Billy Humphrey was reinstated to the Georgia men’s basketball team yesterday, and it was just in time: Humphrey scored a team-high 18 points as Georgia began the post-Mike Mercer era with a 76-65 win over Elon. The Dawgs led by as many as 18, but Elon made a bit of a game of it near the end before Georgia put it away. Coach Felton was pleased with the defensive effort, but rebounding and free throw shooting were weak points.

Humphrey came in off the bench and had an immediate impact. He had been suspended pending felony charges related to a knife found in his dorm room. The junior guard was reinstated after agreeing to a pre-trial diversion deal that will see the charges dropped if he meets the conditions and completes some community service.

The Dawgs are 3-0, but the competition gets turned up this weekend as Georgia heads up to Wisconsin to complete the home-and-home series. The Badgers won a closer-than-expected game in Athens last year.

The Lady Dogs will be in the Bahamas this weekend for a four-team tournament. They survived a scare from Temple last week, but spotty shooting has been an issue early in the season. They face Prairie View A&M in the opening round, but the second round game against Southern Cal or Virginia Tech should be a much better test.