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.