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Vermont (8-4, 0-0) hits the road for only the second in time in December for a primetime showdown at 13th-ranked Butler (10-1, 0-0) on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at
1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call
.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
The game can be seen on FOX Sports Network affiliates including FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana and the
Fox Sports Go app if you are within the FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana footprint. If you have DirecTV, then you can watch on the following networks by subscribing to the Regional Sports Network (RSN) channels: 654 FS Florida, 662 STO (Ohio), 671 FS Midwest, 676 FS Southwest, 687 ROOT (Pittsburgh), and 692 FS West.
RELATED LINKS
Butler: Video (FSN Midwest/Indiana Only) | Live Stats | Audio
Game Notes: Vermont (.pdf) | Butler (.pdf)
Polls: Associated Press (AP) | CollegeInsider.com
SETTING THE SCENE
Vermont enters Wednesday night at 8-4, its best 12-game start under head coach
John Becker. The Catamounts have the top scoring defense in America East by holding their opponents to only 64.2 points per game which ranks among the top 50 in the country. UVM is surrendering a league-low 42.3% from the floor and have recorded the second-most steals (80) in the conference.
Trae Bell-Haynes is the America East leader with 17 takeaways and sits second with 49 assists.
Anthony Lamb is the conference front runner with 1.08 blocks per game and his 13 blocks are the most among the league's freshmen.
THREE TIMES THE CHARM
For the third time this season, Lamb has been named the America East Rookie of the Week on Monday. The Rochester, N.Y. native set a new career-high with 26 points on 12-of-18 shooting in Saturday's 82-74 win over Eastern Michigan. On the boards, Lamb finished with a team-high eight rebounds including seven on the offensive glass. He also swatted away two shots and dished out an assist.
FRESHMAN CATS
Lamb's 26-point outing versus Eastern Michigan was the most by a UVM freshman since Taylor Coppenrath scored 33 points at Binghamton on February 8, 2002. Coppenrath had another 30-point game earlier in the season as he posted 30 points against New Hampshire on January 14, 2002. TJ Sorrentine had a pair of 25+ point games as a freshman. Sorrentine poured in 27 points on February 15, 2001 versus Northeastern and then 26 points two weeks prior versus New Hampshire.
POLL POSITION
The Catamounts will face their second ranked opponent of the season after traveling to No. 20 South Carolina on Dec. 1. The Bulldogs are the 13th-ranked team in the country, according to the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll. Vermont is also ranked among the nation's top mid-major programs. The green and gold are receiving votes in the No. 29 spot in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Power Rankings.
LAST TIME OUT | Eastern Michigan Highlights
The Catamounts capped off a three-game home stand with an 82-74 win over Eastern Michigan last Saturday and avenged last year's season-opening loss to the Eagles. UVM secured the victory with career-highs from Lamb and
Drew Urquhart as Lamb led all scorers with 25 points and Urquhart eclipsed his career-best with 14 points. EMU came into the game ranked second in the nation in steals per game (12.3) and forced the third-most turnovers per game (22.3), but UVM was not phased. The green and gold only committed seven turnovers, while forcing eight by Eastern Michigan, and held the Eagles to only four steals.
LAST UPSET OVER RANKED OPPONENT
The last time Vermont knocked off a top 25 opponent was on November 13, 2006 with a 77-63 upset at No. 14 Boston College. The Catamounts had three players record double figures as Mike Trimboli led the way with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including a trio from beyond the arc. The Eagles were led by 19 points from future NBA star Jared Dudley.
SCOUTING BUTLER
The Bulldogs are coming off a big upset over in-state rival and ninth-ranked Indiana on Saturday, their third win over a top 25 team this year, which helped Kelan Martin garner Big East Player of the Week and Kamar Baldwin earned Freshman of the Week accolades. Butler ranks third in the country with the fewest turnovers per game (9.9) and 19th in total turnovers (109). The Bulldogs sit 17th in the nation with a 1.50 assist-to-turnover ratio, largely in part due to Tyler Lewis, who holds a 4.14 ratio - good enough for ninth-best in Division I. Martin leads the team with 18.6 points per game and was monumental in helping the Bulldogs pull off upsets over Indiana (28 points) and Cincinnati (20 points). Andrew Chrabascz follows at 11.3 points per game. Chrabascz has tallied double figures in three straight games and seven out of the last eight overall.
WHO'S NEXT
Vermont returns to the hardwood on Thursday, Dec. 29 at Siena in the final game of the calendar year. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at
1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call.
The game will be streamed on
Siena All-Access.
Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season.
