Albany at Vermont 1/9/2016

Albany 69 Vermont 57

Vermont got off to a slow start and never recovered, losing to Albany in their conference home opener. This game really boiled down to Vermont's inability to make shots. Ethan O'Day and Ernie Duncan shot a combined 2-15 which included 0-7 from three by Duncan. It is pretty difficult to win a game when two of your top scorers throw up bricks. Duncan looked completely out of sorts as he also had 4 turnovers and never really looked comfortable on the court. He is a freshman and is bound to have games like that, but it happened at a really bad time. I have to wonder if he is dealing with a nagging injury from the Harvard game. He certainly did not look like himself. The bottom line is if Vermont makes shots they are in the game. Albany won the battle on the boards as expected but Vermont was supposed to make up for that deficit with better perimeter shooting. Albany's three point shooting is abysmal as they shot 1-11 from three, continuing a trend for them this season. Albany plays very smart and disciplined which makes it hard for teams to go on a run against them. Without being able to string baskets together, Vermont couldn't make up for the early deficit. My one significant complaint from the game is the referee's. The rules changes in college basketball were supposed to be enforced the whole season and teams would have to adjust. I can say with certainty that the points of emphasis were lost on this officiating crew. Albany plays a very physical style of defense and under the old rules that was allowable. In the game today many of the rule changes that are supposed to be allowing for freedom of movement were not called. This is a frustrating as a fan because it seems as though once again the officials are bowing to the coaches wishes and calling the game dictated by how the coaches want. There has to be clarity because right now their are significant inconsistencies game to game. That inconsistency is not fair to the players and game to game they need to know what type of basketball is going to be played. Rant over. In this game today you could again see how much Vermont misses Dre Wills. He brings the toughness, physicality, and tenacity that every team needs in games against top teams. One more game without Wills. Nate Rohrer re-injured his knee and if he goes down it is going to be a significant loss. He has really solidified the frontcourt and does all the dirty work for Vermont. The one positive from the game was in the second half, Kurt Steidl attacked the basket very well. He showed some toughness and grit after struggling in the first half and had a nice game. Thankfully this game is early in the season and Vermont has time to sort things out and get better. There was nothing in the game today that can't be fixed for Vermont and Albany is not so far above Vermont that they can't be beat. Albany won this game and Vermont has to learn from their mistakes and be ready to get after Albany on the road.