Vermont at Virginia 11/19/19

Virginia 61 Vermont 55

The Cats hung tough and battled Virginia thanks to a monster second half from Anthony Lamb. He just keeps getting better and better. Virginia is the best defensive team in the country. They have been the best defensive team since Tony Bennett became their coach. For Lamb to go out and score 25 second half points is nothing short of monumental. He was in the zone. Everything looks effortless when he is feeling it. It reminded me of the St. Bonaventure game last season. 30 points on a career high 7 three pointers. Virginia was giving up 36 points per game until tonight and Lamb almost got there by himself.  What a performance. Game in and game out, no matter the opponent, Lamb is the best player on the floor. Stef Smith also played a really tough game finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Daniel Giddens pulled down 7 more rebounds and is finding his footing on the defensive end. Predictably against such a strong defensive team the rest of the Cats struggled to find a rhythm. The Vermont defense looked very strong again as they continue to make teams work for every basket. They really missed Ben Shungu in this game. Especially his physicality both on defense and slashing to the rim. This is a tough loss as they were once again so tantalizingly close. However with the way they played, it is another win for the program. They continue to play tough in these big games and do not look over-matched. They expect to win when they step on the court, no matter the opponent. What makes this game more impressive is that Vermont is able to play this well while definitely still finding themselves as a team. They can and will continue to get better. These are the games that as a fan of this program you just sit back and appreciate how far this program has risen. Even the most optimistic of fans at the turn of the century couldn't have predicted that at some point Vermont would be able to consistently compete with the top teams in the country. What a game. What a team. This is going to be a fun season.