This match up reminds me of last night in the sense that Lamar loves to run and Vermont is the complete opposite of styles. Although BYU was also a running team they quickly realized they could not play that style vs. Iona and what happened when they turned it into a half court game. It was evident they were the better team. Same thing happens tonight.
First of all Lamar just is not a good shooting team no matter how many posessions they try to get. 42.9% won't get it done against Vermont a 40.8% defensive team. Vermont has had plenty of experience and success against fast paced teams. They even nearly beat Iona 72-73. Lamar is not like Iona in that they shoot 78% of their shots from inside the arch and Vermont has a decisive advantage their especially with their length as Lamar starts 3 guys that are 6-2 or shorter. Vermonts smallest starter is 6-2. They are also 47th in 2 point % defense. Vermont to me just has a better resume and they can dominate if they slow this thing down. It also helps that they are 71st in assist/turnover ratio.
I give Valpo a shot to cover tonight. I think they match up well with Miami with Ryan Broekhoff the Horizon player of the year and Van Wijk have serious size. They proved they can score even against some of the better defensive teams as they kept pouring it on against Butler in all three meetings. Val is better offensively and they've been playing better defense in their last 5, but strength of schedule comes into factor and I don't think this Miami team takes Valpo seriously but they should especially...
Without their floor general in Scott who is out for this game he averaged 13, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and 33 minutes. That is a lot to replace and although Miami will have an overall size and athletic advantage that doesn't meant hey are the better team. I think Valpo has a lot to prove after losing at home to Detroit in the Horizon Championship.
