Robin Duncan scored on an offensive rebound tip in with 7 seconds left and NJIT's attempt at the other end went long, as Vermont escaped New Jersey with their 9th straight win. There are a couple ways to look at this game.
Take one: Winning on the road is tough and scratching out a win, no matter how it happens is all that matters. NJIT and Kevin Osawe in particular played absolutely out of their minds. They hit tough shot after tough shot and every bounce went their way right up until then end. For Vermont to gut out a victory against a team playing their best game of the season by executing a the the precise moment when they needed it is huge.
Take Two: Teams are shooting a high percentage against the vaunted Vermont defense at a pretty regular clip lately, exposing some gaps in the armor. There have been stretches of games over the past month where teams seem to be able to score at will. Most of the time it has been after Vermont has built a huge lead so the impact has been minimal but for whatever reason teams are hitting lots of tough shots against the Cats. And the free throw shooting. Ouch. Missing free throws is a back breaker and Vermont is lucky that up until this point they have not ended up in close games because that is something that could cost them a win.
So now that that analysis stuff is out of the way, what an incredibly exciting basketball game. Take away who is in what place in the standings and which team you are rooting for, and that was fun to watch. Teams trading punches and Vermont battling back after trailing for the entire game. My heart was in my throat as Vermont came all the way back from 11 down with 10 minutes to go. The turning point was Dylan Penn knocking down Vermont's first three pointer of the second half with 8 and a half minutes to go. Penn a career 26% three point shooter is a scorching 6/8 (75%) from three over the last 6 games. In the first half the three kept Vermont in the game as shots were falling on both ends. Vermont then opened the second half by missing their first 9 three point attempts and scoring a measly 5 points in the first 9 minutes. Then slowly but surely the Cats clawed their way back before Finn Sullivan hit a game tying three with 3 seconds left to send the game to overtime. TJ Hurley made a great "wise beyond his years" decision to get the ball to Sullivan for the big shot. Once again Vermont took care of the ball, committing only 6 turnovers. A big part of the comeback was Vermont forcing NJIT into several turnovers and capitalizing on the other end.
Finn Sullivan led the Cats with 21 points. He was really good in this game and battled through a pretty gnarly ankle injury for some big buckets down the stretch before fouling out in OT. Sullivan also added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He is really on an amazing run and I hope his ankle injury does not cause him to miss any time. He is so crucial to the Cats success. Dylan Penn seems to be matching Sullivan shot for shot on a run of his own collecting 19 points to go along with 3 assists and 3 steals. Penn is flying all over the court and gliding into difficult finishes around the rim. Similar to last season when Ben Shungu and Ryan Davis were making a simultaneous run at player of the year, Vermont again has teammates who are both putting together a run at the top honor. Aaron Deloney had a big old fashioned three point play in OT and finished with 9 points. Matt Veretto hit a trio of three pointers to chip in 9 as well. But the star was none other than Robin Duncan yet again. Who else? Duncan hit the game winner to cap off a monster 13 point, 12 rebound double double. The free throw shooting is frustrating (I am sure to Duncan more than anyone else) but man does this guy will Vermont to victory. He played a team high 42 minutes and left absolutely everything out there on the floor.
With the victory Vermont clinches a share of the regular season title for the 7th consecutive season. Only Gonzaga has more in a row. An incredible run of success. Now they can have a chance to clinch the outright title at Patrick on Wednesday night against Binghamton.
A win is a win. Securing home court in playoffs is huge. Game at Bryant will be the pressure test on us advancing through America East Playoffs. Still gotta love this teams grit!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! This team is tough!
DeleteI think the fact that we are Vermont every other team plays with no pressure. When you are an underdog you tend to make tough shots and go on runs when everything seems to go in. In the past we’ve seen this before but I think the difference is this team is a bit less consistent on the offensive end and give up too many offensive rebounds. In regards to this game I give a ton of credit to the guys for fighting through especially after seemingly every bounce went NJIT’s way. They definitely need to clean up the free throw shooting and giving up second chance opportunities. Hats off to Finn for playing through the pain, begging to stay out there and then making the big 3pt as well as the fast break layup off the steal. He’s going to wake up sore as hell and I’d be shocked if he plays Wednesday. Barring something crazy happening they’ve locked up home court which is an amazing accomplishment with where this team was 2 months ago. This league has gotten much better and deeper with more talent than I’ve ever seen. The only question now are seedlings and who gets the 4 seed. We’ll see on Wednesday but I think I’d like too see Binghamton in the semis over Bryant and Umass-L.
ReplyDeleteThe parity has created an interesting situation where the semifinal matchup could feature one of the stronger teams. The other teams getting hyped up and giving Vermont their best shot is definitely a factor.
DeleteNJIT won 4 of 5 at home before they met the Cats. The entire league is lopsided when it comes to home wins versus on the road, with the exception of UVM. The Cats were relatively close to equity in rebounding. The stat line that stands out is turnovers. UVM aid protecting the ball! It would be nice to see them win it outright against Binghamton
ReplyDeleteThe home road splits this year are kinda unbelievable. The way this teams takes care of the ball is awesome.
DeleteRobin’s career year continues. I heard it said last night he was #11 in the nation on AST/TO ratio. And now the TIP! As far as the playoffs, I too fear Bryant the most. So much firepower!
ReplyDeleteI disagree about Bryant. I’m actually tired of hearing about that team. They came into the league with all this hype and at this point their record says what they are. The NEC is garbage and they thought they were going to join AE and dominate and theyre barely over .500. Of course anyone can win in the tournament but I think Umass-L is probably the toughest out.
DeleteRobin is the man. I think Lowell is the biggest challenger. Bryant's defense has been lacking and their offense is based solely on winning one v one matchups. They certainly have talent but have struggled to put it together.
DeleteLast night’s focus under pressure was forged early on in the season when they hit those hard times. It’s exactly why playing a tough preseason helps. In America East winning the playoffs is all that matters! Early season trails prepare the team for that task.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. The challenging schedule is the best preparation for the stretch run and tournament time.
DeleteTotally agree w all you stated here. I almost had to take an extra blood pressure pill for the end of this game. True champion calibre team last night. Give NJIT their due as they played their hearts out! Jim Cross
ReplyDeleteLots of loud exclamations in the living room for sure. Great game all around.
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