With the high school basketball season in full swing for us out at Holy Cross, I needed some help covering the basketball team this year. Without further adieu, here is the debut article from my good friend and aspiring professional writer, Ben Gumbel.
-Mitch
Louisville (2-0) hosts Vermont (2-1) tonight at the KFC Yum! Center. The game tips at 7:00pm and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
Vermont is led by Ernie Duncan (17.5 PPG) and Anthony Lamb (16.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG). The reigning America East Conference champions have five players averaging double figures through three games and are fresh off a 66-point victory at home over Division III Northern Vermont on Wednesday. Their lone loss of the season came Monday night at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, where they trailed Kansas by only four points at halftime before the Jayhawks eventually pulled away for an 16 point win.
For the Cards, I expect the same starting lineup as we saw against Southern. Vermont has shooters all over the floor and has proven that a road environment won’t affect them. This game could serve as a good defensive test early in the season for Louisville, but not an impossible one. The Cards will need to get off to a fast start in this game, and if they can execute on both ends of the floor like we saw on Tuesday, Coach Chris Mack and co. will be in good shape to improve to 3-0.
Vermont is the best team the Cards will have played so far this season and are one of the better mid-majors in the nation. I think this will be an important test for the team as they head into a potential stretch of three straight games against ranked opponents following tonight. The schedule only gets tougher from here, so Louisville will need to take care of business from start to finish before heading to Brooklyn for next week’s NIT Season Tip-Off.
Prediction:
Louisville 82 Vermont 70
