Vermont at USC 12/30/14

USC 64 Vermont 56

Another hard fought game for Vermont where they struggled to get the big play needed to put them over the top. I neither watched nor listened to the game so all of my analysis comes form watching the highlights and analyzing the box score. The formula on the road remains the same for Vermont. Get down big in the first half by getting dominated inside and shooting poorly.The poor shooting includes struggling to finish at the rim. Followed by a spirited second half run where each time Vermont has the chance to take the lead or cut it to a one possession game, they make a crucial mistake or the ball just doesn't bounce their way. The most glaring example from this game is a Hector Harold near steal. As you can see at the end of the highlights, with a minute and a half to go, Harold has a full hand on the ball. If he is able to corral that lose ball Vermont has a fast break at the other end with a chance to cut the deficit to two or one. Instead the ball bounces around and ends up giving USC and easy lay in to push their lead to six. This effectively sealed the game for USC. It is moments like this that have been the bane of Vermont's existence this year.  Nearly all of the road games have followed this pattern. The struggles in the first half are very concerning because this was something the last group struggled with too and it is very hard to play from behind every single game. It seems that it must be due to game preparation and that falls on the coaches to an extent. Maybe it is as simple as changing the pregame meal but something has to give. On the other hand the fight and tenacity the team comes out with in the second half is impressive. Maybe Becker should give a halftime speech before the game. Whatever the reason is, it is great to see a team battle back and play hard no matter the score. There is no head hanging with this group and I admire that. It would just be nice if Vermont wasn't down by such large deficits. It is great to see Kurt Steidl continue to fill up the box score. One Bid Wonders wrote a great piece on Steidl this week and it speaks to the maturity and progress he has made already just halfway through the season. Check it out here. Clancy Rugg made the leap at just about the same point during his sophomore season so it will be interesting to see if Steidl can carry this momentum into the conference schedule. Ethan O'Day also looked more aggressive and assertive on the offensive end. That is an absolute must for Vermont in the second half of the season. With 2014 in the books for the Vermont squad, reflection on the last year of basketball is inevitable. It was a year of highs and lows for the Vermont program as they lost only one regular season conference game (an impressive achievement), but were upset in the semifinals and missed out on the NCAA tournament. I am very excited for 2015 and I think it will be the most crucial year for the program in its history. Happy New Year everybody!!