By PAUL GOTHAM
Competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Florida State men’s basketball team doesn’t play too many games against squads from America East.
That doesn’t mean the Seminoles aren’t familiar with University of Vermont junior forward Anthony Lamb.
“They have the Lamb kid who’s pretty good,” FSU junior guard Trent Forrest said during Wednesday’s press conference from the XL Center in Hartford, CT. “They play a lot of ball through him. So we just have to stop him and try to pick up their pace a little bit to what we like to play at.”
Getting touches on 32.9 percent (Per KenPom) and taking nearly 35 percent of UVM’s shots, Lamb paced the Catamounts to their second AE title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in three years. The Greece Athena grad and conference player of the year averaged 21.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
“I’m extremely impressed with how well they execute,” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “They seem to always be in control. They play to their strengths. They have great spacing, they move the ball well, they shoot the ball well from perimeter. They have a go-to guy that they keep the ball in his hands as much as possible.”
Vermont is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012. The Catamounts will be making their seventh overall appearance in the Big Dance. UVM defeated Syracuse, 60-57 in 2005 and Lamar, 71-59 in 2012.
LAMB’S PERIMETER THREAT KEY TO VERMONT’S SUCCESS AGAINST FSU
Lamb started as a freshman when Vermont fell to Purdue, 80-70 in the 2017 first round.
“It was a great game two years ago,” Lamb said, Wednesday. “We were able to step up on the big stage and now we know what it takes in the game like that, playing against higher competition and how it feels to play in front of that many people in front of such a great crowd.”
What: No. 13 Vermont (27-6/14-2) vs. No. 4 Florida State (27-7/13-5)
When: Thursday, March 21st – 2 PM.
Where: XL Center – Hartford Connecticut
How to Watch: TBS
Transcription courtesy of ASAP Sports.
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