Vermont took one on the chin at Bryant for their first conference loss. The Cats started out strong jumping out to an early ten point lead thanks to strong defense. Then the wheels came off as Bryant got red hot from three. The Cats came out flat in the second half and turned the ball over like crazy, allowing Bryant to run them out of the gym. It was a very strange game where you kind of have to tip your cap to Connor Withers, who went on a quite a heater to put Bryant on top. The turnovers came back in a big way and were the driving force in the loss. Felt like a bit of a letdown spot after the big win over UMass Lowell. Considering the short bench and tough road trip a 2-1 start is about where you would expect to be. Gives the Cats some motivation for the rematch at Patrick in February.
Ileri Ayo-Faleye continued his strong play with 15 points, including 4-7 from three. His improved offensive aggressiveness and three point shooting is trending in a nice direction. Shamir Bogues finally got some shots to fall, finishing with 17 points and 6 rebounds. If he can return to form down the stretch it will completely change the Vermont offense. The Cats really missed Jace Roquemore in this game as Sam Alamutu and Sean Blake combined for 10 of the Cats 17 turnovers. Alamutu pulled down 11 rebounds but struggled with the added play-making responsibility. Nick Fiorillo struggled to get anything going against the big, physical Bryant defense. The shocker of the game was TJ Hurley being held scoreless on only three shots. He struggled with the size of the Bryant defenders and the added defensive attention. Shocking after looking so good against Lowell.
Now the Cats get a three game homestand to bounce back and hopefully get healthier with a week off coming up after Binghamton on Thursday. Can't wait to be back at Patrick!!
And now we root for UML over Bryant and we will be ok. And both of them have to come to Patrick. What is concerning and has been not who the Cats are, is the turnovers. But if it’s glass half full time, it was maybe Shamir’s best game this year.
ReplyDeleteCome on you glass half full guys - this was a total annihilation showcasing all the flaws that this team has exhibited all season long. A 43-8 run by Bryant is hard to believe. Those of you that thought the team would turn things around in conference play have been proven wrong. Looks like even Becker gave up in this one by benching Hurley for the last part of the game and not calling any timeouts to try and turn things around.
ReplyDeleteBarnet has been a foul waiting to happen. Not impressed with him.
ReplyDeleteRegarding glasses..
ReplyDeletePlease stop. Thank you
Bad loss. They looked awful. Given the out of conference play it makes me think the Lowell performance was an aberration and 20 points is the difference between Vermont and the top tier of the conference. While it was good to see Bogues play better it was disappointing to see Hurley play so poorly.
ReplyDeleteI understand Long is out and Deloney graduated, but basically this is the same Vermont team the won the conference by 4 games last season.
What happened to these guys?
Credit Bryant with a power defense and hot shooting behind the circle . Plus Hurley just seemed exhausted . He has basically carried the team all season with his shooting . Thankfully , the Cats will be back at Patrick and 2-1 so far in conference play isn’t shabby .
ReplyDeleteThe team that allowed a Bryant a 43-8 run is the same team that lost to Dartmouth by 30. Something aint right and it doesn't look fixable...at this point.
ReplyDeleteAny info/update re Jace? Long and Shy seem to either be out for the year or only marginally available at greatly-reduced contributions than expected.
ReplyDeleteHere we go again - the problem the cats face against athletic wings - If our top scorers rely on the 3 ball and all we can muster is 30%, kiss the conference season good-bye. When the heck is Becker going to change his offensive strategy? How many games does it take to realize that something isn't working?
ReplyDeleteI’m in the camp that there is something fundamentally wrong with this team , ( as an aside we may have underestimated the contributions of Deloney and Veretto ) . It certainly has to be troubling to have Hurley put up a goose egg. . In the end not having players named Davis, Shungu , let alone TBH , Lamb , Henson , Duncan Duncan Sullivan and Penn . There seems to be a significant talent drop .
ReplyDeleteI thought This team had a lot going for it especially when I saw Blakes talent, we have experienced good shooting bigs , excellent shooting “ shooting guards “ an athletic great defender point guard . Lastly while I love Alsmutu’s effort he’s a power foward trapped in a 6’4” body, he doesn’t have either the ball handling or shooting skills to play the backcourt. I agree with the comment that the team misses Rocqumore more than I personally would have anticipated. Lastly, Shy Odom’s health issues must be more significant then are being portrayed how else to explain being the PLAYER of the YEAR in the MEACC as a freshman to the underwhelming performances so far this year . . The season is still up for grabs but it’s hard to be confident after this performance. Here’s hoping Long gets healthy and Odom is capable of becoming the inside scoring threat needed to get Hurley and others open looks from 3
Ouch! Lot of negativity going into conference play. Still time ahead of this team!
ReplyDeleteI do not want to seem conspiratorial, but I agree that something is off. A Becker or UVM team would not allow a 43-8 run ( or whatever it was ) or a 30 point loss to Dartmouth. You cannot blame this on injuries. Something is going on that we don't know about and I hope it gets cleared up pronto. These kind of weird losses can hurt a program- never mind a season.
ReplyDeleteHere the thing. It’s not the talent level, it’s the team as constructed. No one on the team can play with the ball except shamir(when he was healthy last year and clearly he’s not the same player anymore). Every single player can’t create his own shot except Blake who’s a freshman making too many mistakes. Also no one can post up and make shots down low. Then there are guys who just aren’t scorers by nature like Sammy asked to do too much. So what you have is a bunch of guys who are constantly running around trying to get open for a 3, and it’s a problem when it’s all of your bigs too other than Barnet who hasn’t figured out his game yet. And so when the team goes on a drought there isn’t anyone to say give me the ball and I’ll score. And that is the one thing missing without deloney) Veretto was almost a non factor the second half of the year so I don’t think it’s him). It requires a perfectly executed offense almost every trip down the court. Look at what Connor withers did for Bryant, we were dominating them and after matching 3’s we came back down to earth and he kept scorching us. And we never recovered. I agree, I have no clue why Becker didn’t call any timeouts while the game was being blown out and he does seem really bad in general at adjusting mid game which hasn’t been apparent for all of these yrs because his system has worked. That being said this season is going to be a lot of ups and downs and maybe they can put it all together for the tournament but don’t count on it. If they don’t find a post player and a go to scorer in the portal next yr will be just as disappointing.
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteWhat are your office hours again? I need a double session.
The Cats big guys seem to lack "go to" post moves where they can hit their spot on the low block and execute quickly and confidently....
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had a true post player for a few years now. When he was healthy, Shamir used to post up with some success. But besides that, nothing. I didn't like this team's passing on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Bryant has a good team. They have a few fifth (or sixth) years that played on high majors. And Withers can shoot the ball like a high major kid.
Binghamton is a must win, but it's a must win for them too.
Ryan Davis, an incredible post player, player of the year in America East, just graduated in 2022!
DeleteIt's 2025, hello! It feels like a lifetime since Ryan was here. He was great.
ReplyDelete