In a high flying and exciting game, Buffalo used a red hot second half to hand Vermont their first loss of the season. Daniel Freitag took over in the second half and led the Bulls to victory with 33 points. Boy these games have been fun to watch to start the season. The Cats came out on the wrong end this time but it was another game where there is a lot to be excited about. The shooting is very real. In a game where TJ Long struggled mightily the Cats still knocked down 12 threes and shot 55% from the field. This offense is very versatile and the spacing has finally opened up to give players driving lanes. The passing on this team is at a very high level. Multiple play-makers on the floor at most times and today 23 assists on 30 made baskets. The better spacing is creating more ball movement, which in turn is creating great looks at the basket and from three. After a few seasons of struggling to stay in games offensively, it will be nice to have the reverse experience. Which brings the discussion around to the defense. Buffalo did a great job exploiting the Cats defense and there is obviously room to grow on that side of the ball. The rotations are not quite there and this year they lack a rim protector to erase shots when guards get beat on the perimeter. This has left players out of position and as a result Vermont is fouling too much. It allowed Buffalo to hang around in the first half and down the stretch they couldn't quite get the stop when they needed it. I will take this offense any day and trust that the defense will pick up as the year goes on.
TJ Hurley led the Cats with 24 points and 7 rebounds. Always makes the right play and never tries to do too much. Sean Blake was electric again, finishing with another new career high of 20 points and 8 assists on 9-12 shooing. His improved shooting is forcing defenders to close him out and the extra spacing is giving him room to work. The breakout is on. Gus Yalden chipped in 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Once again he showed great versatility and the ability to play from the block or the perimeter. He was exposed several times on defense and will need to lock in on the defensive rotations. Lucas Mari finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. He knocked down another couple of threes and continues to make progress in getting comfortable int he system. Noah Barnett is providing good physicality in the post and finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds. Teams have been throwing lots of attention toward Long after his explosive game against Brown and he finished 1-6 from the field for 4 points. The pendulum is probably going to swing back and forth as teams try to figure out which player on Vermont they want to stop.
A tough hard fought loss on the road between two hot teams to start the season. The quality of basketball has been high so far and it is only going to continue as the Cats travel down to Disney for a very tough tournament. The field down at the ESPN Wide World of Sports is absolutely loaded and Vermont starts off with Liberty, who might be the best mid major team in the country. In exciting news, the family and I will be there! We decided to go down for a little Disney vacation and watch some basketball. Fun in the sun, here we come!
