Photo Credit: Shane Bufano
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Weekend Preview Video: Catamounts TV | You Tube
2009-10 Schedule | Photos (Flickr)

VERMONT MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday when it faces neighboring Saint Michael’s in a preseason game at Patrick Gym starting at 1 p.m. The contest will mark the final tune-up for the Catamounts prior to regular season play, which opens on November 13 at Loyola (Md.).

Saturday will mark the last chance to catch the Catamounts at home until December 13 when they host Quinnipiac. Saturday's game can be heard live on 96.7 DOT-FM, The Zone 960 AM and WSTJ-1320 AM (Randolph), and on the internet at www.UVMathletics.com with the audio stream provided by SportsJuice.com. The game will also be broadcast live on the Internet via B2 Networks on a pay-per-view basis of $7.

The game is part of a basketball doubleheader on Saturday as the UVM women's team is hosting Franklin Pierce at 4:30 p.m. in their final exhibition game.

PROMOTIONS: Saturday will be the UPS Team Poster Day with a postgame autograph session. Vermont will also be collecting can goods to donate to the Chittenden County Food Shelf in the Thanksgiving Spirit. Rally's Round Up Members get in free – pre-register by emailing Rally Cat at Rallycatamount@uvm.edu (space is limited).

RAISE THE BANNER: Prior to the Cats’ final preseason game against Saint Michael’s on Saturday, a banner will be raised commemorating Vermont’s America East Regular Season Co-Championship and also its appearance in the College Basketball Invitational last season.

SCOUTING SAINT MICHAEL’S: The Purple Knights were picked to finish 14th in the 2009-10 Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, coming off of last year when they went 10-15 overall and 7-15 in NE-10 play. Saint Michael’s will be led by Alex Berthiaume, the team’s top scorer from last year who averaged 13.4 points per game and 3.6 assists. Saturday will mark the 142nd all-time meeting between the two teams, who first met during the 1920-21 season.

FLASHBACK: Marqus Blakely went for 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead four Cats in double figures as Vermont defeated visiting Saint Michael’s 73-59 last year at Patrick Gym. A personal 11-0 run by Blakely that extended over the two halves, put the Catamounts on top 44-23 just 1:07 into the second half and they didn’t look back. He scored the last four points before the half and then netted the first seven after the break, finishing it off with a dunk.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior Maurice Joseph led three Catamounts in double-figures with a game-high 15 points as Vermont rolled to a 92-46 victory over Concordia in a preseason contest on Sunday afternoon. The Catamounts went up 8-0 to start the game behind six points from junior Evan Fjeld. The Stingers climbed back within two, but another 6-0 spurt ignited a 28-9 run to close the first half and give UVM a 49-24 lead at the break. The Catamounts biggest lead of the game, 48 points, came after a bucket by freshman Simeon Marsalis at the 1:15 mark to make the score 91-43.

PRESEASON PLAY: Vermont is 9-0 all-time under head coach Mike Lonergan in preseason games. The Catamounts have won those nine games by an average of 21.3 points per contest.

MID-MAJOR POLL: The Catamounts are receiving votes in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll of the season. Vermont finished ranked 23rd in the final poll last year, as the Cats were the highest ranked team in New England and one of only two America East teams to be ranked.

CAT’S DEN: Each Monday night the Cat’s Den, the weekly radio interview with Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan, will take place live at the Upper Deck Pub at the Windjammer in South Burlington. The Cat’s Den begins at 7:00pm and is hosted by Rob Ryan, the voice of Vermont men’s basketball. The show is a 30-minute segment that recaps the previous week and talks about the upcoming games. Fans are welcome to attend and ask coach Lonergan questions. Questions are also welcome by email at: robryan@967dotfm.com. Fans in attendance will also have a chance to win UVM men’s and women’s basketball tickets during each show. The show will take place at the Windjammer, which is located at 1076 Williston Road, on selected Monday nights when the team is in town and airs on 96.7 DOT-FM and The Zone 960 AM.

PRESEASON POLL: Vermont was picked to finish second in the 2009-10 America East Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, while senior Marqus Blakely was named to the preseason all-conference team. The conference released the poll and all-conference team at America East Basketball Media Day on October 28. Boston University received all eight possible first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 64 points to be named the preseason favorite, followed by Vermont, which received the remaining first-place vote and 56 points. Albany barely edged Stony Brook for third place with 43 points, while the Seawolves came in one point behind with 42, just ahead of New Hampshire’s 39. Hartford and UMBC tied for sixth with 28 points apiece, while Maine (14 points) and Binghamton University (12) rounded out the poll. Blakely joined Boston University’s Corey Lowe and John Holland as the only unanimous selections for the preseason all-conference squad. The trio was joined by Albany’s Tim Ambrose, Joe Zeglinski of Hartford and Muhammad El-Amin of Stony Brook. Ambrose and Zeglinski tied for the final spot.

ROAD TRIP: The Catamounts’ two preseason games will be the only chance to catch them at home prior to December 13, as they will play their first 10 regular season games of the year on the road. Vermont opens the regular season on Friday, November 13 at Loyola (Md.) and will play in seven different states before its home opener on December 13 vs. Quinnipiac. Two years ago the Cats started the season with eight of their first nine away from Patrick Gym.

CATS ON TV: Vermont is guaranteed to play at least six games on television this season. The first Catamount men’s basketball game to be televised will be Vermont vs. Quinnipiac on December 13 at 12 p.m. on the New England Sports Network (NESN). Vermont will play five America East conference games on television starting on January 10 at Albany at 4 p.m., which will be shown in the Albany area on Time Warner Cable (TW3). Both showdowns with Boston University will be televised this year. The first meeting between the Catamounts and Terriers in Burlington on January 17 (2 p.m.) will air on ESPNU and the February 9 game in Boston on Comcast Sports Net at 7 p.m. Vermont will appear on NESN when it travels to face New Hampshire on January 27 at 7 p.m. The Cats also travel to face Stony Brook in a game that will be televised on both NESN and Madison Square Garden Plus (MSG+) on February 24 at 7 p.m. Other potential television appearances include the BracketBuster series on February 19-20 on the ESPN family of networks and the America East Tournament, which will take place March 4-7 on the campus of the University of Hartford. The semifinals on March 7 will be televised and the finals will be held on March 13 at the highest remaining seed and be played on ESPN2.

TICKETS ON SALE: Tickets are now on sale for the 2009-10 season. Individual game tickets can be purchased via the Internet by going to www.UVMathletics.com. Season ticket packages can be purchased in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office. Tickets are also available over the phone at 1-866-4Cat-Tix (1-866-422-8849). Reserved seat season tickets for men’s basketball are $144 per seat ($12 x 12 games). If the reserved seat allotment runs out, the ticket office will begin selling general admission season ticket packages. All season ticket packages will be mailed out in late October.

WHO’S NEXT: Vermont opens the regular season on November 13 with a trip to Baltimore, Md. to face Loyola starting at 7 p.m.

FOLLOW OR FRIEND THE CATAMOUNTS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER: The UVM Athletic Department has a Facebook page. Click here to become a friend of the department to keep up with all the happenings in Catamount Country. Fans can also follow the Catamounts via Twitter. The department has a general Twitter account @UVMAthletics and the men’s basketball team also has a Twitter account @UVM_M_Hoops. Follow @UVMAthletics for general news on the department and/or follow @UVM_M_Hoops for more in-depth coverage of the team, including in-meet updates throughout the season.

CATAMOUNTS ALL-ACCESS: Visit the Catamounts All-Access page at UVMathletics.com for information on how to get results of your favorite Catamount teams minutes after the conclusion of the meet via a text message on your cell phone via eScores. The feature is available to anyone with a cell phone, regardless of cell phone service provider. Also, stay up-to-date with the Catamounts. Sign up for the Vermont men’s basketball eNews, offered free of charge by the Athletic Communications Office. Receive all the latest news and notes, as well as complete game summaries for every contest via your personal e-mail account. Catamounts All-Access also includes links to UVM's other social networking sites like Flickr and YouTube, Vermont's television schedule, live stats, live audio streaming and wallpaper for your computer.

PHOTO STORE: Catamount faithful can purchase athletic pictures at www.UVMathletics.com via the Vermont Photo Store. Pictures make great gifts for holidays, home wall art, or office decorations. Powered by Replay Photos, the website will feature pictures of all 18 sports, including meet action photos from the 2009-10 season once they become available.

GET YOUR GEAR: The UVM athletic department, in conjunction with TeamFanShop, has launched its first-ever merchandise and apparel store through the school's official athletic site at UVMathletics.com. The new online store includes hats, polo shirts, shorts, t-shirts, gifts and much more from several leading manufacturers.