Vermont at UMass Lowell 1/25/15

Vermont 61 UMass Lowell 50

Vermont bounced back following their first conference loss of the season, winning on the road against Lowell. It was not a dominating performance but there were some encouraging signs of progress. First and foremost, Vermont’s defense played much better. With active hands in the passing lanes and protection at the rim, the Cats were able to keep Lowell off balance for most of the night. There were still times where the rotations were slow but it looked like players were more aware of their assignments. Trae Bell-Haynes in particular looked very good defensively and overall played a much more solid game. Even though he only had two points, he stuffed the stat sheet. Trae hit the boards well and made several nice passes for easy buckets. Dre Wills has been a force the last two games on the offensive end. He set a new career high with 17 points at New Hampshire, but this performance was marred by extremely poor foul shooting. Wills made his free throws and attacked the rim with authority leading to a new career high of 20 points. With his feel on offense improving with each game, Wills is showing flashes becoming an impact player on the offensive end of the floor. Vermont is going to need his ability to attack the rim because that is when they are most successful. The Cats three point shooting is only good when coming off the drive and kick. The three point line is the number one reason that Vermont struggles on the road. They are just dreadful from behind the arc on the road. Due to this, their offense gets very bogged down and they play at a much slower pace. It is something that looks like it will be hard to change down the stretch and makes it even more important to get one of the top 2 seeds. Zach McRoberts play continues to be strong and in my opinion he is the most important piece of the rotation down the stretch. His rebounding ability is crucial for Vermont. He is the spark plug off the bench on the defensive side of the ball that this team has been looking for all year. If his comfort level can continue to increase down the stretch he will play a very important role come playoff time. Another big home game for Vermont is next on the schedule. This game will be the battle for first place and a crucial game for both teams. If Albany wins they are almost out of reach for the top seed. Their conference schedule was very unbalanced and as a result they have a disproportionate number of home games down the stretch. Since they have already won at Stony Brook, this is their final difficult road game. If Vermont can win, the race tightens and it will still give Vermont a chance at the title. Albany has struggled at Patrick Gym in recent years(regular season), getting blown out several times. I would expect that they know this fact and as a result are going to come out with determination and energy. Vermont has played well at home this season but their play over the last few weeks has not been as crisp. This game will provide an energizing atmosphere and hopefully springboard the Cats into a stretch of more inspired play. That is even more necessary because the road game at Hartford is right around the corner. Vermont has exceeded expectations up until this point and this 4 game stretch beginning with the New Hampshire game will be the defining part of the season.