ATHENS, Ga. – In a blink of an eye, it seemed, Tennessee’s nine-point lead morphed into a 10-point deficit.
By the time Georgia’s J.J. Frazier and Kenny Gaines were done burying the Volunteers under a barrage of jumpers, that deficit turned into another defeat away from Knoxville.
The two guards combined for 23 points during a 25-6 run as the Bulldogs turned Wednesday night’s Southeastern Conference clash on its head en route to an 81-72 win at Stegeman Coliseum.
In losing for a fourth straight time in Athens, the Vols dropped to 0-7 away from Thompson-Boling Arena this season.
“They raised their level of intensity, which you would expect them to do,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the loss. “I told them exactly what I thought (Georgia coach) Mark Fox would be telling his team about (how) they’ve got to do everything harder and take care of the ball when they turned it over a lot in the first half.