Picked to finish last in the powerful SEC last season, Jason Edwards and Vanderbilt entered their regular season finale looking to improve on their NCAA Tournament resume — which already included 20 victories.

Their trip to Athens served as a homecoming for Edwards, a Georgia native, and it also provides an interesting look back for Friar fans months later.

This is another example of Edwards getting it done against good competition (24 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, 2-3 from three, 8-10 FT, 3 steals, 2 turnovers in 35 minutes), but we also get to see UConn’s next point guard in Silas Demary Jr, former PC recruit Somto Cyril, and one-and-done freshman Asa Newell.

Vandy and Georgia battled back and forth for 30 minutes. The game was tied, 39-39, at halftime — a first half that included 11 lead changes. It was a two-point game with ten minutes remaining, but UGA ripped off a 15-0 run to pull away in a 79-68 victory.

Edwards’ seven field goals demonstrate the variety of ways in which he scores:

Knocking down a mid-range jumper off two dribbles

Somehow swishing a double pump, contested leaner on the baseline

Scoring on layup/goaltend after a hesitation/Smitty dribble

Burying 3-pointer off the dribble

Hitting a catch-and-shoot corner three

Making contested mid-range fadeaway

Finishing over Somto with his lefthand for a tough and-1

No two buckets were the same.

Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington summed up Edwards’ big day: “I thought he had a good rhythm to his game, there was spacing out there, and he was making good plays in space. He got tired, he got cramped up in the second half, which I think you kind of saw that towards the end with him. It’s one of those things where you know he’s not scared. He was ready to play. He’s from Georgia, I’m happy he played well here, but I think everybody in the locker room is just disappointed with the outcome. It’s one of those things where you got to move on quick.”

Demary and Newell led the way for Georgia with 15 points each. The 6’5 Demary scored 15+ points for the eighth consecutive game, averaging over 19 a night during that stretch.

In Demary, Dan Hurley will return to having a big point guard in the mold of Tristen Newton and Jeff Dowtin, who both saw great success under him. Demary shot 4-10 from the field in this game, but made 2-4 from three and 5-6 at the free throw line, while also finishing with two rebounds and an assist. He’ll be very good for a UConn team that will be ranked in the top ten heading into this season.

Newell played just a year at Georgia before going in the first round of the NBA Draft this summer, and Cyril shows the power and athleticism that made him so intriguing when Kim English and his staff recruited him. Cyril had three blocks, including one that he pinned against the glass, and he powered through fouls twice for buckets inside.

Vandy shot below 40% as a team, with Edwards making seven of their 22 field goals.