Binghamton 75 Vermont 72
Binghamton went on a late run to secure their first victory over the Catamounts in a decade. Just like on Saturday, Vermont got off to a hot 10-0 start before the opposition roared back (beware of the 10-0 start). The first half saw the Cats struggle from two point range once again, finishing 4-16 from inside the arc. They stayed in the game by starting hot from the perimeter, 6-11 from three in the first half. The second half was a complete reversal with the two point shots falling but the perimeter shots ending up in a 2-9 second half effort from three. The defense held Binghamton scoreless for quite a stretch to take the lead but the offensive struggles kept the game close before the Bearcats big run. It is so strange to see the pendulum swing back and forth for the Cats from minute to minute. There are these small moments in each game that really seem to change the momentum and Vermont is consistently coming out on the wrong side. This sets up an absolute must win in a home matchup with a red hot Maine team.
Shamir Bogues shook off a tough first half with a strong second half, willing the Catamounts into the lead. Bogues finished with 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. He has really come around over the last three weeks, scoring in double figures in 5 straight games and hopefully gearing up for a strong finish. TJ Hurley finished with 19 points but was held without a basket inside the arc and held scoreless from the field in the second half. This is not the first time this season that Hurley has followed up a hot first half with a difficult second. He is too important to their offense to have such long stretches without a bucket. Ileri Ayo-Faleye scored 11 points but struggled from the perimeter for the second game in a row. Nick Fiorillo did most of his damage from the line and finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Sam Alamutu finished with 9 rebounds but continues to struggle to make an consistent impact on the offensive end. Sean Blake has looked much improved as of late and finished with 6 points.
Vermont is in unfamiliar territory and now faces a short turnaround, which has not been kind to them this season. There is still time to make a run but it has to start with a big game at Patrick on Saturday.
Tough loss on the road . Binghamton overdue in beating UVM - first time in ten years . Monkey off the back of the Cats
ReplyDeleteSaturday, Maine comes to town . Likewise, the Black Bears haven’t beat the Cats in many years.But they are a brand new team under Chris Markwood. Vastly improved Bears who are big and strong .
A must win for UVM as you pointed out .
I’d like to see Coach Becker start Joba alongside Ayo - Faleye and Fiorillo. In order to contend with Maines bigs. Joba has the tools but he lacks confidence and playing him him a lot will give him confidence I feel . Also I’d start Sean Blake . I’d like to see what happens ( no guarantees )
Go for it - mix things up to get the Cats rolling
Joba hasn't shown anything that would warrant a starting role. People keep saying that he will develop, but no sign of that in the 2 years he's been here, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAgree. He hasn't taken advantage of the opportunities he's been given. And I truly question his ability to defend at the D1 level. On the other hand, if Fiorillo is playing as poorly as he did against Binghamton in the first half (2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 0 defense), then what's to lose? Fact is the team will be desperate for bigs next season.
DeleteLooks like this is the year the rest of the conference gets revenge on the Cats. Probably a good thing - winning the conference every year gets you complacent. Good wake up call.
ReplyDeleteThis year is just inexplicable and I honestly don’t believe my eyes anymore watching the games. It’s as I’m back in school in the late 90’s watching a mediocre team at best and I just can’t understand how it’s possible. I even said to myself last night maybe Becker is just messing around and playing possum until the tournament which obviously isn’t the case. They are just bad and bad at just about every facet of the game. Hard man to man defense, knowing their assignments on switches, boxing out and rebounding was their signature brand of basketball. They don’t even do that anymore and now Becker has them pressing and playing zone which reeks of desperation. Injuries aside, defense shouldn’t be affected by long and Odom being out and better yet no deloney or veretto. None of those guys are defenders and yet the drop off on that end of the court can only be chalked up to coaching and effort. With what is arguably the most athletic roster they’ve ever had, and experience to boot how is it possible? They’ve quit in my eyes, been punched in the face by a bunch of mediocre teams and haven’t responded in anyway. Losing to Binghamton, Merrimack, Fairfield, Dartmouth, Brown, UMBC, etc. and in some cases blown out of the gym is now at this point the identity of the team, they’re mediocre. They took the lead last night on a run that looked like classic uvm basketball only to get punched and not respond letting Binghamton go on a 10-0 unanswered run. I’ve said it before but going forward we need to bring in dogs rather than just really good kids. Fiorillo, Hurley, Sammy, ileri, Bogues, they just disappear in tight games and so the ball has nowhere to go when they need a bucket. Long and deloney was that guy last yr, before that Penn and Sullivan, etc. and this yr no one has stepped up only stepped back. Anyway, I still hope and pray that my only joy in sports anymore isn’t relegated to the basement for yrs to come because I’m not about to start watching the nba…
ReplyDeleteWithout NIL, UVM may well be relegated to the basement for years to come. NIL is destroying the smaller schools that don't have the money to compete with the big dogs. Their only hope is that the rest of the America East is in the same boat. So, America East will be a mediocre conference with mediocre teams. The NCAA would do well to establish a new division for non-NIL schools with their own tournament - kind of a division 1A.
DeleteTJ Long saved them plenty of times, he’s not on the court, missing a shooter
ReplyDeleteBogues looks like the best post player on the team.
ReplyDeleteTJ Long is very much missed !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the report, Lee, as always!
ReplyDeleteI'll need a double dosage, so please have it ready when I stop by for my session!
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ReplyDeleteYeah that was bad.
ReplyDeleteI understand the offense isn't there. There's no post presence so they play five out, but hardly anybody can drive and they're not great shooters either. So points will be hard to come by. I get that.
But the defense.. what happened? Where did it go? They can't win if they give up 75. They were tough on defense last season. Deloney, Varetto and Long weren't great on defense. So why is the team defense worse now? Yeah I know they're top 50 or whatever in least points allowed. But that's only because they play at such a slow pace.
They're losing this season because they're bad on offense and bad on defense.