Vermont at UMass Lowell 12/18/13

Vermont 62 UMass Lowell 48

The conference opener for both teams was a hard fought, tough, America East type game. It looks to me like Lowell will be a great addition to the league as they play tough and give max effort for 40 minutes. This has been the calling card of the America East for years so it is nice to see a new program who seems to embrace this ideal. A win is a win and that is basically how this game played out. Vermont looked flat in the first half and discombobulated on offense. It is at the point where each game starts out as trying to survive the first half without begin down by double digits. The Cats came out in the second half and really clamped down on defense, which fueled their offense and led to the victory. This turnaround happened for three reasons. The first reason is that Becker shortened his bench. This was important because it limited the crucial mistakes that were being made in the first half. Reason number two was going with Josh Elbaum for extended stretches. Elbaum has been lost in the shuffle this year as Becker looks for consistency on offense but his defense was a turning point in the game tonight. The final reason was that Brian Voelkel too turned up the defensive intensity. I am still amazed at his ability to guard smaller, quicker guards on the perimeter without fouling. It is a truly unique skill and he will end up the defensive player of the year in the conference. He can guard anywhere on the floor and create turnovers. Clancy Rugg looked solid once again in what was a great match up for him against the smaller Lowell team. I again walked away impressed by Kurt Steidl and would like to see his minutes increase. Partially because we need his shooting but also because I cannot watch Candon Rusin anymore. I find myself cringing when he touches the ball and his game is so one dimensional that he gets lost for long stretches. The Cats just cant afford to have him playing 25 minutes a game anymore unless he makes a miraculous turnaround. Next up is a very difficult match up at Harvard. Vermont won down there last year so I am sure Harvard will be looking to stick it to the Cats. It would be nice to play them tough because the non conference games after Harvard are winnable. This would allow Vermont to go into conference play on a hot streak. Voelkel has a chance to grab the 1,000 rebound of his career in the game against Harvard. He needs six more to become the third player in UVM history to reach that milestone. Just one of the many milestones he has a chance to reach this season.