The huge Bulldog logo that nearly goes from one 3-point line to the other in Stegeman Coliseum may be the first thing Georgia basketball fans see when they walk inside the old arena this season, but the players on the court are what raised the anticipation for this season.

Georgia tipped off a new season on Monday night with the debut of several high-profile newcomers —most notably five-star freshman Asa Newell.

He didn’t disappoint, tying a record for most points by a Georgia freshman in his first game with 26 points — a mark set by legendary Dominique Wilkins in 1979. But the new-look Bulldogs played down to their competition in an 83-78 season-opening victory over Tennessee Tech in Stegeman Coliseum.

It was the first of three home games to start against teams that Georgia will have a big talent advantage before a Nov. 15 game at Georgia Tech. Next up is Texas Southern on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Here are three things we learned:

Georgia basketball freshman Asa Newell, oh my

Georgia didn’t start off like gangbusters, but Newell did.

The 6-foot-11, 220-pound forward lived up to the hype from the get-go, scoring eight points inside the first six minutes. He scored off glass on the low block 24 seconds into the game, dropped in a layin, made a Eurostep move leading to a two-handed dunk and scored off an offensive rebound to put Georgia ahead 16-11.

Newell finished with a double-double: 26 points and 11 rebounds and added three blocks while shooting 13-of-22 from the floor.

Newell had four dunks in the first half including on an alley-oop from Blue Cain and scored 16 points in the first half.

He had a steal and left-handed dunk with 5:19 to go, but wasn't done, blocking a shot on one end and then scoring on an offensive rebound on the other end to make it 78-71.

Georgia Bulldogs get a surprising push from Tennessee Tech

Tennessee Tech was picked to finish last in the 11-team Ohio Valley Conference, but former Arkansas coach John Pelphrey had his team playing well above its expectations.

The Golden Eagles traded the lead with Georgia 10 times in the first 20 minutes and led 43-42 with 18:45 to go.

Georgia was favored by 25 ½ points, but left way too many open 3-point tries and Tennessee Tech took advantage by making 11-of-27 from behind the line, including three from Northern Colorado transfer Mehki Cameron, who played at Eagles’ Landing Christian Academy in Atlanta.

Tennessee Tech trailed by five before Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey (10 points) scored on an offensive rebound and had a steal and dunk to push the lead 72-63 with seven minutes to go.

Georgia backcourt has experience, but consistency still is a work in progress

After getting big games from Blue Cain, Silas DeMary Jr. and Vanderbilt transfer Tyrin Lawrence in a 114-76 exhibition rout of UCF last week, the trio combined 3-of-12 in the first half including 0-of-6 on 3s.

Mount St. Mary’s transfer Dakota Leffew, sidelined in the preseason with an ankle injury, picked up the slack. He scored 18 points and was 4-of=6 on 3s while the rest of the team was 0-of-12.

Demary picked up his fourth foul with 14:13 to go in the game, and finished with 6 points om 1-of-6 shooting.

Cain, who scored 20 points against UCF, scored nine points but missed his first five 3-point tries and Lawrence had seven points on 1-of-6 shooting.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Asa Newell the real deal, but Georgia basketball gets push in opening win