Cougars Run Past Vermont, Win Bracketbuster

Final Score: College of Charleston 85, Vermont 70

Top Performers: Andrew Goudelock 24 pts, 4 rebs, 7 assts

                             Willis Hall 22 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks

                             Borat Sagdiyev 17 pts, 9 rebs

I don't know what happened to the University of Vermont men's basketball team between Burlington and Charleston. Clearly this was not their best effort, and the Cougars may have caught a slight break. However, staying up by about 30 for the majority of a game is something to awe at. After all, earlier this year Vermont gave Connecticut a run for their money. 

Somehow Evan Fjeld got past security and was able play within 500 feet of the children at Carolina First Arena. Young Tom Selleck and the rest of the Vermont team were clearly hyped up about playing in the Bracketbuster game and wanted to make a statement on the national stage. 

They actually played very solid defense for the first few minutes, but the Cougars were able to keep pace thanks to some tough shots by Drew and Donovan. The mini-scouting report I provided turned out to be fairly accurate. The Vermont team is very tall and they rebound well. Unfortunately, they are slow as molasses and have about the same coordination as a giraffe on roller skates.

Duuuuuurrp

The Cougars responded to Vermont's style of play in two fashions: First off, the Cougar bigs found a way to tiptoe around the opposing inside players. Willis kept up his best Noah Dahlman impression and used some nice post moves to get Catamount players in the air. He was then able to convert on some nifty layups. 

The second advantage the Cougars took clear advantage of was their speed. Off turnovers and in the break, the Cougars could not be caught. This resulted in numerous drives to the basket, kick-out 3's and dunks by CofC. It could have been a little travel fatigue on the side of the Catamounts, but the Cougars were making it look easy. 

And then the game blew wide open.

With CofC leading 14-11, the Cougars exploded for a 25-0 run that turned out to be the difference maker. Most of the points during the run came from half-court sets, but I feel like the momentum was predicated off the fast breaks we had. Vermont ended up making a little run of their own in the final 10 minutes or so but it was too little too late for the Cats. 

Great win by the Cougars on ESPNU. Hopefully some recruits, casual fans and selection committee members took notice.  

Almost forgot. Lime Green Sweater made another appearance at the game.