MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont will tip off the 2019-20 regular season with a visit to St. Bonaventure (0-1) on Friday night (Nov. 8). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase through the St. Bonaventure Box Office.
 
TELEVISION AND RADIO COVERAGE
All of the action can be seen on ESPN+. Fans can access ESPN+ with a seven-day free trial, followed by a subscription fee of $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with the ability to cancel at any time. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Jake Marsh on the call.
 
RELATED LINKS
St. Bonaventure: Video | Live Stats | Audio | Tickets
Game Notes: Vermont | St. Bonaventure
Mid-Major Polls: CollegeInsider.com | MidMajorMadness.com
 
WATCH LIST FOUR-PACK
Anthony Lamb was named to four Preseason Watch Lists this week. The Rochester, New York native made the John R. Wooden Award Watch List, Naismith Trophy Watch List, and the Lute Olson Award Watch List – all three awards are given to the top player in college basketball. He was also selected to the Lou Henson Award Watch List, recognizing the top mid-major player, for the second straight year.
 
MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
The Catamounts landed in the top-10 of two mid-major polls recently. UVM was voted No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Preseason Top-25 Poll and later chosen at No. 7 in the MidMajorMadness.com Preseason The Other Top 25 Poll.
 
LAMB IN SEASON OPENERS
In his three season openers as a Catamount, Lamb has averaged a double-double with 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The senior has shot 55.5% (20-for-36) from the floor and 36.4% (4-of-11) from long range.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Green and Gold have racked up the most road wins in Division I. The Cats lead the pack with 34 victories away from Patrick Gym, followed by Nicholls State with 30 wins. Buffalo trails in a close third with 27 wins while Jacksonville State, Liberty, and Winthrop sit in a fourth-place tie with 26 road victories.
 
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
Vermont is 26-1 against New York schools since the start of the 2016-17 season. The run includes non-conference victories over Marist, Hofstra, Siena, and St. Bonaventure while topping league rivals UAlbany, Binghamton, and Stony Brook. The lone loss was to the Bonnies in 2017.
 
SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE
St. Bonaventure enters Friday's game with an 0-1 mark after dropping the opener 65-53 to Ohio on Tuesday night. Alejandro Vasquez guided the Bonnies with 12 points and four boards. Although last year's leading scorer Courtney Stockard (15.3 ppg) graduated, the Bonnies return sophomore Kyle Lofton who averaged 14.4 points per game and a team-high 3.7 assists per game. Lofton earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie and All-Tournament honors as a freshman. Lofton's fellow classmate Dominick Welch produced 7.6 points per game, the second-most by a SBU returner. St. Bonaventure's presence up front comes from 6-10 forward Osun Osunniyi who posted a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. The sophomore was named to the A-10 All-Rookie and All-Defensive Team last season. The Bonnies finished 18-16 last season, but held a nine-point lead in the A-10 Championship Game before falling to Saint Louis 55-53. Coming into the season, St. Bonaventure was picked fifth in the Atlantic 10 preseason rankings.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday night will be the fourth meeting between the two programs. The Bonnies won the first matchup 80-68 back in 2015-16, then used a buzzer-beater to edge the Cats 81-79 again in 2017-18. Last year, UVM beat SBU 83-76 in double overtime on its home floor and completed the school's first-ever Atlantic 10 season sweep.
 
RELIVING LAST YEAR'S THRILLER WITH THE BONNIES | CatamounTV Highlights
With 1.4 seconds left in regulation and trailing 64-62, Robin Duncan collected an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and banked in a layup to force the first of two overtime periods. Lamb finished the contest with a career-high 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting. The offensive barrage is the highest single-game scoring effort by a Catamount since Taylor Coppenrath '05 dropped 43 points in the 2004 America East Championship Game.
 
National Life Group is the presenting sponsor of the 2019-20 Vermont men's basketball season