Outhustled, outworked, outplayed.
Merrimack dominated Vermont with their matchup zone and handed the Cats a shocking loss. This was the poorest performance by a Cats team in recent memory. They were sluggish and played with little to no energy or excitement. For the second straight game the turnovers were plentiful as Vermont has been uncharacteristically loose with the ball. The offensive adjustments and plans have not clicked so far and the Cats look tentative and unsure. The coaching staff is struggling to find the right combinations and the shifting lineups seem to be making the roles undefined and murky. Becker is trying to light a fire under the veterans and find the right groups but the young players are not quite ready for the larger roles. Over the first few games the biggest shock has been how much the Cats have struggle to get and finish shots at the rim. After tonight they are shooting 34% (!!!!) from two point range. That is an almost unfathomable number for a Vermont squad. Quite a bit of soul searching after a busy week full of ups and downs. Interestingly enough as far as the record goes, 1-2 at this point was what was expected but Vermont got there in quite the backwards fashion.
TJ Long led the Cats with 22 points, including the 1,000th of his career. He kept the Cats afloat but no one else got going offensively. TJ Hurley finished with 11 points as the other double figure scorer. The elephant in the room is how poorly Shamir Bogues has played after his early explosion at against UAB. He does not look 100% and the missed time is clearly affecting him. Vermont does have strong depth but Bogues is such an important player that it is a uphill battle with him playing so ineffectively. Nick Fiorillo and Sam Alamutu have also struggled mightily to start the season after looking very good during the offseason/preseason. Ileri Ayo-Faleye, Seth Joba, and Shy Odom struggled to make an impact. Sean Blake was thrust into an even more prominent role and fell victim to the ups and downs of freshman inexperience. He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists but struggled defensively and committed 4 turnovers. He is not quite ready for the full reins of the offense. Noah Barnett continues to show flashes with his hustle, finishing with 5 points and 5 rebounds, but he too showed some inexperience in the post.
What a difference from the beginning of the week. It is going to be a long week for Vermont as they try to right the ship before heading to Iona on Friday.
