2017–18 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:2017–18
Team:Vermont Catamounts
Conference:America East Conference
Short Conf:America East
Record:27–8
Conf Record:15–1
Head Coach:John Becker
Hc Year:7th
Asst Coach1:Kyle Cieplicki
Asst Coach2:Ryan Schneider
Asst Coach3:Hamlet Tibbs
Stadium:Patrick Gym
Champion:America East regular season champions
The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase champions
Bowl:NIT
Bowl Result:first round

The 2017–18 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team represented the University of Vermont during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by seventh-year head coach John Becker, played their home games at Patrick Gym in Burlington, Vermont as members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 15–1 in America East play to win the America East regular season championship. The Catamounts defeated Maine and Stony Brook to advance to the championship game of the America East tournament where they lost to UMBC. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, the Catamounts received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Middle Tennessee in the first round.

Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2016–17 season 29–6, 16–0 in America East play to win the America East regular season championship. In the America East tournament, they defeated Maine, New Hampshire,[1] and Albany to win the tournament championship.[2] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 13 seed in the Midwest region, they lost to No. 4 seed Purdue in the first round.[3] [4]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Josh Hearlihy 1 G/F 6'8" 213 RS Junior Graduate transferred to Seattle
Darren Payen 12 F 6'8" 217 RS Senior Graduated
Kian Dalyrimple 15 G 6'4" 177 Freshman Transferred to New Haven
Dre Wills 24 G 6'1" 185 Senior Graduated
Kurt Steidl 34 G/F 6'6" 181 Senior Graduated

2017 incoming recruits

Preseason

In a poll by the conference’s nine head coaches (who were not allowed to pick their own team) at the America East media day, the Catamounts were picked to win the America East.[5] Senior Trae Bell-Haynes and sophomore Anthony Lamb were named to the preseason All-America East team.[6]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=| Regular season|-!colspan=12 style=|America East tournament|-!colspan=12 style=|NITSource[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: Vermont beats New Hampshire 74–41 in America East semis. USA TODAY. 2017-10-27. en.
  2. News: Vermont tops Albany 56–53 for 6th America East tourney crown (Mar 11, 2017). 2017-03-11. FOX Sports. 2017-10-27. en-US.
  3. News: Purdue holds off UVM's upset bid in NCAA tournament. Burlington Free Press. 2017-10-27. en.
  4. Web site: Vermont vs. Purdue – Game Recap – March 16, 2017 – ESPN. ESPN.com. 2017-10-27.
  5. News: Coming off Historic Season, Vermont Unanimously Chosen as 2017–18 #AEHoops Men's Favorite. 2017-10-27. en.
  6. News: 7 Returning Men's #AEHoops Standouts Highlight 2017–18 Preseason All-Conference Squad. 2017-10-27. en.
  7. Web site: Vermont Catamounts Basketball 2017–18 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN. ESPN.com. 2017-10-27.