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Sunday, January 19, 2025
You could be forgiven if you had some basic information on Vermont’s success in recent years and their 4-1 start this season and asked, “How do they do that?” By almost any conventional measure or appearance, what this team is doing and has done appears to be lacking a clear answer at first glance.
Bryant finally broke through against Boston College, getting their first win in five tries against the Eagles by a 56-54 margin, the biggest win in the young Division I history of the program. It was, among other things, a show of perseverance that the team has had to show for a while.
New Hampshire is almost done with a five-game road stretch, and it won’t come a moment too soon. Saturday’s 60-50 loss at Holy Cross was in part a repeat of earlier games and might also mean some lineup changes could be in store if current trends persist.
Michigan made the most of its first trip to the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game, running away from Kansas State 71-57 to take home their first title. In so doing, they did exactly what they did to get to New York and looked like the clear class of the field.
Kansas State came into The World’s Most Famous Arena without a major test in the early going this season. They got two different ones in New York and now look forward to some practice time to work on their offense, a big concern.
Making it to Madison Square Garden in the NIT Season Tip-Off was a big opportunity for Delaware, but they also have some concern on the health front that they have something to pay attention to going forward.
Boston College head coach Steve Donahue is still taking a long view with his team, and the long-term outcome matters most. Still, wins help in getting there, and pulling out close wins help, something the Eagles did on Wednesday after going to Charleston and losing three straight.
Surely no one was happier to get home from the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament than Albany. And yet, the Great Danes couldn’t get comfortable there for long. So goes the November portion of their non-conference schedule, which has been more than a grind.
Loyola almost let the Hall of Fame Tip-Off championship game in its bracket get away, but they got a three-point play with 1.5 seconds left to pull out a game they once looked like they would run away with.
Some notes from Sunday’s final day of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic as two championships were decided and the All-Tournament teams were announced a little later.
