MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont (17-5, 7-0) wraps-up a two-game conference road trip on Saturday (Jan. 28) at Stony Brook (11-9, 6-1). Action gets underway with a 7 p.m. tip-off. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. 

CATS ON ESPN3
Fans can watch the conference showdown at Stony Brook on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.
 
RELATED LINKS
Stony Brook: Video | Live Stats | Audio
Power Rankings: Mid-MajorMadness.com | CollegeInsider.com
Game Notes: Vermont (.pdf) | Stony Brook (.pdf)
 
SETTING THE SCENE
With a 17-5 record on the season and riding a nine-game winning streak, the Catamounts are looking to start conference play at 8-0 for the first time since 2004-05. Vermont has controlled its conference opponents and leads the league in scoring offense (76.4 ppg), scoring defense (61.1 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+15.3), field-goal percentage defense (40.2%), three-point percentage (41.4%), and blocks (39) during America East play. Trae Bell-Haynes, has averaged 15.0 points and netted 52.9% of his shots in league action. Kurt Steidl lets his presence be known on both ends of the floor. Against conference foes, the senior has drained 54.8% of his attempts from long distance and has swatted away 10 shots.   

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BELL-HAYNES CLOSES IN ON 1,000
Bell-Haynes is seeking to become the 36th Catamount to score 1,000-career points. The junior guard is four points shy of the mark and averaging 11.7 points per game. He would be the second UVM player to surpass the 1,000-point plateau this season after Steidl reached the mark on Jan. 5 at Maine. The pair will be the first set of teammates to score 1,000-career points in the same season since Sandro Carrissimo, Luke Apfeld, and Candon Rusin in 2013-14.   

NEW ENGLAND'S FINEST
The Cats lead all New England Division I teams with 17 wins. UNH follows with 14 victories and Providence is close behind with 13 wins. Northeastern, UMass, and URI are all tied with 12 victories. 

ALL ABOUT THE ROOKIE
On Monday, Anthony Lamb was named America East Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. The Rochester, N.Y. native averaged 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and helped the green and gold post a 2-0 record last week. Lamb posted his first career double-double in an 81-67 win over UMass Lowell last Thursday with 14 points and 14 rebounds. The 14-rebound outing was the most rebounds by a UVM freshman since Brian Voelkel on Dec. 12, 2010. In a 71-59 winning effort at New Hampshire last Monday, Lamb shot 6-of-9 from the floor for 13 points.

BEST 22-GAME STARTS
The 17-5 record this season is tied for the second-best record in program history through 22 games, which has equaled postseason success in the past. The Cats started 17-5 record in 2010-11 which equaled an NIT Tournament berth. The best 22-game start came in 2004-05 at 17-3 with a berth to the NCAA Tournament and a first round upset over No. 4 seed Syracuse.
 
MID-MAJOR POWER RANKINGS
After topping UNH and UMass Lowell last week, the green and gold moved into a 17th-place tie with College of Charleston, according to the Mid-MajorMadness.com Power Rankings. In the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25, the Cats are ranked as the No. 18 team among the nation's top mid-major programs.
 
LAST TIME OUT | Albany Highlights
The Catamounts extended their winning streak to nine games on Wednesday night with a 60-49 America East win at Albany. The victory also snapped a five-game skid over a three-year stretch against the Great Danes. UVM's defense allowed a season-low 49 points to a Division I opponent. The green and gold held the Great Danes to 29.7% (19-for-64) from the floor and 12.5% (1-for-8) from three-point land. The Cats matched a season-high with seven blocks in the conference win. Bell-Haynes netted a game-high 18 points with five rebounds and four assists. Steidl tallied double figures with 10 points and grabbed five boards. Darren Payen and Dre Wills added eight points apiece. 
 
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
In the last five-plus seasons, the Seawolves own a 73-13 (.848) regular season record against America East rivals but the Cats have dealt six of the 13 losses. In conference play this season, Stony Brook leads the league with with a +4.83-turnover margin – tops in the conference by +3.16 over Vermont in second place. The Seawolves has only committed 200 turnovers on the season which ranks fifth-lowest in the country. Stony Brook uses a balanced scoring attack as four players average nearly double figures. Lucas Woodhouse has owned conference rivals with 15.7 points per game and has shot 70.4% (19-for-27) from long range. Woodhouse leads the nation with a 95.2% free-throw percentage. Tyrell Sturdivant has found similar success with 15.5 points against America East programs and boasts a 72.9% field goal percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be a rematch of last year's title game when Vermont suffered an 80-74 loss at Stony Brook. The green and gold lead the all-time series with the Seawolves 24-11, which dates back to 2001-02. The Catamounts have won four of the last six against the Stony Brook and hold a 10-6 mark on Long Island. In the last 10 games in the series, the record is deadlocked at 5-5. 

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont returns home on Wednesday (Feb. 1) to host Maine at 7 p.m. Single game tickets are available at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on game day. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. The game can be seen on ESPN3 or the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider. 

Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season.