Vermont at UMBC 02/19/21

UMBC 66 Vermont 55

No birthday present for me.

UMBC used tough physical defense to dominate from start to finish, earning a share of the regular season title and home court throughout the America East playoffs. I know it is cliche but as I mentioned in my write up yesterday, making shots is the key to beating UMBC. The Retrievers want the game to be a tough, grind it out battle in the 60s. Tonight they got the game they wanted as Vermont struggled to make shots, finishing 4-22 from three. Vermont couldn't find a rhythm as they battled through early turnovers and foul trouble. All the credit goes to a very well executed game plan by UMBC. Vermont's defense was strong as well but they put UMBC at the foul line too many times. A split series is what you would expect from the two top teams in a rivalry that has been a dead heat for the last four seasons. Ryan Davis battled through foul trouble and finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Individual accolades are never the goal of the Vermont program but Davis likely locked up the player of the year award. A tremendous regular season from a player who matured ahead of schedule this season. Justin Mazzulla ended up with 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Cats with much of that production during the last two minutes as the teams traded free throws. It was a struggle for Vermont all night and it looked as though their legs really gave way in the second half with every shot coming up short. Also Vermont's depth was completely neutralized in this series. The second unit was shaky on defense and they did not provide the scoring boost that they have at times this season. Becker had a hard time finding contributors outside the starting five. Meanwhile, UMBC got great production from their bench and were far more balanced. Now Vermont has a long layoff before hosting the semifinals on March 6th. They await the winner of the quarterfinal pod in what will be a very strange and unpredictable playoff format. In each of the last two seasons Vermont has used a late season loss to UMBC as motivation for a playoff run and they are set up to do the same this season. Nothing better than basketball in March. 

Vermont at UMBC 2/18/21

Vermont 80 UMBC 71

Vermont's big three stepped up big time and led Vermont to the victory in round one against UMBC. The stars showed up as Ryan Davis, Stef Smith, and Ben Shungu all had 20 point performances. Davis led the way with 21 points and his half-hook was cooking all night. Davis created so much space in the paint and when UMBC started to double him in the second half, he remained patient and found open teammates. Coming off his first player of the week award, Stef remained hot. He finished with 20 points by way of 6-7 shooting from three. Every time the Cats needed a bucket Stef was ready to deliver. The best performance of the night may have been from Ben Shungu. He continues to amaze on both sides of the ball and made big time plays down the stretch. Shungu finished with 20 points and a game high 8 rebounds. He did it all. He knocked down some tough threes, hit some beautiful pull up jumpers, and bullied his way to the rim. He was exceptional. Isaiah Powell chipped in 11 points and 5 rebounds in another strong performance. The defense forced UMBC into a lot of tough contested shots and kept them from getting out in transition.  The key in games against UMBC is always the ability to make shots. The Retrievers want to play in the 60s. Vermont was able to get good looks at the basket and knock them down. Vermont now controls their own destiny. With a win tomorrow night Vermont would be the regular season champ now that the America East has decided to end the regular season early. Tomorrow also happens to be my 36th birthday so I hope that gives the Cats even more motivation. Gonna be another great game between two great teams. 

Vermont vs Stony Brook 2/14/21

Vermont 61 Stony Brook 57

Some love for the Catamounts on Valentine's Day. 

Vermont scratched and clawed their way to victory, holding off the Seawolves second half free throw party to get the series sweep. A tremendous team win and an impressive sweep coming off a 26 day pause. With everyone struggling from the field it became a one on one battle between Tomas Murphy for Vermont and Juan Felix Rodriguez for Stony Brook. Murphy shot the lights out from three knocking down 5 straight and finishing with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from three. His offensive burst carried the Cats before holding off a red hot Rodriguez. Murphy's offensive explosion is a perfect illustration of how dangerous Vermont's depth can be. Stony Brook made sure that Ryan Davis was not going to be the one to beat them in this game and they were executing that plan perfectly. Vermont made some great adjustments and Murphy picked up the slack. Great chess match between the two coaches. Davis fought hard and finished with 13 points. It was actually the first game all season where he did not make a three pointer. Stony Brook double and triple teamed him throughout and made every offensive touch a battle. Stef Smith had one of his best games of the season. He was very active on defense and really stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Smith finally looked comfortable and engaged on both ends of the floor. The unsung hero was once again Bailey Patella. It wont show up in the box score but he almost single handedly got the last few stops the Cats needed to close out the game. The game was very odd as Vermont couldn't make a shot inside the arc in the first half (4-19, 21% from inside the arc). Then in the second half Stony Brook went eleven minutes and eighteen seconds without a field goal but actually got back into the game during that time by scoring 13 straight points from the foul line. Then after a few close games early in the season where the ball didn't bounce the Cats way, Mo Gueye missed a go ahead dunk with 18 seconds left to all but seal the victory for Vermont. The law of averages usually wins out. Now Vermont has the showdown that seemed inevitable from the start of the season with UMBC. Both teams at 9-3 and atop the conference ready to duke it out for the conference title. With the utmost respect to Stony Brook and Albany, the best rivalry in the America East for the past several seasons is Vermont versus UMBC. Every game is a battle. Couldn't ask for a better series of college basketball. 

Vermont vs Stony Brook 2/13/21

Vermont 86 Stony Brook 78

The Cats returned from the pause in style using an offensive explosion to get the win against Stony Brook. Ryan Davis was a monster once again and Stef Smith was huge down the stretch. Davis solidified himself as a serious contender for America East player of the year with a dominant 21 point 12 rebound performance. He also produced the highlight of the season with a monster dunk. Watch the highlights. The explosion he has added to his game this year is impressive and it has allowed him to completely reshape his game.  Stef hit back to back threes during a crucial stretch and finished with a team high 22 points. Bailey Patella provided a spark in the second half with back to back dunks and a big three pointer. He finished with 10 points in one of his most impressive performances. Ben Shungu and Justin Mazzulla scored 13 and 10 points respectively to round out the Cats double digit scorers. Vermont shot a scorching 58% from the field showing no signs of rust from the long layoff. The Cats team chemistry has been impressive and it really shows in their assist numbers this season. The rust showed itself a little bit on the defensive side but Vermont was able to make the plays when they needed them. Another tremendous all around team effort. Stony Brook is a big physical team and they were stretches where they used their physicality to take over the game. Davis and Stef came up with big time plays whenever Vermont needed one. Tomorrow's game is going to be fun as each coach tries to move the chess pieces. Vermont will have to do a better job keeping Stony Brook off the offensive glass as the Seawolves had 14 more field goal attempts in todays game. I would expect it to be the same kind of physical battle in tomorrow's game. Thankful to have basketball back. 

Back in action

With fingers crossed and baited breath the Vermont men’s basketball team returns to the court to face Stony Brook this weekend. The upcoming week of basketball has become the most important week of the season for the Cats. With four games in seven days and a showdown with league leading UMBC, Vermont is walking into a gauntlet. A stretch like that is hard in any season but given the fact that the players are coming off several weeks of sitting in their dorm rooms, the challenge has been elevated. It would be unrealistic to expect the Cats to slide right back into the machinelike groove they established before the pause. I think splitting both series would be a realistic goal. That would still put them squarely in contention. The top two seeds avoid the first round playoff bubbles and that is where Vermont needs to be. It is very exciting to have basketball back and I hope that everyone can stay safe and healthy. 

On a side note it was inevitable that the news would come down that the new arena would be delayed indefinitely. With all of the financial losses due to the pandemic and the uncertainty of the future, it is unrealistic for a project of that magnitude to be undertaken. Hopefully the world and society at large can rebound in the coming years and everything can settle into the the new normal. For now a little weekend basketball will have to do.