Vermont at USC 11/15/22

 USC 59 Vermont 57

Vermont battled hard in the final game of their West Coast swing before falling to USC. The game capped an 0-3 trip but the Cats looked more cohesive and pushed USC for a full 40 minutes. The defense was much better with quicker rotations, more court awareness, and the Cats kept the Trojans off the offensive glass. Despite playing a double overtime game just two days prior, the energy and intensity were there. The offensive movement was better and the Cats were able to get good shots. Unfortunately the shots just wouldn't go down. Vermont only shot 36% from the field and just couldn't seem to string baskets together.  Then down the stretch they had one too many fouls, putting USC on the line. It is easy to get caught up in the missed shots but this team looked the part tonight and got back to playing Vermont basketball. It was an exciting back and forth game and thank god for DVR because there was no way I was staying up that late. Nothing like a little early morning game watching.

Finn Sullivan led the charge with 17 points and 6 rebounds. He played a great game, making tough shots and coming up with big defensive plays. He has a tremendous opportunity for a big season as the Cats most versatile player. Dylan Penn chipped in 11 points and 5 rebounds. The box score doesn't really show it but he was much more engaged on defense and looked more comfortable in the offense. Nick Fiorillo had some nice buckets early but struggled from deep. Matt Veretto grabbed 5 rebounds but also struggled to knock down shots from the outside. Robin Duncan once again led the team with 7 rebounds in a scoreless effort. Aaron Deloney really struggled to get anything going after early foul trouble. Overall the Cats really passed the "eye test" in this game. The lineups looked more cohesive and the chemistry looked much better. I do wonder if we will start to see some lineup tweaks as the individual roles begin to take shape. 

The schedule does not let up anytime soon. This non-conference schedule is grueling from start to finish and there will be no time to appreciate the gains the the Cats made in this game. Both Iona and Yale have looked good to start the season and then it is off to the Bahamas. Hopefully this game was a sign of the accelerated growth this team is going to go through while running this gauntlet. The Iona game on Friday should be a great battle between two premiere northeast mid major programs.