HARTFORD, Conn. -- They didn't walk away from either game with a victory, but the Vermont Catamounts did enough good things -- enjoyed enough success in different areas -- that they certainly didn't come away empty-handed.
On Nov. 2, Vermont traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on the then-No. 2 Jayhawks. Four days later, the Catamounts played at Louisville.
While they didn't win either game, Vermont's players and coaches say that experience gave them a great idea of what they're going to see Thursday from No. 4 seed Florida State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"It was a great experience, stadium, atmosphere, it's just ... that level of basketball is a little different, athletic-wise, physical-wise," Catamounts guard Stef Smith said. "I think it's good we got to play that game, to prepare us for this game coming up on Thursday."
Said junior forward Anthony Lamb: "It's a lot of fun when you get to play against better competition, so I think we're going to take advantage of that experience and try to bring it into this NCAA Tournament game."
Lamb and Smith certainly showed what they could do against that higher level of competition.
Against Louisville, Lamb scored 25 points and grabbed four rebounds despite playing only 23 minutes due to foul trouble. He connected on 9 of 15 shots from the field, 2 of 2 from 3-point range and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. Against Kansas, Lamb scored 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Smith scored 24 points at Louisville and scored 13 points with eight rebounds at Kansas.
The Catamounts trailed the Jayhawks by only four points at halftime before fading down the stretch and losing by 16. They lost by eight at Louisville.
"I think it's going to help us out tremendously," Vermont head coach John Becker said of those contests. "We put together a really challenging non-conference schedule that included at Louisville and at Kansas. So, hopefully, that will pay benefits tomorrow. I think this will be the most athletic and longest team we play all year. I think it will be an adjustment getting used to the size and athleticism. Hopefully once the game starts and we get a feel for that, we'll settle in."
There is no getting past the disparity in size.
Vermont's starting lineup features five players who are 6-foot-6 or shorter. Four of the Seminoles' top six scorers are 6-7 or taller, including 7-4 center Christ Koumadje.
With that in mind, Becker said the Catamounts have no intention of trying to do much damage in the paint offensively.
"I mean, it's a pretty simple game plan ... offensively, we're going to have to make a lot of shots, shoot a lot of 3s, just because of their size in and around the basket," he said. "And offensively, rebounding is important. We're a really good defensive team, but we haven't played the likes of this size before. So we're going to have to really clean up the glass and box out and get rebounds. If we can do that, we can get out and play in transition and hopefully attack them early before they can get their defense set."
Vermont (27-6) enters the tournament on a six-game win streak and has lost just two games since the end of December. And Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton said it's easy to see why they've been successful after watching them on film.
"I'm extremely impressed with how well they execute," he 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."
Vermont has been to the NCAA Tournament seven times, with two wins to show for it. The Catamounts upset Syracuse back in 2005, and they won a First Four game against Lamar in 2012.
Becker said his team also should gain confidence from seeing what fellow America East Conference member UMBC did last year in the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1.
"I think as a conference, we have confidence and we want to be competitive and we want to win games in the tournament," the Catamounts coach said. "We can see what that does for us, and they helped give us confidence. We've won some NCAA tournament games, obviously Syracuse game and Lamar in the First Four in 2012. So as a conference, we really pride ourselves as being a little underappreciated and undervalued.
"So this is our opportunity to show the country just how good of a conference we are. So we're here representing our conference and we expect to -- we expect to advance."
Notable:
* FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said senior forward Phil Cofer is questionable for the Vermont game. He was wearing a protective boot on Wednesday.
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