Vermont 73 Colgate 72
It's happening.
Vermont used a 10-0 run late in the first half to take control of the game and responded to every Colgate run in the second half en route to their fourth consecutive victory. This was a huge win for the Cats. Colgate is one of the other preseason conference number one picks on their schedule and gutting out a road win against another top mid major is big. Chemistry is building, roles are becoming defined, and tweaks by the coaching staff are paying off. The offense has shifted to more quick ball movement and more driving and cutting. That shift has allowed Vermont to get open shots from the perimeter and they are knocking them down. The perimeter defense has caught fire (ice?) since NVU-Lyndon made it rain from distance. Over the last three games opponents are shooting 11/55 (20%) from three. Talk about a point of emphasis. This team is showing some grit and mental toughness, playing with a chip on their shoulder, and putting those early season struggles behind them. Even though the interior defense is still a work in progress, they are back to keeping teams off the offensive glass and rebounding well in the trenches. The most exciting sign from todays team win? 18 assists and only 8 turnovers.
Robin Duncan put the team on his back this afternoon. One of the changes during the winning streak is putting the ball in Duncan's hand more to highlight his ability to get to the rim or pass out of the paint. He has thrived in that role and it all came together in this one. Duncan led Vermont with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in a team high 34 minutes. He is not getting enough credit for basically doubling his career per game rebounding average (3.5 to 6.6) and becoming an impact player on offense. His leadership, poise, and grit is defining this team. The other hero in this afternoon's game was Matt Veretto. He made timely threes down the stretch in the second half and came up with a huge offensive rebound and score with 27 seconds left. Veretto finished with 14 points (4-9 from three) and 6 rebounds. His ability to stretch the floor opens the paint up for drives by the Vermont guards. Aaron Deloney continued to be the spark off the bench with 13 points. TJ Hurley also provided 12 points off the bench on a perfect 5-5 shooting night. He scored at all three levels in this game and has scored in double figures in 4 straight games. Finn Sullivan also had a nice game with 8 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Vermont needed to turn the page going into December and have taken care of business. Now they have their first break of the year for finals week before the game that I personally have had circled all season, Toledo at home on December 20th. That should be another great battle between two strong mid-majors and those are the type of games you want at Patrick.
Part two accomplished, ground out the win. Any word on ileri? Is he just in the dog house? Or hurt?
ReplyDeleteI have no info but my guess is doghouse.
DeleteLooks like Dylan Penn will continue to start but Deloney and Hurley will be getting more meaningful minutes. Candidly, he doesn’t seem to fit Beckers system. In seeing tape of him at Bellamine you can see he fit that system perfectly. Here not as much. Right now Hurley is easily the best freshman and should continue to get significant minutes. Toledo shoukd be a suitable challenge. Finally, hope we can take on the physical challenge is likely to present.
ReplyDeleteHe is losing minutes due to his defensive miscues. He often loses his man and struggles to recover from quick ball movement by the offense. Offensively he fits just fine but he struggles to stay on the court when Vermont needs to get stops. Hurley will get minutes as long as he continues to progresses on the defensive end as well. He is an incredibly gifted offensive player. Toledo will be a very tough game, glad the the Cats have it at home.
DeleteAgreed, I’ve been a little surprised how a guy so quick with the ball seems to always be a step behind on defense. Several times in this game he bit on the shot fake to only chase afterwards and seems to get beat off the dribble too much. There was a backdoor cut on the baseline that Hurley missed early in the game that had Becker irate but was great to see how he responded in the second half! I will say that I’d prefer to let Hurley and alamutu play more minutes at the expense of Gibson. At this point he’s a known entity as a 5th yr senior with little upside….
DeleteI agree. It feels like he should be better and they seem like mental lapses or a loss of focus much of the time. It was nice to see Hurley respond because that was a glaring defensive miscue. I actually think Gibson has done very well in his role this season. He is a solid veteran who can provide trustworthy minutes when the young guys are going through growing pains. He is shooting 38% percent from three and has made at least one three in 11 out of the 12 games he has played in this season. He knows the defensive system and he very rarely turns the ball over with only 5 total on the season in 24 minutes per game. He fills a very important role on this team.
DeleteThis win had a great deal to do with excellent scouting, preparation, and coaching. The coaching staff are doing a great job preparing a game plan that limits the opponents assets and exposes their weaknesses. When Becker put in a 5 guard line up I thought he was going crazy; how wrong was I? It's as if they knew what they were doing...
ReplyDeleteThe coaching staff have pushed the right buttons after they too struggled with game planning early on. This is why the program has had sustained success. The coaching staff does a great job of finding ways to maximize players abilities and put them in spots to succeed. They have adapted to what they have and currently it is paying dividends. Alamutu has been the key to the small lineup as he can provide the physical toughness they need down low.
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