UMBC 65 Vermont 56
Vermont was uncharacteristically sloppy and UMBC used a big second half to defeat Vermont for the third consecutive time. As I have said before since Ryan Odom took over Vermont has very often struggled with offensive flow against UMBC. Every possession is labored and it seems like a miracle every time the Cats make a shot. Tonight was no different. UMBC's pressure defense sped the Cats up and they struggled to adjust. The Vermont coaching staff has to make better adjustments to combat the scheme that UMBC is throwing at them. Time to wipe the slate clean and come up with a new strategy against this team. It is very concerning to hear on the broadcast the Anthony Lamb is dealing with another injury. He certainly struggled in this game so that will be a situation to monitor going forward. The poor three point shooting reared its ugly head again and that continues to be a point of concern for the Cats. It is almost unbelievable how different the Cats look against UMBC compared to their games against every other team. Chalk it up to a bad match-up, but on some level they are getting in the Cats heads. On the positive side of things against everyone else this team looks like a machine. It is an awfully quick turnaround for the Binghamton game on Saturday so it will be interesting to see if Lamb is healthy for that game. I think the quick turnaround is good for Vermont as it gives them an opportunity to get back on the winning track and they wont have time to dwell on this loss. Vermont still controls their own destiny as Albany beat Stony Brook which still gives the Cats the one game lead. Time to dig deep and focus on winning the last three games to clinch the number one seed.
I think the expectations for the cats at the start of the year were a little optimistic. To me they have 2 areas of weakness compared to last year. One of course if the center bigs and the other is a replacement for TBH. Smith is not the same caliber even though he had a great resume. I am really surprised that his shooting isn't better given his resume. He hasn't been that 3rd shooting option consistently . I hoped he would be further along at this point but maybe he will come alive but am wondering.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that the expectations were high. Lots of young guys being asked to step into big roles. The way Smith started the year I thought he had made the leap. He looked great. He has fallen back into some of his bad habits from last year. Playing too fast and poor decision making. I am hoping he can make a run at the end of the season.
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