Sports

UVM plays Arkansas in NCAA Tournament

Staff Report
BURLINGTON, Vt. — After capturing its ninth America East Championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the University of Vermont men’s basketball team will be a No. 13 seed and face No. 4 Arkansas (25-8, 13-5 SEC) in the first round of the tournament in Buffalo, New York on Thursday.

The Catamounts and Razorbacks will meet for the first time in series history on Thursday. The opening tip is set for 9:20 p.m. at KeyBank Center. The game will broadcast nationally on TNT with Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, and Evan Washburn on the call.

Vermont brings a 28-5 overall record into the Big Dance, tied for the second-most wins in school history. The Catamounts defeated No. 2 UMBC 82-43 in the conference title game on Saturday at Patrick Gym. The 39-point victory was the largest in a Division I conference championship game since 1989.

In the title game, the Catamounts sank seven of their first eight shots to grab a 16-7 lead before the first media timeout. Finn Sullivan and Ryan Davis led the early attack with six points each. Vermont’s lead reached double-digits before the midway point of the opening frame when Isaiah Powell made a layup for a 22-11 lead with 10:41 left in the half.

UMBC brought the game back to within single digits on buckets from Keondre Kennedy and Szymon Wojcik, but the Catamounts answered with 13-4 run to take a 37-20 lead into the break.

UVM’s offense continued in the second half, as the Cats stretched their lead to 20 points for the first time with a Sullivan three-pointer. The UVM guard registered his 14th point of the day to put Vermont up 46-24 with 17:09 remaining. The Catamounts would grab a 28-point lead with 11:38 left on the clock.

Robin Duncan extended the UVM lead to 31 points with a left-handed layup that put the Cats up 67-36 with 7:44 left in the game. The senior’s basket was in the midst of a 13-0 Vermont run that put an exclamation point on the Catamounts’ performance.

Ben Shungu, in his final game at Patrick Gymnasium, tallied 19 points for the Catamounts, going 9-for-17 on the day. The South Burlington native dished out one assist, and registered a game-high three steals. Shungu, Powell, and Nick Fiorillo each pulled in a team-high six rebounds.

Sullivan was also in double figures with 14 points on an efficient 5-for-8 shooting day. The UVM guard made 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc and matched Shungu’s game-high three steals.

Shungu was named the 2022 America East Championship Most Outstanding Player, averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and a 55.3% field goal percentage in the playoffs.

Shungu, Davis, and Sullivan were also named to the league’s All-Championship Team.

For Arkansas, this is its 35th NCAA bid and second straight. This is the sixth time in program history Arkansas has earned a No. 4 seed and the 13th time to be among the top-4 seeds since the NCAA began its current seeding process for the 1979 championship.

The Razorbacks were eliminated in the SEC Tournament semifinals by Texas A&M.

Four players average double-digit points for Arkansas, led by JD Notae at 18.4 points per game.

adam.aucoin @rutlandherald.com

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