Vermont Catamounts
America East (27-7, 15-1)
Vermont returned much of the team that ran away with the America East title in 2016-2017 and pushed Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And not surprisingly the Catamount again cruised to an America East regular season title with a 15-1 conference record and a 27-7 overall mark.
Big Wins: 11/17 vs Bradley (65-64), 1/2 at Harvard (62-56), 2/3 at UMBC (81-53)
Bad Losses: 12/2 at Bucknell (77-81), 12/5 at Marquette (81-91), 2/18 Hartford (68-69)
Coach: John Becker
Why They Can Surprise:
Trae Bell-Haynes has had a very good senior season, averaging 14.9 points, 4.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He is not a prolific or efficient outside shooter, but the point guard is enough of a shooting threat to make the opposing defense guard him on the perimeter. And then he uses his speed and gets past them and finishes around the basket. Or Bell-Haynes will find one of his teammates. On the perimeter, the dangerous shooters on the team are Ernie and Everett Duncan. In the paint, Payton Henson and Drew Urquhart have stepped up nicely to become consistent double-digit scorers.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Ideally, Henson and Urquhart would not have to do so much scoring. Anthony Lamb entered this season with plenty of Player of the Year accolades and he was averaging 16.8 points and 6.0 rebounds before he suffered a foot injury after 13 contests. To the Catamounts credit, they did not miss a beat without him. Lamb returned in a limited capacity at the end of the season, but has yet to reach his pre-injury form.
Probable Starters:
Trae Bell-Haynes, Senior, Guard, 14.9 ppg, 4.0 apg, 4.3 rpg
Ernie Duncan, Junior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 2.3 apg
Everett Duncan, Sophomore, Guard, 6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Payton Henson, Senior, Forward, 12.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Drew Urquhart, Senior, Forward, 10.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Key Role Players:
Nate Rohrer, Senior, Forward, 1.7 ppg
Cam Ward, Senior, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.3 apg
Stef Smith, Freshman, Guard, 3.8 ppg
Anthony Lamb, Sophomore, Forward, 14.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.7 (154th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.7 (18, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.2 (20, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.4 (149, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (170, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.3 (13, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.0 (52, 2)
Rebound Margin: 5.1 (42, 3)
Assists Per Game: 13.6 (181, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.2 (32, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Purdue
2016 CBI First Round win over Western Carolina
2016 CBI Quarterfinal win over Seattle
2016 CBI Semifinal loss to Morehead State
2015 CBI First Round win over Hofstra
2015 CBI Quarterfinal win over Radford
2015 CBI Semifinal loss to Louisiana Monroe
2014 NIT First Round loss to Georgia
2013 CBI First Round loss to Santa Clara
2012 NCAA Opening Round win over Lamar
2012 NCAA Round of 64 loss to North Carolina
2011 NIT First Round loss to Cleveland State
2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Syracuse
2009 CBI First Round win over UW-Green Bay
2009 CBI Second Round loss to Oregon State
2007 NIT First Round loss to Kansas State
2005 NCAA Round of 64 win over Syracuse
2005 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/4
