Vermont gets the regional location they want in Brooklyn, NY and will face off against Duke on Friday. A thirteen seed is a good seed for Vermont and it is always fun to get a game where the fans can travel. Matchups are always tough when you are the huge underdog and this one is no different. Duke is a elite offensive team who does not beat themselves. They are one of the best shooting teams in the country, particularly from three where they finished at close to 38% (15th in the country). They don't put their opponents on the line and are very good at taking care of the basketball. I will say, this is a fun one for me because the very first month of writing this blog I traveled down to Cameron indoor stadium to watch the last Duke/Vermont matchup and had the greatest live college basketball watching experience of my life in the Cats thrilling 91-90 loss. So maybe the magic will repeat itself? Will it be a tall task to pull the upset? Absolutely! Will that make it any less fun? No way! How can they do it? Making shots and flexing their muscle on the defensive side of the ball. I can't wait to watch them let it fly on Friday!
I will dig into the nitty gritty and post a more in depth preview before the game on Friday. Man this is going to be fun.
Link to the write up from the last Duke matchup here: Duke/Vermont 2013
P.S. As far as bracket predictions go this is ideal for me becasue as a Duke hater I have a rule that I never advance the Blue Devils out of the second round on principle, so this makes it easy for me this year to pick them to lose in the first round! Let's go Cats!!
In the past couple of years several of the sports talking heads were mentioning the Cats as a 1st round upset possibility. This year- not a word so far. Under the radar.My two least favorite programs are Duke and Syracuse, so it would be beyond appropriate that we beat Duke. The Syracuse win was also a 13/4 matchup. The beautiful defense can make this happen.
ReplyDeleteLee I was the poster who earlier was hoping for this matchup. I for one am not a Duke hater except when they play UVM and that 2013 game was extremely exciting . It was one of Dukes worst defensive teams but extremely athletic and talented . I’ve posted earlier today that I thought this would be a good matchup for UVM stating that while Philopowski and Mitchell were excellent offensive players I feel Aye Faleye and Fiorillo match up as welk as we could expect from a 4 seed. And with Bogues Roquomore Alamutu we can match the Blue Devils strength in the back court . That said I would expect to be a double digit underdog . Tempo and hitting our outside shots will determine if we can hang with the Blue Devils I just want to hear Gus Johnson call the game and scream Deloney FROM THE PARKING LOT
ReplyDeleteLet’s finish the work begun in 2013. I watched that game from the basement, yelled for my wife to come down as we were in the game with Duke having taken the lead only to lose on an after buzzer beater by Rusin.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the nature of the tournament. The talking heads love the blue blood programs and will give little notice to a Vermont team. All the better! Duke will look past us until our defensive pressure shakes them up a bit! Bring on the upset…
ReplyDeleteBring the defensive intensity and some needs to get hot! We can do this
ReplyDeleteReality check. This Vermont team went above and beyond in winning the conference regular season and tournament. Sensational season. Congrats to all.
ReplyDeleteVermont plays great defense, limits turnovers and controls pace. But they have a low offensive ceiling. Bogues, Raquemore, Alamutu and Ayo Faleye are not natural scorers. Long, Hurley, Varetto and Fiorillo are one dimensional. I see no way for this team to compete with Duke, even if Vermont plays their best games and Duke plays their worst. Take Duke giving up 12.5.
The best part about the NCAA tournament is that on any given night a team like Vermont can win against a team like Duke; or maybe some forget about another America East upset… UMBC over #1 Virginia? Awe… memories
DeleteBeg to differ , first Duke team is not its best and not very deep . And they are missing a key reserve . Two of their other reserves have seen limited action, whereas Vermont will play 9 possibly 10 players depending on whether Matt is available. Vermont’s strength is its defense and if it can frustrate Duke , keep it close and may sneak out a win .
DeleteCredit to UMBC but... UVA was without a crucial player for that game. Is UVM arranging a bus for a trip down to Brooklyn? I doubt it, but they should.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a fun bus ride. UVM is not even opening the Alumni House for a watch party!
DeleteI love it: watching CBS sports this AM preview of every game, possible upsets, key players etc.. They get to Duke-UVM and not a word, one word about the UVM team or coach- it's gonna be a prime time walkover, they say. Oh, it will be sweet. Yea, I know it all has to break the Cats way, but great D always has a chance.
ReplyDeleteOf course the rest of the country especially the Duke fans view Vermont as a lackluster offensive team and completely ignore the team determination that this team has. That’s what makes the match up so exciting for Cat fans. The Duke blog I was just reading is spending most of its coverage on beating the other teams in the bracket. UVM has a legitimate chance to play Duke buzzer to buzzer. Go Cats! Being the underdog is absolutely exciting!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the name of the Duke blog? I want to check it out. Cats can win if they play the tenacious D that they're capable of. Matty V is part of that equation. Hope he's back and healthy. Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteClancy Rugg got all ball in 2013!
https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?50326-MBB-Duke-vs-Vermont-(NCAAT-3-22-7-10pm)-Pre-Game-and-In-Game-Thread/page6
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