Ryan Davis reaches 1,000 career points

Vermont 86 UMBC 59

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!

Ryan Davis returned to the lineup and finally scored his 1,000th career point as Vermont dominated UMBC from the opening tip. A great accomplishment for Davis and a real credit to him for his patience in his development. His transformation over his career has been fun to watch. Today's game was all about the beauty of the game of basketball. The way this team passes and the cohesiveness with which they play is a beautiful thing. The Cats had 24 assists on 33 made baskets which is just an incredible number. So many great looks and guys trusting their teammates.  Especially the passing from Davis and Nick Fiorillo. They combined for 7 assists and are so good at finding the open man whether that is for a kick out or running a two man game out top. Really impressive stuff. The defense was also locked in. Clearly after watching the tape after the Hartford loss they focused on cleaning up the defensive mistakes. UMBC can get red hot shooting the ball and was coming off a 95 point performance against Stony Brook. Vermont was able to slow down their uptempo style and make them play in the halfcourt. 

Aaron Deloney was great off the bench leading the Cats with 20 points on 7-10 shooting. He was in attack mode from his first touch and really got hot in the second half. Davis finished with 18 points on an even more efficient 8-10 shooting. He also tossed in 4 rebounds and 4 assists for good measure. Justin Mazzulla drained another couple threes and finished with 8 points. Isaiah Powell also scored 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Nick Fiorillo had another nice all around game off the bench with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Kam Gibson continues to produce as he as re-enters his shooter off the bench role with 6 points and added 7 rebounds as well. Robin Duncan was the maestro of the passing attack as usual with 6 assists. 

Now on the road to Binghamton on Wednesday. I am off to Disney World with the family for the week so I will not be writing up Wednesday's game. I won't be watching Senior day on Saturday either but should be able to write it up the next day. This is the first game I will have missed completely in a long time so you will all have to survive without me!

JUSTIN MAZZULLA

Vermont 71 UNH 50

Now that is a bounce back. 

Vermont used a scorching first half from three to bury UNH and clinch their 6th consecutive league title. What an accomplishment for this group that was underrated going into the season and just put together one of the most dominant streaks in Vermont history to begin conference play. Gonzaga is the only other school with a consecutive title run equal to the Cats (they have won 9 straight) and anytime you are in the same conversation as the Zags, you are doing something right. It was also Becker's 250th career win so a big congratulations to him and the program he has built. The game tonight was over early on as Vermont came out hot on offense and relentless on defense. Nobody wants to lose but it almost looked like the weight of the building expectations had been lifted and the Cats could once again focus on the game at hand instead of all the outside noise of the win streak. They were playing loose from the opening tip. The Cats get a much deserved day off at home to get ready and hopefully healthy for the stretch run. After the stress from the loss on Monday night faded it was a good opportunity to reflect on the insane run the Cats just went on. This program is in pretty rarefied air when one loss feels so intense. The way this team has scored the ball on offense it something unique and rare. They have been in "best in the country" territory for two months now and it has been a thing of beauty. Definitely a good moment to reflect and appreciate. 

Justin Mazzulla was unbelievable tonight scoring 21 points on 6/8 shooting from three. He looked like he was having so much fun out there on the court and deserved a night like this for all the hard work he has put in in the trenches this season. Ben Shungu squeaked ahead to lead the Cats with 22 points on a 9-13 shooting effort from the field. He and Mazzulla basically won the game in the first 10 minutes with their shooting and defense. Robin Duncan was also great in the first half with 8 points, attacking the basket relentlessly. Isaiah Powell continues to do all the little things finishing with 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Nick Fiorillo played very well in his spot start with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Kam Gibson continued his resurgence with 7 points and both he and Fiorillo are starting to improve on the defensive end. 

The Cats showed a ton of heart in bouncing back and dominating in the way that they did. The fire has been reignited as they get ready for a big home showdown with UMBC on Saturday. Now Saturday is my birthday and I am bringing the whole family so to say I am excited is an understatement. 

Vermont at Hartford 2/14/22

Hartford 75 Vermont 74 OT

The win streak comes to an end. 

Austin Williams was unstoppable for Hartford and Moses Flowers put back a miss with 5 seconds left to hand Vermont their first conference loss. Already without Ryan Davis, Finn Sullivan was ruled out before the game as well and Vermont couldn't take advantage of an equally depleted Hartford team. In the first half, the Hawks couldn't miss and Vermont struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Vermont fought back in the second half but couldn't pull away. Ben Shungu tipped in a miss at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and give the Cats new life. Moses Flowers scored all 8 points for Hartford in OT to lift the Hawks to victory. Since the COVID rescheduling created this road trip, this seemed like a likely spot for the Cats to drop a game. Then with the injuries creating further challenges, a loss felt inevitable. However, the players fought hard and it was an incredibly exciting game. Vermont struggled to makes plays on both sides of the ball. Too many mistakes on defense and too many threes on offense. The Cats ended with 32 attempts from three and too often settled for jumpers in the second half. A ton of credit goes to Hartford who played an incredible game and knocked down shot after shot. Honestly more concerning than the loss is having to go to OT and play so many minutes in the midst of this difficult stretch. That makes the next game at New Hampshire very tough. Vermont wants to be healthy come playoff time and they have a significant cushion for the regular season title. It is going to be important and stay the course and make sure guys get healthy. 

It was an uneven performance for most of the Cats tonight. Ben Shungu led Vermont with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He played almost the entire game and tried to will Vermont to victory. A gutsy performance on a night when Hartford was selling out to stop him. Kam Gibson got the start and scored 18 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. He also played better defense in the second half in limiting the Hawks three points shooting. He was 5-12 from three but missed a crucial layup toward the end of the game. I give him a lot of credit for not losing confidence with his extended bench time and several times in this game he brought the Cats back with big threes. Justin Mazzulla and Isaiah Powell really struggled to finish around the rim combining for 4-17 shooting. Missing the bunnies really prevented Vermont from pulling away down the stretch. Aaron Deloney scored 13 points to round out the Cats double figure scorers. The Cats really missed Sullivan's defensive energy in tonight's game. 

Several of the long winning streaks have gone down this week or were very close to going down. This is often the toughest stretch of the season and the compressed schedule makes it even tougher. No matter how good or bad teams are the second time through the conference schedule almost always produces a game like tonight. This one definitely stings and the next one is going to be equally as tough. New Hampshire is another tough physical team and even if the Cats get Sullivan or Davis back, the rest of the guys are going to be gassed after tonight's game. This is the first significant adversity for the Cats since early on in the non-conference and it will be interesting to see how they respond. 

Vermont at Albany 2/12/22

Vermont 76 Albany 63

No Davis. No Problem.

With Ryan Davis resting his balky back the other Catamounts stepped up to the challenge and extended the win streak to 14 games. It was a classic rivalry game with physical play, chippy play, poor officiating, sloppy stretches, and angry coaches. Vermont's ultra efficient offense took a hit without their most efficient scorer but they made up for it with a strong defensive effort. The Cats forced 16 Albany turnovers and went 22-26 from the free throw line in their first "win ugly" game in a while. This team just keeps spoiling the fans with win after win. To lose a star player like that and still come out and dominate borders on unnatural. It continues to speak to the depth of this team and how much each player buys into being ready when their number is called. The team chemistry and connectedness really shows through in a game like this where they have to adjust their approach. This team keeps raising the bar. Hopefully Davis finds his way back into the lineup as you would have to think that eventually not having their best player would affect Vermont. Right?

So many guys stepped up in tonight's game. Robin Duncan got the start in place of Davis and played an incredible game on both ends of the floor. He finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 steals, and 1 block. His feel for the game is just incredible and has a knack for making the right play at the right time. Isaiah Powell also stuffed the stat sheet in his hometown game. He finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. His court vision and passing are getting better and better. He and Duncan really set the tone in the first half. Ben "Second Half" Shungu battled back from foul trouble in the first half and led the Cats with 18 points. So many times this year opposing teams start to make runs or have a big play and Shungu calmly answers with a big play of his own. Finn Sullivan scored 15 points and played his trademark ballhawk defense. Evan Guillory was very impressive tonight as well. Seeing extended minutes with Davis out, Guillory brought major physicality and worked very hard on the boards. He had some tough moments on offense but made 5-6 free throws and used his size to anchor Vermont's smaller lineups. 

Now the quick turnaround on the road at Hartford on Monday night. The Davis injury certainly makes things a little more interesting in what will surely be another physical and chippy game. 

Vermont vs Binghamton 2/9/22

Vermont 82 Binghamton 51

What more can you say about this team?

Vermont continued their torrid pace and demolished Binghamton for their 13th win in a row. Offensively the Cats are in rarefied air. Very few teams have ever posted the efficiency numbers that Vermont has during this win streak. Game in and game out they are making shots at an incredible pace. What has made it so beautiful to watch is that they so rarely take bad shots. That goes back to the chemistry that this team has. They all seem to have a collective brain out on the court. Every player making a pass to the right player at the right time for the best shot. Another 20 assists in today's game and the passing is a thing of beauty. One of the plays that stood out to me was that Ryan Davis was battling some kind of back injury and he was only one basket away from 1,000 for his career with the ball in his hands. He could have easily thrown up a shot but instead he found a cutting Robin Duncan for two. When the reigning player of the year is passing up shots to look for teammates, you know you are witnessing something special. I have never had so much fun watching a Vermont team. Every player is ready to execute when it is their turn and cheer for their teammates when it isn't. What we are watching this season is a once in a lifetime team. 

Justin Mazzulla led the balanced Vermont attack with 13 points and 8 rebounds. He set the tone early and was the leader on the court tonight. His cutting has been phenomenal lately and with Davis struggling he picked up the slack on the boards. Ben Shungu continued his hot shooting and chipped in 11 points on 3-4 shooting from three. Davis was battling what looked to be a back issue but gutted through the pain to stuff the stat sheet with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. His passing was particularly good tonight. My favorite sequence of the night was the fastbreak layup followed by the corner three from the big man. Isaiah Powell and Nick Fiorillo had nearly identical nights with each player scoring 10 points, hauling in 4 rebounds, and dishing out 2 assists. Duncan and Aaron Deloney both played well off the bench. It was also nice to see Kam Gibson get some shots to fall in garbage time. 

Now the tough road trip begins. It is a tall task to play three road games in five days. The back injury for Davis is certainly an area of concern as they are notoriously finicky injuries. It is hard to put any limits on what this team can do and I can't wait to see what they do next. 

Vermont at UMass Lowell 2/5/22

Vermont 78 UMass Lowell 67

Vermont held off a hard charging UMass Lowell team to secure their 12th straight victory. It was a strange game that felt very disjointed throughout. Lots of whistles, loose balls, and sloppy play. The Cats jumped out to a large early lead thanks to a 17-0 run. From there it was back and forth for a while until Vermont pulled away in the second half. The Cats took their foot off the gas a little to early and UMass Lowell went on a 17-0 run of their own to cut the lead to four with 1:51 left. On the next possession Justin Mazzulla hit a big three and Ryan Davis came up with two huge blocks down the stretch to seal the victory. For 35 minutes of the game the Cats had finally shaken off the three point hot streak that their opponents have been on only to see the River Hawks catch fire in the last 5 minutes. The biggest contributing factor to Lowell hanging around was that for the first time in a long time Vermont struggled to rebound the basketball. The Cats gave up 10 offensive rebounds and gave the River Hawks too many second chances. I actually like the fact that Vermont got somewhat of a gut punch in the second half as an opportunity to play in a high pressure situation. As the calendar creeps toward March it is good to get tested. The Cats responded in a big way as they have done all season and that is the mark of a good team. Their will to win continues to shine through in big moments. 

Davis and Ben Shungu carried the Cats as they have done all season. Davis got Vermont going with a big first half, showing off the full arsenal. He finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, those 2 big blocks, and now sits 13 points away from 1,000 for his career. Shungu dominated the second half as he has done all season and finished with a team high 24 points. He was 4-5 from three and that aspect of his game is really coming on strong as the season progresses. The step back three has become a regular in the arsenal. Justin Mazzulla chipped in 11 points and it seems like he is in that 8-10 point zone every night. Isaiah Powell had 12 points and was the one that found Mazzulla for the crucial late game three. Aaron Deloney continues to excel in his bench scorer role and had another 9 points this afternoon. Finn Sullivan has hit a rough patch with his shot but provided quite a wow moment with a big dunk early in the second half. 

Now Vermont will try and keep the victory train rolling at home against a surprisingly competitive Binghamton team. After that game the Cats with have their toughest stretch of the conference season with an exhausting Sat/Mon/Wed road trip. 

The Aaron Deloney game part two

Vermont 90 NJIT 67

Aaron Deloney didn't miss and the rest of the Cats followed his lead as Vermont pushed their win streak to 11. After an uneventful first few minutes, the bench mob ignited the Cats and they never looked back. Vermont dominated every facet of the game from start to finish. Another game where I just sit back and find tremendous appreciation for this team and this program. I LOVE this team. They play with such togetherness and energy and you never know who is going to be the star on any given night. I just can't believe that in little old Vermont with one Division I university, I get to watch high level college basketball year in and year out. I think this is the best passing Vermont team I can remember. They are always looking to make the extra pass and are so in sync. 

Deloney has made an incredible leap this season. He has embraced his role and is ready to put the ball in the hoop every time he touches it. The shooting is fun but his knack for getting to the rim might be his best skill. He is lightning quick and fearless. Deloney had  near perfect night going 8-8 from the field, 4-4 from three, and 4-5 from the line on his way to a career high 24 points. He outscored the entire NJIT team 23-22 in the first half. Robin Duncan also had an incredible impact tonight. His passing was electric and he is playing so aggressively on the offensive end. Duncan finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. His knowledge of the game and command of the team when he is on the floor is something special. Nick Fiorillo also continues to improve each game. The shooting has come around but his defense has improved as well and he is a very underrated passer. Ryan Davis continues to be an unstoppable scoring machine again leading the cats with 16 points. Ben Shungu was right there with him chipping in 14 points and 5 rebounds. Justin Mazzulla and Finn Sullivan are tenacious defenders with very active hands and made life difficult for whoever they were guarding tonight. 

Vermont finally gets a couple days off before Saturday's showdown with UMass Lowell. The team is so fun to watch as soon as one game ends I am ready for the next one to begin.