MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont (22-6, 12-1 AE) can clinch at least a share of the America East Regular Season Championship when it hosts Bryant (17-10, 9-3 AE) Saturday at Patrick Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase atÂ
UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. Saturday's game is presented by McGee Automotive Family. The first 1,000 fans will receive rally towels.
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BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's America East matchup will broadcast live onÂ
ESPN+Â with Cooper Boardman and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. An international stream will also be available onÂ
AmericaEast.TV. Fans can listen to the game for free on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield on The Game, which will air on 97.1 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 960 AM around the rest of the region. The radio broadcast is also available via theÂ
Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
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RELATED LINKS
Purchase Tickets
Watch:Â ESPN+Â |Â AE.TV
Listen on Varsity Network
Live Stats
Game Notes: Vermont | Bryant
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CLINCHING SCENARIOS
Vermont can clinch at least a share of its eighth-straight America East Regular Season Title with a win over Bryant on Saturday. UVM can clinch the title outright with a win over Bryant and a UMass Lowell loss to UAlbany. The Catamounts have already secured a top-three seed in the 2024 Jersey Mike's America East Playoffs.
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CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASON TITLES
UVM has earned at least a share of the regular season title in each of the last seven seasons – the second longest active streak in the country. Only Gonzaga (West Coast Conference) has won more consecutive regular season titles at the moment (11). The Zags are currently two-games out of first place in their respective conference.
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PREGAME CEREMONY
UVM Athletics will honor Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach
John Becker and
Aaron Deloney will be recognized prior to tip-off on Saturday night. Becker earned his 300th win at Vermont and Deloney reached the 1,000-point milestone in the Catamounts' last home game.
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SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant enters Saturday's game in a tie for second place with UMass Lowell (9-3 AE). The Bulldogs have dropped two of their last five games, including a loss to UMass Lowell (L, 86-77) in their last time out on Feb. 17. Preseason All-Conference selections Sherif Gross-Bullock (19.1 ppg) and Earl Timberlake (15.1 ppg) lead the Bryant attack. Gross-Bullock is second in conference scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game against league foes. Timberlake has produced a league-best 66.4% field goal percentage in America East play. Bryant has the top field goal percentage defense (40.1%) in league play.
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INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont is 4-1 in the all-time series with Bryant, and 3-0 since the Bulldogs joined America East at the start of last season.
Matt Veretto (12.7 ppg),
Nick Fiorillo (10.5 ppg), and
Aaron Deloney (10.3 ppg) have each average double figures against Bryant. Fiorillo led the Cats with 15 points in their 67-57 road victory over the Bulldogs earlier this season.
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LAST TIME BRYANT CAME TO TOWN
John Becker set the program's all-time wins record, registering his 265th victory over Bryant on Jan. 5, 2023.
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HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
UVM is 40-2 at Patrick Gym since the start of 2021-22, and 97-10 (.906) since 2016-17. Vermont has won 28 straight home games against America East schools – its last loss home loss to a league foe came in the 2021 America East Semifinals against Hartford (L, 71-65). Vermont's last home America East loss in front of fans came on Feb. 22, 2020 against UMBC (L, 66-64) –
Aaron Deloney was a freshman.
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DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
UVM has boasted a league-best 61.6 scoring defense through 13 games in America East play. Nationally, only Saint Mary's (57.4), Colgate (60.5), Merrimack (61.2) and Houston (61.3) have allowed fewer points per game in conference play this season.
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DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING
Vermont ranks third in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (77.0%). The Cats have ranked in the nation's top 20 in defensive rebounding percentage in each of the last seven seasons.
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McGee Automotive Family is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball
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