The Georgia Bulldogs are placing their NCAA basketball tournament hopes in the hands of senior guard J.J. Frazier, which isn't a bad place to have them.
Frazier scored 31 points in Wednesday night's 79-78 topping of Auburn at Stegeman Coliseum and has averaged 31 points in Georgia's past four games, which include a loss to Kentucky and wins over Alabama and LSU. Georgia lost junior forward and leading scorer Yante Maten to an MCL sprain in his right knee 95 seconds into the Kentucky game on Feb. 18, leaving Frazier to go above and beyond the typical leadership responsibilities.
"He refuses to let us lose," Bulldogs coach Mark Fox said in his news conference Wednesday night. "He is a phenomenal competitor. J.J. is a great leader in battle, and I can't say enough things about him. He has just been an outstanding player for us."
A 5-foot-10, 155-pounder from Glennville, Ga., Frazier is one of two players from a Power Five conference program to score 124 points in a four-game stretch this season. The other is Washington freshman guard Markelle Fultz, who could be the top overall selection in June's NBA draft.
Frazier's frenetic play the past two weeks has helped the Bulldogs improve to 18-12 overall and 9-8 in Southeastern Conference play entering Saturday's crucial test at Arkansas (22-8, 11-6), but he doesn't believe Georgia is heading to Fayetteville with any newfound momentum.
"You take one game at a time," Frazier told reporters Wednesday night. "It can turn quickly, so you have to be focused and locked in."
Georgia has experienced its share of turns for the worse this winter, most notably losing late leads in regulation in eventual overtime losses at Florida and Kentucky. There was also the clock malfunction at the end of a 63-62 loss at Texas A&M on Jan. 21, a game the Bulldogs led 62-53.
Yet winning three straight has Georgia back on the NCAA tournament bubble, with ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi placing the Bulldogs first among his "Next Four Out" in his latest bracket projection Thursday. Lunardi has Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech among his "First Four Out," but the Bulldogs own an eight-point win over the Commodores in Athens and a 17-point win over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
"Give Georgia credit," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Wednesday night. "I think Mark is one of the best coaches in the country. I've told him that before, and I believe it to be true. You all are very fortunate to have him here at Georgia, because he gets the most out of what he has."
Fox said earlier this week that Maten is "nowhere close" to returning, so he will keep having to reinvent ways to prevail if his Bulldogs are to reach a fourth consecutive 20-win season and eke into March Madness. That begins with Frazier, who hopes his Stegeman career is finished and will not be extended by a date in the NIT.
"We're just gluing it together, but J.J. is our Super Glue," Fox said. "He just refuses to let us get beat. I love that kid."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.