Vermont at Siena 12/29/16

Vermont 76 Siena 60

Vermont picks up a good win on the road to close out 2016, beating Siena for the seventh consecutive year. Full disclosure, I absolutely dread the Siena game every year. It is always physical and what feels like hundreds of fouls are called. This leads to terrible game flow, too many foul shots, and a game that is not fun to watch. This one was no different as there were 50 total fouls called. Pastos' behavior on the sidelines has improved from where it was years ago, which is a bonus, but the games tend to devolve into free throw shooting contests. I digress. Even though Siena has been struggling this season, this is a good win for Vermont. Siena has four 1,000 point scorers and is a very experienced team who always plays well at home. Peyton Henson's injury has challenged the Cats depth and they have responded in a big way. The credit for this win goes to the depth of Vermont and players being ready to step up when their number is called. In the first few games it was Drew Urquhart stepping up for Henson. In this game it was a collective effort led by Darren Payen. Payen had been the forgotten man this year as he struggled to be productive in limited minutes. This game saw him get back to the form he showed last year with quick decisive moves inside for easy hoops. Payen scored a season high 17 points to lead all scorers. Getting Payen some confidence before the conference schedule is crucial especially with the timetable for Henson's return still very much up in the air. Along with Payen the rest of the bench mob contributed as well. Dre Wills finished with 8 points 6 rebounds. Nate Rohrer and Cam Ward added 5 points 3 rebounds each. Vermont's defense continues to look better and better. Becker's willingness to mix in the zone this year is paying huge dividends. The mixing defenses is throwing other teams off and gives the Cats the ability to change the feel and control the pace of the game. In years past Vermont would have no answer if a team was shredding their man to man and when they played zone it always felt like a hail mary. This year the zone is a weapon. Vermont knew Siena struggled shooting the ball from the outside playing zone right out of the gates forced Siena to change their gameplan and the Saints struggled to execute. Vermont has even been able to rebound out of the zone which is a feat by itself. The Cats offense at times is still choppy and their hot outside shooting from the beginning of the year has all but disappeared. It feels like they are going to put the good offense and good defense together at some point this year. Henson's health is going to be a key factor going forward as it seems like it might be a fairly significant injury with the amount of time he is expected to miss. One more game to go before they dive into the conference schedule. Vermont has made the progress that they should have to this point in the season and are heading in the right direction.The Cats can't look ahead to conference play and need to take care of business against Harvard on Monday. Harvard is a tough team and winning games at home is very important. Winning the final non-conference game to drive the momentum into the conference schedule is crucial for the confidence of this team.

P.S. I was unable to watch the Butler and game and the holidays got the best of me so I did not post following that game. My sincerest apologies. This is my last post of 2016 and I can't wait for another year of writing down my thoughts about Vermont basketball. Happy New Year to all those who read my blog.

Eastern Michigan at Vermont 12/17/16

Vermont 82 Eastern Michigan 74

Vermont bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to Northeastern with a big win over Eastern Michigan. There are several reasons why this win is big for the Cats. First and Foremost, Eastern Michigan is a very good team. They were picked as the west division winner for the MAC. They returned all of their leading scorers and Ray Lee is the active leading scorer in the conference. James Thompson IV had 19 double doubles last year as a freshman. This season the Eagles also force turnovers at a high rate getting the fourth most steals in the nation. Last season Eastern Michigan forced Vermont into 21 turnovers en route to a 20 point victory. Secondly, Vermont was without their leading scorer and leading rebounder Payton Henson. Henson has been crucial to the Cats success this year and there is some question about how long his injury is going to keep him out. His absence thrust Drew Urquhart in a starting role and he responded in a big way. Urquhart set a new career high with 14 points, adding 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Urquhart played with confidence and strength. He got a crucial offensive rebound and put back as Vermont was trying to put the game away. He is steadily improving and is going to be counted on with Henson sidelined. Anthony Lamb also stepped up big and set a new career high with 26 point before fouling out late. Lamb added 8 rebounds (7 offensive) and 2 blocks. Lamb scored creatively around the rim and finally got some perimeter shots to fall. Lamb sealed the win with three consecutive elbow jumpers late in the game. What a performance for a kid who is only 12 games into his career. He was battling Thompson IV from Eastern Michigan for much of the game who is one of the top rebounders in the country. I have to tip my cap to Thompson IV as he ripped down 21 rebounds including 11 offensive boards. Impressive performance for him. The unsung hero of the night was Nate Rohrer. What a gritty player. After missing the first 11 games, Rohrer was forced to play 22 minutes in his debut due to Henson's absence. He played tough and got two steals in the last minute as Eastern Michigan was trying to extend the game. He has a tremendously positive effect on the court and is such a solid player. I hope he can stay healthy because he will be a valuable player off the bench for the Cats. It was also nice to see Ernie Duncan get Vermont off to a hot start with three early deep three pointers. Duncan finished with 4 threes and 16 points. He was held scoreless against Northeastern and his shooting is a real sparkplug for the Cats. Vermont limited the Eagles leading scorer Ray Lee (19ppg) to 4 points. As a team Vermont only turned the ball over 7 times which tied a season low, Limiting the turnovers against a team that thrives on creating disruption is especially encouraging. That was the Best 40 minutes Vermont played all season.  It is great to get a big win before heading off the play their toughest opponent of the season. Vermont heads to Butler on Wednesday for what will be a tough matchup to say the least.

Northeastern at Vermont 12/10/16

Northeastern 59 Vermont 57

The wheels fell off the Vermont offense in the second half and Northeastern took advantage to hand the Cats their first home loss of the season. Vermont was awful in the second half and they continue to look sluggish. The perimeter shooting has dropped off significantly. The Cats seem hesitant to shoot from three and are not getting as many good looks from the perimeter. The offense has come to a full stop and their halfcourt sets are not yielding great results. It is kind of tough to figure out how their offense can look so different from just a few weeks ago. Their defense has improved significantly and just as that has happened the offense has been the point of struggle. Maybe the two are related but Vermont has this week to figure out what they need to do to get the ball in the hoop. Northeastern made some nice adjustments in the second half on offense but if Vermont makes any shots in the middle portion of the second half, the game would have went in a very different direction. The end of this game is hard to describe. Trae Bell-Haynes both almost saved the Cats and let the game slip away. Bell-Haynes forced three late turnovers including two tremendous steals but missed a layup, a free throw, and got blocked at the rim. Vermont is now 50% on the season when it comes to late game execution (2 last second makes, 2 poorly executed finishes). I suppose that is the law of averages and they have had as much good luck as bad. Vermont was beat badly on the boards in this game and part of that has to do with Anthony Lamb's difficulties. Lamb is clearly in Becker's doghouse a this point due to his confusion on the defensive end. Lamb looks lost on the court and has lost complete confidence in his offensive game. Becker is pulling him in and out of the game constantly and Lamb is visibly frustrated. Lamb can't get a perimeter shot to fall and looks hesitant to drive to the hoop like he was doing in the beginning of the season. This is going to be an interesting situation to monitor as the season goes on because Lamb is crucial to Vermont's success in general but especially in their ability to be tough on the boards. Cam Ward and Darren Payen have become non-factors and that is limiting the effectiveness of the Vermont bench. The depth of this team was viewed as a strength entering this year and so far that has not really come to fruition. There is still no defined rotation and the lineups look very different from game to game. That uncertainty is beginning to play out on the court as many of the Cats do not look as though they feel comfortable in their roles. The only positive is that it is still early in the season and Vermont has time to straighten things out. Vermont has shown that this team can both have a good offense and an effective defense but putting the two together has been the challenge. This could be a tough stretch to see that progress and that might define how the Cats face this early season adversity. Eastern Michigan will be a very difficult opponent next Saturday. They return basically the same team that ran all over Vermont last year in Michigan. After that game it is off to Butler and then at Siena. Those are three very tough teams that are going to be physical and pound Vermont on the glass. This team is going to have to batten down the hatches and weather the storm in order to remain focused on playing their best basketball in March. These early season losses sting but can be learning opportunities and what matters in maintaining confidence and drive so that come conference play Vermont will be ready. 

Dartmouth at Vermont 12/7/16

Vermont 73 Dartmouth 58

Vermont kicked off its three game homestand with a victory over Dartmouth. The Cats started slow and looked a little out of sync for most of the night. The players looked tentative and were almost a little too unselfish. It was one of those games where the depth and balance of Vermont was at times a detriment as players were passing up open looks in the quest for the perfect shot. These were minor hiccups and I think their first layoff of the season was a contributing factor. In the second half things started to flow a little better and shots started falling. Dartmouth was an incredibly weak opponent and I think that too negatively affected the game flow. There were many positives to this game and first off, Payton Henson shook off back to back poor games with his first career double double. Henson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. He also had zero turnovers in what was one of his best all around games of the season. Henson looked like his calf was feeling better (he did cramp up at the end of the game) and as a result his moves around the rim were faster and more decisive. Trae Bell Haynes led the Cats in scoring with 19 points including a 9-10 effort from the foul line. Bell-Haynes had been struggling from the line to start the season so it was nice to see him get back to his normal self. Vermont as a whole was 22-26 from the line. Henson has been great from the line and Drew Urquhart has also been solid from the line. This is a tremendous improvement from the past few years and it is going to really help the Cats win those tough physical games that have given them trouble. Back to Urquhart, his play has been phenomenal. He had another very effective 12 minutes of action putting up 7 points to go along with 5 rebounds (4 offensive). He is finally using his size to get after it on the glass and is going to be a key contributor this season. I also thought Josh Hearlihy had his most productive minutes of the season. He looked more comfortable on the court and if he continues to improve could give the Cats some good minutes off the bench. Anthony Lamb is stuck in a shooting slump but contributes in so many other ways. Lamb finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He gets all the hustle plays and never quits. Even when his offensive game is not there he does what he can to help the team win. His shot blocking ability is going to be key to how good of a defensive team Vermont can be. Northeastern comes to town on Saturday for what will be a tough game. Northeastern has been kind of a Jekyll and Hyde team this year and it will be interesting to see which teams shows up. Vermont cannot take them lightly and has to come out with better energy than they did in the game tonight. Should be an exciting game.

P.S. In case you missed the announcement, Everett Duncan will redshirt this season which clears up the uncertainty around his lack of playing time.

Vermont at South Carolina 12/1/16

South Carolina 68 Vermont 50

I did not get a chance to watch this game so all of my opinions and observations are based purely on box score analysis. Vermont hung with South Carolina for a half and then got blitzed out of the locker room. South Carolina is a team on a roll and they showed why in the second half. This game will serve as a good experience and the Cats will be able to learn from their missteps. South Carolina's length forced the Cats into too many turnovers and turned them into a one on one team as evidenced by dishing out only 5 assists.  Payton Henson had a second consecutive ineffective game. Teams are beginning to realize that he is a little turnover prone so they are ratcheting up the defensive pressure. I am sure he will make some adjustments. Anthony Lamb had an uneven game where he was the Cats leading scorer at 14 points but also had 6 turnovers and 5 fouls. The fouls are really starting to pile up for Lamb and he is going to need to make some adjustments because he is too valuable to be losing minutes. The one stat that is starting to stick out is Kurt Steidl's three point shooting Vermont is now 9 games into the season and Steidl is sitting at 30% from three. His previous three years were 49%, 37%, and 37%. He doesn't look comfortable shooting the ball right now and he is getting good open looks. He is still doing the dirty work and playing tough defense but he needs to find his shooting stroke. The Cats now get some more rest and have a nice three game homestand coming up. They can regroup, look at the tape, and get ready to put it all together during this homestand.