Florida 86 Vermont 62
And that concludes the most difficult portion of Vermont's non conference schedule.
Vermont hung with Florida for about 70% of the game before succumbing to the heavily favored opponent. For the first part of the game, Vermont held their own on the boards and limited the points off turnovers. Eventually the turnovers became to numerous and the second chance opportunities were converted by Florida. Right when Vermont made a run, the Gators got hot from behind the arc and that was all she wrote. From this point on there are many winnable games and more games in the comforts of Patrick gym. Vermont is struggling with their team identity so far this season. They have been a great defensive team for a long time and every team that Becker has coached has played tough D. With all of the newfound offensive success, the defensive side of the ball is taking a backseat. It is clear that this bothers Becker based on his postgame comments and he wants the team to get tough and more physical. Vermont needs to find a way to balance the offensive efficiency with the same tenacious defense they have played in the past seasons. This next stretch will be crucial to the development of that mentality. Everett Duncan played well as a replacement for Kurt Steidl (resting his ankle) scoring 8 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. It is great to see him get a few minutes as he may be called upon to play some minutes as the season wears on. Cam Ward put together another solid effort getting a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. In the interesting stat department, Cam Ward now has two double digit rebounding games in 40 career games while Ethan O'Day has two double digit rebounding games in 98 career games. That is a sobering look into O'Day's difficulties on the boards and a compliment to Wards abilities. It was great to see Dre Wills back out on the floor and I hope he can stay healthy because the Vermont really needs him. The game against Marist on Sunday should be a good test of where Vermont is in the process of coming together as a team this season.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!
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