Vermont 79 Albany 61
Vermont dominated Albany to finish the regular season at 20-10 and 14-2 in the America East. An incredible turnaround for a team that was sitting at 2-7 at the end of November and 2-2 to start league play. Becker and Vermont have now won 20 games in every full season he has coached (shortened COVID season doesn't count). Different assistants, different players, different league members, the Vermont program continues to find a way. What an incredible regular season. It was great to recognize the Seniors as well who have all worked through different obstacles in their career and have come together to be a integral part of this incredible team.
Vermont came out of the gates hot, draining 10 threes in the first half. Albany offered up very little defensive resistance and Vermont forced the Great Danes into tough shot after tough shot. In the second half the perimeter shooting waned but the Cats attacked the basket at will and made it count from the free throw line. There was a little bit of a "lets get this game over with and get to the tournament" vibe (especially from the fans) but overall it was a strong performance by Vermont. The Cats shot 53% from the field, 39% from three, and 88% from the line in an efficient offensive effort. They also tightened things up on the boards in the second half and out rebounded Albany.
Aaron Deloney led the way with 18 points, shooting 6-7 from the field including 4-5 from three. He LOVES shooting in Patrick and looked laser focused in today's game. Matt Veretto continued his strong play with 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the field including 3-5 from three. He is flat out lethal from distance. Dylan Penn was the other Catamount in double figures, finishing with 13 points and 4 assists. Nick Fiorillo had a dunk and pulled down 5 rebounds in his second game back from injury. He looks ready to slide back into a role in the rotation. Robin Duncan had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals while Finn Sullivan tried to match his stat stuffing on an off shooting night with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
Now the real work begins. Each game matters. Win and keep playing. Up first is a pesky and frankly wildly unlucky NJIT team. Vermont will be ready to bring their trademark focus and mental toughness to Saturday nights game.
Great to finish off strong. Another 20 win season is incredible. What a program! I also want to point out that Lee called this season record to near perfection in his season preview. Lee predicted a 20-11 season which most likely would have been exactly correct had we played Miami on their home turf. On to playoff!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! It is always fun when predictions come true.
DeleteBecker always finds a way to get this team firing on all cylinders by mid point of the conference schedule and primed for tournament time. This team was tough to watch early on but once they settled into their roles and figured out rotations, it’s been business as normal. Lee, what matchup do you think is the most potentially disastrous for us in the conference tournament? Lowell? Bryant? I think NJIT is a trap game for us potentially. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThe season long progress is always my favorite part of watching Vermont. They players and coaches do an incredible job on improving and making adjustments throughout the year. I don't think there is a disastrous matchup but Lowell is the most well equipped challenger. They are the other balanced team who have the ability to make big plays on both ends of the floor. NJIT is better than most 8th seeds that Vermont has faced during this big run. They lost a ton of close games and could just have easily been a middle of the pack team. That being said the fact that NJIT pushed Vermont so hard in their last matchup will bring extra focus and determination from the Cats as they will not take them lightly and will be looking to prove the last game more of the exception than the rule.
DeleteLowell is a potentially difficult match up for UVM. If they bring all of the potential offensive firepower together in one game they will be a very difficult opponent. However, Maine is a tough out for Lowell. That is my big hope is that Maine pulls the upset which, if UVM wins vs NJIT, would provide a better path to the championship game. Otherwise, UMBC or Binghamton could be tough semi-final matchups.
ReplyDeleteLowell is certainly the other well rounded team in the league. I honestly would prefer UMBC and Binghamton over either upset team. I think Vermont matches up fairly well with both.
DeleteMan, the non-conference was tough with virtually all of the games on the road. Don’t know what happened with Long Beach State, but losses and the way the Cats looked against Iona, Yale and Toledo was brutal. So I’m stating the obvious but the guys learned where to be and where to go on offense and defense and gain trust amongst themselves. Kudos John Becker and assistant coaches! Win 3 more and go to the Dance with a significant win streak and maybe we take somebody by surprise. It’s in a year of great parity amongst the Power 5 teams, so who knows? I know one thing. The outside shooting % is way up from the start of the year. There seemed to be a time when the shooters were few and very inconsistent. Now it appears they are all launching 3s that go in with more frequency. And it just might take that with no Ryan Davis or Anthony Lamb. Go Cats Go. Don’t rest on NJIT but I guess you know that. Please, no drama!
ReplyDeleteMatt Veretto has been the key to the improvement in the perimeter shooting. He is deadly from outside and his shooting ability has been crucial in opening things up for everyone else. The non-conference was a kind of a "too much too soon" situation for an inexperienced team trying to figure out roles and rotations.
DeleteI second the no drama suggestion… my aging heart can’t take it!
ReplyDeletePlayoff basketball is always full of emotion! Here we go!
DeleteAre there any new recruit rumors or confirmations on the horizon?
ReplyDeleteNothing yet!
DeleteAlso, while better conversation for a month from now, but any decision by Veretto and Deloney on 5th years? Who stands to transfer out? Hope we see Perry Smith stay one more year at a minimum, think Vermont can be good for his game if he buys in.
ReplyDeleteBoth of them were not recognized at Senior day so they are planning on another year of college basketball. It is very hard to predict roster construction this early. So many factors go into transfer decisions.
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