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Tuesday’s Three Things To Know: Virginia holds off Lamb, Tillie’s back

Vermont v Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - NOVEMBER 19: Mamadi Diakite #25 of the Virginia Cavaliers and Anthony Lamb #3 of the Vermont Catamounts talk in the second half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on November 19, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)

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With November’s early season tournaments right around the corner, it was another fairly quiet night in the college basketball world on Tuesday night.

Unless you live in Charlottesville or Burlington.

Then, there were some fireworks.

Here are the three things you need to know after Tuesday’s college hoops action.

1. ANTHONY LAMB AND VERMONT ARE THE REAL DEAL, BUT VIRGINIA’S SCORING IS A PROBLEM

We told you on Monday that Vermont is the best mid-major program in the country, and they looked the part on Tuesday night. The Catamounts went into Charlottesville and game No. 7 Virginia all that they could handle. The final score ended up being 61-55, but UVM made a run in the second half that allowed them to take the lead with less than eight minutes remaining.

The hero was Anthony Lamb, UVM’s 6-foot-5 (ish?) forward and maybe the best mid-major player in all of the land. Lamb finished with 30 points, scoring 25 of his 30 points and hitting six of his seven threes in the second half. To put this into context, Syracuse scored 34 points as a team against Virginia in the Carrier Dome. The Wahoos hadn’t allowed more than 42 points in their first three games. Lamb had 30.

What was just as impressive was the way he was able to get out and guard on the perimeter. One of the issues UVM has had in the past is that Lamb wasn’t quite quick enough to create the mismatch against high major teams that he did against teams in his league.

I don’t think that will be the case quite as much this season.

So I’m in on Vermont. All the way in.

(Even though they cost me a cover against St. Bonaventure and the under on Tuesday night. I’ll get past it. Eventually.)

And while I love what I’ve seen from Virginia thus far, especially on the defensive end of the floor, I do think there is some reason to be concerned about how they are going to score. Mamadi Diakite had 19 points on Tuesday, which matched his career-high, and Braxton Key and Kihei Clark both knocked down some massive threes, but this team is a significant step backwards on that end of the floor when compared to Virginia’s best teams.

2. KILLIAN TILLIE RETURNS FOR GONZAGA

Killian Tillie returned to the floor for Gonzaga for the first time this season, which is massive news for a team that has already been steamrolling anything and anyone that gets in their way.

For the uninitiated, Tillie was Gonzaga’s leading scorer during the 2017-18 season, but he’s been battling knee and foot injuries ever since. Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke made it easy to forget about the fact that arguably the most talented player on that roster was not available.

Well, he is back now. In his first game of the season, Tillie started and put up 15 points and eight boards as the No. 8 Zags held on to knock off a scrappy UT Arlington team.

3. HOUSTON AND DAVIDSON LANDED KEY BOUNCE-BACK WINS

Davidson entered the year as the trendy pick to win the Atlantic 10 and Houston was considered by many, including the coaches, to be the best team in the American, but it has not been the easiest start to the season for either team. Davidson got worked over pretty good by both Auburn and Charlotte, while Houston is coming off of a home loss to a BYU team that was picked third in the WCC.

Davidson made a statement on Tuesday night. They blew out Nevada, 91-71, thanks to 24 points from Kellan Grady. Quentin Grimes was the spark for Houston, finishing with 32 points, nine boards and five assists in a 97-89 come-from-behind win against intra-city rival Rice on the road.