The Vermont men's basketball team returns to action tonight at 8 p.m. when it faces SUNY Buffalo in the championship game of the Springfield Bracket as part of the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Catamounts defeated Niagara 85-67 on Saturday, while the Bulls dispatched of North Carolina A&T 86-68.
 
All the action can be seen on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app and heard locally on ESPN101.3 FM with AJ Kanell on the call.

RELATED LINKS
Game Notes (.pdf)
Niagara Coverage: Game Recap -- CatamounTV Highlights
Buffalo Live Game Coverage: ESPN3 -- Live Audio -- Live Stats
 
Saturday at Mohegan: Trae Bell-Haynes scored 20 of his career-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Vermont men's basketball team to an 85-67 win over Niagara in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night. The Catamounts shot 52.7-percent from the floor and hit 19-of-21 free throws to climb to 2-2 on the young season. Ernie Duncan scored all 14 of his points in the second half going four-of-five from beyond the arc. He also dished out 5 assists in the win. The Nutmeg State trio of Darren Payen, Ethan O'Day and Kurt Steidl also scored in double figures in their home state of Connecticut.
 
About Buffalo: The Buffalo Bulls will be the second opponent Vermont has faces from the Mid-American Conference this season (Eastern Michigan - Nov. 13). Rodell Wington was the high man for the Bulls in Saturday night's semifinal scoring 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. The Bulls are coming off a tremendous season that culminated with a MAC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament as a #12 seed. That team put a scare into #5 West Virginia but fell, 68-62 in the second round. First-year head coach Nate Oats, who served as the Bulls' top assistant the previous two seasons, was named the 13th head coach in program history back in April.
 
Series History: Vermont is 3-0 all-time vs. Buffalo.
 
Last Meeting vs. Buffalo: In the last meeting between the Catamounts and Bulls (Nov. 15, 2009), Marqus Blakely scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists leading UVM to a 58-57 win in upsate New York. NIck Vier made a game-saving steal as time expired to preserve the win for UVM. That matchup was a return game from a game the previous season (08-09) in the ESPN BracketBusters Series. Vermont won that game 78-70 at Patrick Gym.
 
Nutmeg State Success: The Cats have played well in the state of Connecticut over the last several seasons, as they have won 27 of their last 34 games played in the Nutmeg State.
 
20-20 for TBH: Trae Bell-Haynes has scored 20+ points in back-to-back games (Nov. 18 vs. Quinnipiac/Nov. 21 vs. Niagara) and is the first Catamount to do that since Clancy Rugg in 2013 (Nov. 24 at Duke/Nov. 27 vs. Illinois St.).