BU-Vermont: The Aftermath Of A Terrible Game

The use of the world "terrible" in the title of this game is not because BU blew any realistic chance at home-court advantage, or because they became the first team to lose on their home floor in conference play this season; no "terrible" refers to the actual game and the despondent feelings afterward.

For a true Boston University follower, Vermont is more than just another game, the Catamounts are the annoying neighbors to the north who always seem to win in Boston, no matter the sport. Over the past five years, no program or school, with the exception of BC Hockey, has brought about more feelings of anger and disgust for BU fans than Vermont. After all the Catamounts successfully ended the seasons of three of the most productive Terriers programs (Men's Hockey, Men's and Women's Basketball) at least once throughout 2008-2010 and nearly ended the 2008 National Champioship run of the most successful hockey team in school history. So of course last night's game meant a little more between the two.

More about the actual game after the jump.

Vermont Wins Style Of Play

For 35 minutes the game was played at a snail's pace with Vermont constantly trying to slow down the Terriers attempts to run the break. In their half-court sets the Terriers looked lost and simply couldn't get anything going because of the suffocating Catamount defense. With Vermont doing such a nice job of closing out on shooters and getting through screens, the Terriers stopped taking jump shots and decided to attack the paint. Normally, that's a blessing for BU, but they had nothing going against the stout interior defense of Vermont. It seemed like every time Darryl Partin, D.J. Irving or any other Terrier managed to get into the paint, they had to completely alter their shot to avoid at least one, if not two or three Catamount defenders. And when the Terriers did attempt shots from the outside they couldn't buy a bucket (0-10 from behind the arc to begin the game). Vermont's defense was so effective that BU managed just 43 points in the first 36:32, that's coming from a Terrier team that came in averaging 67 points in conference play.

I can't say as much about the Catamounts offensively, mostly because I was too dismayed by the Terriers offense, but the balance was truly impressive. Vermont continually fed the ball inside and had all of the key BU big men (Pat Hazel, Dom Morris, Travis Robinson) in foul trouble throughout the game. Luke Apfeld was extremely impressive inside and John Becker did a great job substituting in the first half, as each new wave of Green and Gold players showed the same aggression on both sides of the ball. While the Terriers couldn't seem to buy an easy basket, much less a good look from distance, Matt Glass, Four McGlynn and Brendan Bald all seemed to have good clean looks at the basket every time they came off a screen.

BU Didn't Come To Play

Joe Jones admitted it in his press conference. He knew his squad wasn't ready for this one after watching them in practice-and it showed. After the first 20 minutes of play BU had 19 points and 19 missed shots. On the offensive end the Terriers were wild, throwing up one acrobatic shot after another and establishing zero rhythm (give a lot of credit to Vermont's defense). Defensively the Terriers were just as bad, struggling to close out and getting beat inside time-and-time again. But what was really telling was the fact that Vermont seemed to get to every loose ball and on the rare occasion the Terriers could get out in transition, they found a way to blow it. For 36 minutes, this was the worst game I've seen BU play all season and probably the worst since last season's trip to UNH.

Not A Great Game

While several people claimed this was the game of the conference season, I think that's rubbish. Unless you're a diehard Catamounts fan, or an impartial observer who turned the game on for the final five minutes, this was a horrible game to watch. There was zero to little drama for the first 35 minutes, with Vermont dominating every aspect and BU playing like a JV high school team. Heck the Terriers could hardly keep their footing in the first half, much less keep up with Vermont. The BU officials tried to keep Terrier fans interested with the anticipation of whether BU would hit a 3-pointer (they've know hit a three in 482 straight games) in the final four minutes and whether they could win free chicken, rather than game highlights. Most people in the stands and some on press row were just hoping for the game to play itself out quickly so everyone could go home.

Yes the Terriers comeback (aided by a full court press and some hot 3-point shooting) was extremely thrilling and brought the nowhere near-capacity crowd to the edge of their seats, but it was just as one sided as the first 36 minutes, just going the other way. There was no ebb and flow in this game, there were 0 lead changes, just two ties and no highlight plays. I didn't get a chance to travel to Stony Brook Friday but from watching the ESPN3 feed, I would say that was a much better game.

BU Can Beat UVM In Hartford

With 10 minutes left and UVM leading by 13 I felt confident in that statement. Well before their big run, BU looked capable of taking advantage of their superior speed and scoring threats, if only they could just get some shots to fall. Partin finished with 19 points on 7-for-22 shooting but it easily could have been 30; I started counting the number of shots that went into the cylinder and then bounced out and reached at least six or seven. While Irving and some of the Terriers struggled to get decent looks, Partin excels at the awkward, the off-balance, the highlight reel looks, that UVM gave him.

For BU to beat UVM in Hartford all they need is:

1. A fast start: Some claim that BU ultimately lost this game on the free throw line (8-for-15) and that certainly hurt them, but falling behind by 15 in the first half was a much bigger blow. Without John Holland BU just doesn't have enough firepower to mount huge double-digit comebacks. Holland not only was an unstoppable offensive force, he was the best defender BU had, not named Pat Hazel.

2. Dom Morris Stays On The Floor: In 16 minutes of action, Morris finished with 8 points and three rebounds. But the sophomore sat for all but three minutes of the first half with two early fouls; it's becoming a bit of a recurring theme for Morris, who only played six first-half minutes Friday against Stony Brook. He's not only BU's best rebounder, he's their best scoring option inside and outside of Ben Crenca and his beard, UVM has no one with the girth to slow him down.

3. Be More Creative: The full court press worked wonders, why did it take 36 minutes to use it? I know UVM has seen the press before this season and played well against it (Iona), but it's a ploy that can change the momentum of a game that's going sour. Jones has to be more creative in his game-plan, throwing different looks at Vermont is the only way the Terriers can beat the more disciplined Catamounts.