Cullowhee, N.C. – Looking to conclude nonconference play on a high note, Western Carolina men's basketball closes out a challenging three-game road swing, traveling to Athens, Ga., to battle nationally ranked Georgia out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on Thursday (Dec. 18) night at Stegman Coliseum.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus (paid subscription required), with live stats available through a link online on CatamountSports.com. Live audio from the Catamount Sports Network is available on network affiliate 105.7 FM/540 AM WRGC in Sylva and streaming online audio at CatamountSports.com.
Men's Basketball Matchup: Western Carolina (4-6) at #25/RV Georgia (9-1)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 18
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Stegman Coliseum (Athens, Ga.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: SEC Network Plus (paid subscription required)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
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About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts enter Thursday following a 96-74 road loss at ACC-foe, Virginia Tech, last Thursday. The Hokies marked the third of four Power Four opponents on the WCU schedule in early-season nonconference action. Western Carolina has already squared off with the Cincinnati (Big 12), Duke (ACC), and Virginia Tech (ACC), ahead of Thursday's matchup with SEC foe, Georgia.
Redshirt junior Marcus Kell tallied a team-best 21 points, as he connected on 7-of-12 field goals, including a pair of threes, to pace the Catamounts as one of two to finish in double figures. Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson poured in a season-high 16 points off the bench, including 7-of-11 at the free-throw line.
The Catamounts have put together a strong five-game stretch, averaging 80 points per contest to advance their seasonal per-game average from 71.7 to 76.8. Kell leads the Catamounts in the stretch at 14.8 points per game, while sophomore CJ Hyland is averaging 11.7, and graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro with 11.4 per game.
Soumaoro sits among the league leaders in 3-point shooting, making 26 threes at 2.6 per game, tying him for fifth in threes and fourth in per-game average. Sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba begins play fifth in the league in blocks with 12 rejections.
The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards early in the 2025-26 season, averaging a league-best 40.3 rebounds per game through 10 contests as the Purple & Gold lead the way in the SoCon in rebounds per game, and offensive rebounds per contest (13.6), while ranking second in defensive rebounds per game (26.7).
Kabba maintains his lead for the Catamounts on the glass at 7.6 boards per contest, ranking in a tie for fifth in the SoCon. Behind Kabba, post-mate Samuel Dada checks into Thursday night's action, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, followed by Kell at 4.9 per contest. The trio has at least 15 offensive boards, with Kabba leading the way with 29, sitting second in the league at a 2.9 average per contest. WCU has won or tied the rebounding battle in six of 10 games during the early season, with its largest rebounding output of the year coming on December 2 with 64 boards against VUL.
Scouting the Opposition:
Georgia (9-1) enters Thursday on a three-game win streak with victories over future SoCon foe Tennessee Tech (123-81), ACC-foe Florida State (107-73), and most recently over common opponent, Cincinnati (84-65). Georgia's win over the Bearcats ran its home record to 6-0. UGA opened the season 6-0 before dropping the finale of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic to Clemson, 97-94 in overtime, to represent for its lone blemish on the season.
The Bulldogs finished 20-13 last season, including an 8-10 mark in the SEC, and fell to Gonzaga in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore Jeremiah Wilkinson leads the Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game, including nine games in double figures and four games of 20 or more points. Wilkinson hit his seasonal best of 26 in the matchup against Clemson. Junior Blue Cain averages 16.1 points per game over 10 games with double figures in all 10 games, including a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds against FAMU.
Cain also leads the team on the glass at 5.6 rebounds per game, followed by junior Dylan James at 5.3 and sophomore Somto Cyril at 5.1 boards. Marcus Millender, a junior transfer from UTSA, leads the Bulldogs in the assist column with 42 helpers, as Cyril and senior Justin Abson lead the top shot blocking team in the nation with 25 stops apiece.
Georgia leads the SEC in nine statistical categories including blocked shots per game (8.5), fastbreak points per game (27.6), field goal percentage defense (38.3%), free throws made per game (21.3), scoring offense (98.3), scoring margin (27.7), steals per game (10.7) along with turnover margin (5.2) and turnovers forced per game (16.9). The Bulldogs' blocks per game and scoring offense also lead the NCAA.
Head coach Mike White is in his fourth season at the helm in Athens after 11 years combined between Louisiana Tech (four years) and Florida (seven years), where he has totaled 308 career wins. In his coaching career, he has led his squads to 11 postseason berths, including five NCAA tournament berths. He is the only SEC head coach and one of five coaches to earn an NCAA tournament win from 2017-21, joining Bill Self, Leonard Hamilton, Mark Few, and Jay Wright.
The Bulldogs were tabbed 14th by the conference's media members among the 16-team preseason poll.
Series History:
Western Carolina and Georgia have met nine times previously on the men's basketball hardwood, with the Bulldogs holding a decisive 9-0 lead in the all-time series. Thursday marks the first time since Nov. 7, 2022, that the teams have met as UGA earned a 68-55 victory in the early-season clash during the 2022-23 season.
The Catamounts have battled 14 teams that currently call the SEC home – Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt. The Purple & Gold have earned wins over Arkansas, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt over the stretch.
As a conference, the Catamounts are the seventh team to face an SEC opponent, as the SoCon continues to search for its first win against the Southeastern Conference. Auburn defeated both Chattanooga and Wofford, and South Carolina took out in-state foe, The Citadel. Tennessee dispatched Mercer, Arkansas won over Samford, and Missouri defeated VMI before Thursday's tilt.
Southern Conference / SEC Connection:
The Catamounts have a long history against the Southeastern Conference (SEC), facing 14 of the league's now 16 members. Thursday's tilt sees Georgia become the SEC's most common opponent in WCU history.
Founded in 1921, the Southern Conference – the FIFTH OLDEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION – has given rise to two of the premier athletic conferences in America: the Southeastern (SEC, founded in 1932) and the Atlantic Coast (ACC, founded in 1952). Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pac-12 (1915), and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older.
Georgia was a member of The Southern Conference from its founding in 1921 through 1932, with the first fracture to form the SEC. The Bulldogs won the SoCon regular-season championship in 1930-31 with a 15-1 league record, and their final appearance in the SoCon tournament in 1931-32, dispatching Mississippi State, Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina on the way to the crown.
Up Next:
Following Thursday's action in Athens, the Catamounts turn the page to Southern Conference play with a return to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday, Dec. 31, with a visit from Wofford. The meeting with the Terriers is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio from the Catamount Sports Network, and live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).
