Vermont at Albany 2/28/15

Albany 79 Vermont 73

With the seeds all locked up this game was going to be a walk through for both teams right?

(laugh track)

When rivals meet there is always something on the line. The two most dominant programs of the last 15 years played another hard fought physical game with Albany coming out the victor. It was a good game and even though Vermont's defense was sub-par it was nice to see a game where both teams put points on the board. The game was back a forth throughout with the free throw line emerging as the deciding factor. Albany made 29-38 free throws while Vermont struggled to a 15-27 effort. The free throw line continues to cause difficulties for the Cats as it seems like the free throw shooting is contagious. When Vermont is shooting well, it seems to lift everyone above their percentages. When the shots aren't falling even the good free throw shooters miss a few. Albany shot lights out, particularly in the second half where they shot 5/6 from three. Vermont fell apart in the second half committing 11 turnovers. They definitely looked like the more inexperienced team. Even with all of the struggles, Vermont hung around and there were many positive takeaways that can only help Vermont if they end up playing at Albany in the finals. After struggling mightily on offense in the first meeting, Vermont was able to find driving lanes and get to the rim. Ethan O'Day shook off a slow start and ended up with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Dre Wills had several nice finishes around the rim and Kurt Steidl also looked good, particularly on the glass. Vermont as a team dominated Albany on the glass 39-26 including 18-5 on the offensive glass. That is an encouraging sign against a very good rebounding Albany team. Drew Urquhart was given extended minutes and looked as good as he has all year. If he is able to give Vermont ten good minutes per game it will be a huge lift. The most concerning thing for this Vermont team is Hector Harold's lackluster play. He is in a stretch right now where he is averaging only 16 minutes per game. He has had at least 4 fouls in four straight games and is shooting 8-20 from the field. Many of those misses have been in close and it is clearly starting to affect Harold. His body language has been terrible the last two games and he is playing with zero energy. He has to give Vermont more in the playoffs. For the young players it was good to get their feet wet in an environment they hope to be playing in two weeks from today. Now it is on to the quarterfinals and a matchup with UMBC. It is going to interesting to see how this young team responds to playoff basketball for the first time.