Vermont 77 UMBC 74
Survival.
Teams that go on long winning streaks, through the gauntlet of conference play, have games that they probably shouldn't win but do anyway. That was the game today. Just when it looked like the flu was finally going to be the kryptonite to Vermont's win streak, the Cats survived a furious UMBC rally and set a program record with their 15th straight win. This week several other long conference winning streaks were snapped as it is very difficult to play well night in a night out through the grind of a conference season when you are playing teams for a second time. For 75% of the game Vermont looked every bit the undefeated team in the conference. Much like the game up in Burlington, UMBC erased a large deficit by going small and putting Vermont on the line every possession. It is a very interesting phenomenon to disrupt an offense by fouling but both times these two team played that is exactly what happened. For a team like the Cats that is so efficient offensively but not a good free throw shooting team, this may become a pattern for Vermont opponents. This method was especially effective in today's game because Vermont was missing their best free throw shooter in Kurt Steidl. Becker said "half the team" was fighting the flu and as result Steidl was unable to play. Vermont really missed his leadership, defense, and foul shooting. You could see the energy drain out of the Cats as they seemed to just want the game to be over. Who knows how much of that was exhaustion or a lack of focus but it was very noticeable. The UMBC press was very effective and forced Vermont into many unforced errors. The Retrievers picked up on Vermont's weakness and went for the throat. Luckily, and I do mean luckily, Vermont survived. The rest of the game was dominated by Dre Wills in what was the best game of his career. Wills tied his career high with 22 points and set a new career high with 13 rebounds. He completely changed the game with his offensive rebounding and before the late collapse at the line, was the best player on the floor. He stepped up in a big way when Steidl couldn't play and led the Cats to victory. Payton Henson finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds, but really struggled as the inbounder against the press. Anthony Lamb looked very good again on offense but was a little overwhelmed when UMBC made their run and finished with 6 turnovers. Not a great game for Vermont but much like they have all season, they found a way to win (or not lose as was the case today). This could be the preview of a semifinal matchup in the America East tournament. The small lineup that UMBC has used in both games has really given Vermont fits and they will have to make some significant adjustments if they meet again. It seems as though the flu and bad weather are attempting to derail Vermont. They are going to have to spend an extra night (at least) in Maryland before flying back to Burlington and then heading to UMass Lowell for Wednesday's nights game. With the team also battling the flu, and UMass Lowell being a very tough matchup for Vermont, that game will really test the Cats. After that game they have a layoff before their next game which is clearly going to be much needed. Another dose of adversity for the Cats to overcome.
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