Florida State Basketball: Seminoles keys to beat Vermont in Round of 64

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 15: Teammates Trent Forrest #3 and Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles react after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 69-59 in the semifinals of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 21: Sean McDermott #22 of the Butler Bulldogs guards against Anthony Lamb #3 of the Vermont Catamounts in the first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse on December 21, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

1. Shut Down Anthony Lamb

This Vermont team is led by forward Anthony Lamb who averages 21.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder by far and also adds 2.2 assists, .9 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game.

The 6’6” junior from Rochester, New York has done everything for the Catamounts this season, and he led the team in their upset attempt against Purdue in the tournament last season with 20 points and nine rebounds. This season, he has been matched up against an incredibly tall team ranked ninth in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. This is not a recipe for success.

Florida State simply needs to continue what they have shown all season on the defensive end while putting a greater focus on Lamb. If Lamb can not provide anything for Vermont on the offensive end, they are going to fall behind quickly. They do not have enough offensive threats to survive.

The only two other players on the team who are consistent threats on offense are guards Ernie Duncan and Stef Smith, averaging 13.8 and 12.3 points per game respectively. These two will need to step up in a much bigger way, because Florida State will be making sure Lamb does not come out of this game as the hero for Vermont.

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