Dartmouth Takes Short Trip to Vermont to Face Catamounts Wednesday Night

Wednesday, November 29

Burlington, Vt. / Patrick Gymnasium

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Vermont

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Dartmouth Takes Short Trip to Vermont to Face Catamounts Wednesday Night

11/28/2023 4:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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UVM marks Dartmouth’s fourth straight Division I opponent that won 20+ games last season

By: Justin Lafleur

GAME 5
Dartmouth (1-3, 0-0 Ivy League) at Vermont (5-2, 0-0 America East)
Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2023 – 7 p.m.
Location: Burlington, Vt. – Patrick Gymnasium
All-Time Series: Dartmouth leads, 57-49

Setting the Scene
Following a slim one-point loss at Saint Louis Saturday, the Dartmouth men's basketball team continues a three-game road swing on Wednesday at interstate rival Vermont. Opening tipoff in Patrick Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Last time out, the Big Green dropped a 66-65 heartbreaker in a game that came down to the final seconds.

A tight game overall saw Saint Louis end the first half on a 14-5 run, but Dartmouth answered with an 8-0 run in the first 1:34 of the second half, a run that extended to 14-2. The Big Green took the lead, but the Billikens regained control before a final Dartmouth surge that fell just short. Dartmouth held Saint Louis scoreless for the game's final 2:36, while sophomore Jackson Munro converted a pair of layups to get within one. The Big Green had three shots in the final 10 seconds for the game-winner, but a Munro layup and tip-in attempt, along with a 3-pointer from senior Dusan Neskovic, just wouldn't fall.

Dartmouth was ever so close to beating its first Atlantic 10 opponent since 1980, due in large part to sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day, a St. Louis native who was playing in front of many family and friends, and Neskovic. Mitchell-Day followed up a career-high 20 points in the previous game with his first-career double-double on Saturday. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Mitchell-Day set the tone with Dartmouth's first four points of the game, finishing the first half with 13. He shot an efficient 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Neskovic tied a career-high 24 points, 11 in the first half and 13 in the second. He shot 8-of-20 from the floor, while adding seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. In Dartmouth's two road games this season, he has eclipsed 20 points, along with his 23 in the season opener at Duke. Neskovic's 23 points Saturday marked the most scored by an opponent at Saint Louis since Feb. 23 against VCU (nine games ago). He became the first Big Green player with 20 in back-to-back road games since Brendan Barry in February of 2022, and first with 20 in back-to-back nonconference road contests since Alex Barnett in November and December of 2008.

As a team, the Big Green have had a 20-point scorer in three of the first four games of the season (Neskovic 23 at Duke, Mitchell-Day 20 vs. Westfield State and Neskovic 24 at Saint Louis), the first time that's happened since the 2008-09 season. That year, Barnett had all the 20-point games, posting 28 at Providence, 24 vs. Colgate and 24 against Furman.

Also on Saturday, Munro scored nine points (all in the second half) while classmate Jayden Williams had nine points as well, finishing 2-of-4 from the floor (all 3-pointers). Making his first start of the season, senior Jaren Johnson tallied two points, six rebounds and four assists.

Every single Division I team the Big Green have played this season won 20 games last year. Wednesday at Vermont is no exception. The Catamounts have won 14 straight against Dartmouth, with Dartmouth's last victory coming in 2007 at home.

With a win...
- Dartmouth would snap a 14-game losing streak against Vermont and beat the Catamounts for the first time since Nov. 27, 2007.
- The Big Green would win at Vermont for the first time since Nov. 18, 1998, a 69-64 victory, snapping an 11-game losing streak at UVM.
- Dartmouth would snap a six-game road losing streak dating back to last season.
- The Big Green would win a road nonleague game for the first time since winning at UTSA, 78-77 in overtime, last Nov. 27.

Last Time Out
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (11/25/23) — Despite a career-high tying 24 points from senior Dusan Neskovic and the first-career double-double from sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day, the Dartmouth men's basketball team fell just short at Saint Louis on Saturday evening, 66-65. Defensively, the Big Green held the Billikens scoreless over the game's final 2:36. On the other end, sophomore Jackson Munro finished a pair of layups to get Dartmouth within one, but three opportunities in the final 10 seconds — two chances in the paint and a 3-pointer — wouldn't fall as the Billikens held on for the slimmest of victories.

Scouting Vermont
Coming off its America East best 10th championship and 23-11 overall record, Vermont is off to a 5-2 start this season. After a win over Dartmouth's last opponent Saint Louis, the Catamounts have lost to Liberty and at Bradley, with a home win over VTSU-Johnson sandwiched in between. Vermont has three players averaging double-figure points in Matt Veretto (14.7), Shamir Bogues (12.9) and TJ Long (11.6), with two others (Aaron Deloney and TJ Hurley) averaging nine or more.

As a team, Vermont stands 12th nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.9), 25th in fewest turnovers per contest (9.4), 26th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64) and 27th in field goal percentage (50.2).

All-Time Against The Catamounts
Dartmouth leads the all-time series against Vermont, 57-49, but Vermont has won 14 straight, the longest streak by either side in the series. The last Big Green victory came on Nov. 27, 2007 at home via a 76-75 final, which snapped an eight-game losing streak to UVM. There have been a number of close calls, and single-digit games — including five points on Dec. 2, 2015, three on Jan. 14, 2015 and two on Dec. 12, 2012. Overall, the Catamounts have won 22 of the last 23. Vermont has beaten the Big Green 11 straight times in Burlington. Dartmouth won the first 13 meetings spanning 1900 to 1934 and 29 of the first 31 all-time meetings.

20 Point Notables...
- Senior Dusan Neskovic became the first Big Green player with 20 points in back-to-back road games since Brendan Barry in February of 2022. Barry had 25 at Yale (Feb. 4) followed by 21 at Brown (Feb. 5).
- The last time a Big Green player scored 20 in back-to-back nonconference road games since Alex Barnett in 2008. Barnett scored 28 at Providence (Nov. 18) and 32 at Vermont (Dec. 2).
- As a team, the Big Green have had a 20-point scorer in three of the first four games of the season (Neskovic 23 at Duke, sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day 20 vs. Westfield State and Neskovic 24 at Saint Louis), the first time that's happened since the 2008-09 season. That year, Barnett had all the 20-point games, posting 28 at Providence, 24 vs. Colgate and 24 against Furman.

McRae III and Myrthil Named Captains
Dartmouth head men's basketball coach David McLaughlin announced that senior Robert McRae III and junior Romeo Myrthil will serve as the Big Green's team captains in 2023-24. The two will look to lead an experienced group that features seven returning players who led the team in scoring at least once this past season.

McRae emerged as a junior, especially in Ivy League play when he became a regular in the Big Green rotation. After appearing in two games as a sophomore, he played in 24 as a junior, starting once and averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. His impact on the defensive end of the floor was also strong, along with his impact on the game in intangible ways. Three games into the season, McRae scored a career-high 18 points in just 15 minutes against MCLA, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He later made his first-career start at UMass and filled up the box score with nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and an assist. In Ivy League play, McRae scored nine points in a mid-February weekend — four at Cornell and five at Columbia.

Myrthil averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds as a junior in 25 games, starting eight times. Like McRae, Myrthil's impact came at both ends of the floor and in ways not always evident in the box score. Offensively, he reached double-figure points on three occasions, including a career-high 12 in a home win over Princeton and 11 both against CSU Bakersfield and at South Florida. For the season, Myrthil shot 42.7 percent from the floor (32-of-75) and 36.6 percent from 3-point range (15-of-41). After starting the first eight games of the season, Myrthil came off the bench in game nine and he responded with 27 points over the next three games (11 points against CSU Bakersfield followed by nine vs. Vermont and seven at CCSU).

History in Cameron Indoor Stadium
In the season opener at Duke on Monday, Nov. 6, the Big Green were led by junior Dusan Neskovic, who scored 23 points for a second straight season opener (also 23 last Nov. 7 at Fordham). He scored 15 of those points in the second half at Duke, shooting 7-of-11 over the final 20 minutes. Neskovic finished 11-of-19 for the game, which included knocking down a second-half 3-pointer.
- Neskovic's 23 points were the most scored by a Duke opponent in the Blue Devils' home opener since Davidson's De'Mon Brooks scored 24 on Nov. 8, 2013.
- It was also the most scored by any nonconference opponent at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium since Kevon Harris of Stephen F. Austin had 26 on Nov. 26, 2019.

Sustained Success
Since Feb. 17, 2022, the Big Green are tied for the third best record in the league in Ivy League games (regular season or postseason).

Princeton: 16-5
Yale: 15-6
Dartmouth: 10-9
Penn: 10-9
Cornell: 9-10
Brown: 8-10
Harvard: 7-12
Columbia: 2-16

Preseason Poll Released
The Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll was released on Tuesday, Oct. 17, which saw the Dartmouth men's basketball team come in seventh. Yale was picked as the preseason favorite with 124 points (14 first-place votes) followed closely by Princeton with 110 points (two first-place votes). Cornell came in third with 80 points followed by Brown (77), Penn (68), Harvard (66), Dartmouth (28) and Columbia (23).

Estes Promoted, McAlister Added to Staff
Head coach David McLaughlin announced staff changes this summer, which featured Braeden Estes being promoted to assistant coach, with Garvin McAlister joining the staff as director of basketball operations. Estes, who had been Dartmouth's director of operations for two seasons, fills the role left by Dan Ryan, who recently accepted a position with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany. McAlister joins the Big Green with plenty of college basketball coaching experience, most recently as associate head coach at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

International Experience
Four members of the Big Green hail from outside of the United States — Dusan Neskovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Romeo Myrthil (Sweden), Nikola Dimitrijevic (Serbia) and Ben Brown (England). Neskovic is the first Big Green player from Banja Luka since Vedad Osmanovic '02, who scored 697 points. The four international players are tied with the 2021-22 team for the most international players on a Dartmouth men's basketball roster.

Academic Accolades from NABC
The Dartmouth men's basketball team was recognized by the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) in July for its academic success, garnering the Team Academic Award Award while Dame Adelekun, Jackson Blaufeld, Cam Krystkowiak and Dusan Neskovic were all named to the Honors Court.

Neskovic Named Academic All-District
Last season, current senior Dusan Neskovic was recognized by the College Sports Communicators as a member of the Academic All-District® Team. The team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Neskovic currently stands third on the Big Green in scoring, while owning an impressive cumulative grade point average of 3.63.

Neskovic joins a long list of Dartmouth honorees over the years, most recently Aaryn Rai last year, who made the five-man team for District I. The selection process has since changed and now includes more student-athletes. This year, Neskovic is one of nine men's basketball student-athletes from the Ivy League recognized.

Follow Along
Wednesday night's game can be seen live on ESPN+.

What's Ahead?
Following Wednesday's showdown, the Big Green remain on the road at UAlbany on Saturday to face the Great Danes. Please note the new start time of 8 p.m.