The men got an expected easy win over Valdosta State on Saturday. The story of the game was the debut of Takais Brown, and he shook off some early rust to really make an impression. A consistent player who looks to score inside is a big hole filled for this team. UGASports.com has a nice interview ($) up with Brown.

If there’s a red flag this early in the season, it’s wing defense. Courtney Lee lit up Georgia from the wing earlier this week, and on Saturday Valdosta State had two 20+ nights from the 2/3 spots. I understand that most teams have big scorers at those positions, but that makes it even more of a point of defensive emphasis. The Dawgs will have to get better at guarding the swingmen.

The women had a scare on Sunday and had to overcome a six-point second half deficit to beat Davidson. Davidson is picked to win their conference and has a senior-heavy lineup comfortable in a sound system, so Georgia expected a challenge. I doubt they expected this result though. Davidson played a good defensive game, choked off Georgia’s inside game, and made it back-and-forth for much of the afternoon. Cori Chambers kept the Lady Dogs alive time after time, and freshman Christy Marshall showed up in the second half with some devastating mid-range shots. Defense and rebounding finally made a difference down the stretch, but this was anyone’s game with two minutes left. Kudos to Megan Darrah – she had her first career double-double on Wednesday night and followed that up with another against Davidson. Her rebounding was a difference-maker in Sunday’s game, and she’s come such a long way in just a year.