Lake Golf Club 12 months ago, by four shots from fellow American Collin Morikawa, while McIlroy has won three times at the course, most recently in 2022, when he finished one shot ahead of Scheffler and Im Sung-jae. It's hard to see beyond Scheffler, who has been in outstanding form in 2025, and it seems only fitting that he finishes top of the field again. Betting sites have made him favourite for a reason and we're inclined to agree with the bookies on this one. He leads the rankings by a country mile from McIlroy, but with the format changing this year, there is no benefit to his current position with all players starting the tournament at even par. The best performer over the four rounds will win the FedExCup and a huge $10 million payout. Tour Championship prediction 1: Scottie Scheffler to win - 13/8 Bet365 Tour Championship prediction: Spaun to end the season on a high J.J. Spaun has finished in the top five on five occasions in 2025 and is enjoying his career-best season to date, which includes winning the US Open back in June. He has lost two playoffs, including at the recent FedEx St. Jude Championship, when he lost out to Justin Rose, and betting apps are offering 9/2 on him finishing in the top five this time around. He has finished second in the automatic qualifying for the Ryder Cup and would love to cap the season off with another impressive finish. Tour Championship prediction 2: JJ Spaun to finish in the top five - 9/2 Unibet Tour Championship free bets LiveScore Bet are offering £10 in free bets for customers that place a £10 bet on the Tour Championship. To qualify, existing LiveScore Bet customers can bet £10 on any Tour Championship market with odds of evens or greater before or during the tournament, excluding price boosts or specials. Once your qualifying wager has been confirmed, you'll receive £10 in free bets paid out in 2 x £5 free bets. One portion of the £5 free bet is reserved for the Ryder Cup and the other £5 free bet can be used on the sportsbook. Sportsbook free bets must be used within seven days. New LiveScore Bet customers can use the LiveScore Bet sign up offer below to claim £30 in free bets for signing up online. Please gamble responsibly When having a bet, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. Betting can be addictive, and it's important to stay in control of your betting. Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop. Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control. But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Braves erase 6-run deficit to slay White Sox
August 20 - Drake Baldwin delivered a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 11-10 on Tuesday. Atlanta scored five runs in the seventh to pull within 10-9 before capping the rally on Baldwin's bases-loaded single to right. Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar each delivered a two-run homer to stay hot for Atlanta, which has won five of its last six games. Dylan Lee (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth and Raisel Iglesias retired the White Sox in order in the ninth for his 20th save. One night after posting season highs in runs and hits (19) during Monday's 13-9 victory over Atlanta in the series opener, the White Sox took a 10-4 lead on Kyle Teel's two-run homer in the sixth inning. Atlanta rallied with five runs in the seventh. Ronald Acuna Jr. singled in a run, Baldwin drew a bases-loaded walk and Ozzie Albies hit a two-run single before a run scored on Nacho Alvarez Jr.'s groundout. The Braves moved ahead in the eighth after loading the bases with one out against Tyler Alexander (4-11). After Steven Wilson entered and got Marcell Ozuna to pop out, Baldwin delivered a two-run single for the lead. Harris extended his hitting streak to 12 games and gave the Braves a first-inning lead with his second homer in as many games, a two-run shot against Shane Smith. Chicago moved ahead with three runs in the third against Bryce Elder when Edgar Quero scored on Mike Tauchman's groundout and Teel doubled in two runs. The Braves regained the lead on Profar's two-run shot in the fourth. The 437-foot blast was Profar's 10th homer of the season and fourth in his last three games. Smith pitched six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Chicago knocked Elder out of the game in the fifth while scoring five runs on five hits. After Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa each singled in a run, Andrew Benintendi walked to load the bases before Luis Robert Jr. doubled in two to make it 8-4. Elder gave up eight runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three. --Field Level Media
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Reuters
Rory McIlroy: Tour Championship format not settled, match play was discussed
August 19 - At least for this year, the 30 players who advanced to the Tour Championship this week in Atlanta are starting from scratch. No FedEx Cup points were carried over, and no player will get a head start over any other. Asked Tuesday if getting rid of the "starting strokes" arrangement left the PGA Tour with the "best format" for its season championship, Rory McIlroy merely said it's the format they have for this week. "I'm maybe part of the minority. I didn't hate the starting strokes," Northern Ireland's McIlroy told reporters at East Lake Golf Club. "I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here. But the majority of people just didn't like the starting strokes." McIlroy sat on the player advisory committee that sorted out what to do about the often confusing Tour Championship format. In May, the tour announced that it was eliminating starting strokes, calling the move "an important first step in the evolution of our postseason." McIlroy said it was done with the fans in mind, though he also can hear the argument that Scottie Scheffler, who finished the points race a runaway No. 1, may deserve more than a two-stroke head start as he's gotten in years prior. Then McIlroy revealed that the PAC discussed match play among its several options to further evolve the Tour Championship. "Look, there was a lot of other stuff on the table. Match play was on the table, and that got canned for this year," McIlroy said. "That might be brought back up in the conversation for next year or the year after. "I think it's just hard for the players to reconcile that we play stroke play for every week of the year but then the season-ending tournament is going to be decided by match play. I think it was just hard for the players to get their heads around that." The PGA Tour had one official match-play event from 1999-2023, after which the WGC Match Play was squeezed off the schedule. Though many argue that a match-play bracket only determines the best golfer of the week, not the best golfer of the year, McIlroy won the 2015 WGC Match Play as the No. 1 overall seed. Former World No. 1 Dustin Johnson did the same in 2017, and Scheffler pulled out a victory in 2022 as the fifth overall seed. Golf Digest on Tuesday laid out a mock match play bracket that would give the top eight seeds, including Scheffler and No. 2 McIlroy, a first-round bye as a reward for their season-long excellence, not unlike first-round byes for top seeds in the NFL playoffs. "I don't know, maybe that will be on the table again, who knows," McIlroy said of match play. "Yeah, look, it's a 72-hole stroke-play event, and that's what we play week in and week out. That's what's going to determine the winner." The FedEx Cup was introduced in 2007, and McIlroy has won the most of anyone with three (2016, 2019, 2022). He's gearing up to try for a fourth, and he doesn't mind starting out the week without an advantage over the 30th golfer in the field. "I don't think I ever started this tournament in the starting strokes era at 10 under, like in the No. 1 spot," he said. "If anything, I'm in a better position than I have been the last few years, so that's a nice thing. "But no, I think with the format change or with whatever the money is, we're still playing for the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, and that's enough to play as hard as possible for." --Field Level Media
