Harvard 64 Vermont 52 2OT
A hard fought game that ended in heartbreak for Vermont. For the first 45 minutes of game-time Vermont went punch for punch with Harvard and played their hearts out. The wear and tear and inexperience finally caught up with the Cats in the second overtime. It was an unfortunate way for the game to end because it was a tough, gritty, and exciting college basketball game. Harvard is a very tough team who was in the preseason top 25 before losing a game early in the season. They are battle tested and experienced. To push that team to the brink is impressive to say the least. Becker said after the game that "there are no moral victories here". I understand where he is coming from because Vermont had several chances to win and couldn't put the game away. I am sure as a coach those crucial mistakes are going to haunt him for a few days. However, I do believe that this game is further evidence that this group can compete for the America East title. All season it has been about the process and building the program. If these early games are any indication, Vermont is ready to compete for the title this year. The improvement halfway through the non-conference schedule is definitely ahead of schedule. Harvard completely took Vermont out of its comfort zone and the Cats were still able to adapt and stay in the game. So far this year Vermont has relied on penetration and getting to the rim as their offensive game plan. Harvard cut off every possible driving lane and made the Cats use every second of the shot clock. Instead of looking panicked and lost, Vermont adapted and made enough plays to give themselves a chance to win. The most important take away from this game is that this years team is actually better defensively than last years. I think everyone was expecting a significant drop off defensively with this new group. So far, they are better able to contain guards and force more turnovers. Last years group was great at holding a team to one shot and making them shoot a low percentage. This years group can force turnovers and get out in transition which makes up for the drop off in rebounding. For what it is worth, Vermont hung tough on the boards and ended up out rebounding Harvard by a slim margin. They did make some crucial rebounding errors when the game was on the line but over the course of the game held their own. The new found speed and athleticism makes Vermont much tougher to guard on defense and tougher to attack on offense. In the end the Cats ran out of gas and the thin front line to finish the game was too much to overcome. Hector Harold rolled his ankle and did not return and Ethan O'Day fouled out. The fact the O'Day continues to struggle with foul trouble is concerning on a team with an already thin front line. He has to play smarter because he needs to stay on the court. The freshman guards struggled with the physical play of Harvard and as a result did not shoot well. The two players that stood out in the game were Kurt Steidl and Zach McRoberts. Steidl played very tough perimeter defense and continued to get tough rebounds. These are pieces of his game I did not expect to see this year. His offensive game has not progressed like I thought it would but the rest of his game is rounding out very nicely after some early season struggles. It seems like he wanted to expand his offensive game (and be the main scoring option) early in the season but has seen the positive results of expanding the other aspects of his game. He still has a beautiful stroke form three and is not afraid to take the big shot. In his first game of the year Zach McRoberts played all of the crucial minutes down the stretch and was asked to guard Harvard's best player on defense. I was blown away by his defensive ability and basketball IQ. He is still clearly not at 100% but was able to come up with big defensive plays an grab key rebounds. Diving all over the floor and playing much bigger than his frame, McRoberts is going to help solidify the frontcourt and improve the team's rebounding. If he can stay healthy he is going to completely change the makeup of this team I just cant say enough good things about how well he played after missing so much time. It is unbelievable how college ready these freshman are and that bodes well for the future of this program and the level of recruits that Becker is getting at Vermont. Another piece for the future of the program is UVM announced that Ernie Duncan will redshirt this season in an attempt to solve his back issue. I am very glad the team made this move because if Duncan can get fully healthy he will have his full four years of eligibility left. No sense in wasting a year struggling through an injury. He gets to be in the same freshman class as his brother and his buddy Josh Speidel, so it almost seems like a better situation for him. This is all possible if his back problem can be solved. The school called it a "complex back injury" so it will be interesting to see how it will be treated. I am sending positive thoughts his way for a full recovery. The game did not end that way that Vermont wanted but the journey to get to there was filled with positive moments. Hopefully these young players can learn from their mistakes and execute differently down the stretch in a future game. With a week off for exams they will have plenty of time to get healthy, get hungry, and get ready to come back and challenge Wagner next Sunday.
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