(Host) The University of Vermont gets a shot at its second straight appearance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament when the Catamounts take on the Maine Black Bears Saturday morning at Patrick Gymnasium in South Burlington.
A back-to-back trip to the “big dance” would also mark just the second time in the school’s history that the men’s team has appeared in college basketball’s premier tournament, and the atmosphere around the UVM campus is electric.
About 100 people camped out overnight to get any remaining tickets when they went on sale this week, and guard T.J. Sorrentine says that kind of fan support can go a long way:
(Sorrentine) “It’s great, you know, whenever you can get going with that kind of support it just makes you want to win that much more for the people, for the state. Because it just shows how involved people want to be and how they want to see us do well. And so it just gives you much more confidence to go out there and play well.”
(Host) Head coach Tom Brennan says it will be a game-time decision whether star forward Taylor Coppenrath will play tomorrow. Coppenrath broke a bone in his left wrist in February, but was cleared to practice this week.