There’s nothing out of the ordinary in John Becker’s post-game routine.

Depending on the outcome, the University of Vermont men’s basketball coach will likely grab a bite to eat and toss back a beer with his coaching staff. He’ll then go home and spend time with his family before diving into film review of that night’s game.

The losses, though, gnaw at Becker, deep into the night.

“I take those very hard, that’s why I prefer to be alone, that’s why I’m no fun to be around then,” Becker said. “I certainly go through film on those pretty closely.”

This year was almost like any other for the fifth-year Catamount coach. Almost.

“I had a different set of concerns for part of the year that I hadn’t worried about in the past,” Becker said. “Those nights were trying.”

Faced with myriad challenges, the Catamounts dealt with two late summer transfers, early season injuries, a player suspension for violating NCAA rules and alarmingly subpar defensive performances that were miles away from what the program had come to expect.

At 6-5 in America East Conference play after giving up 100 points in a loss at UMass-Lowell on Feb. 8, the Catamounts were in trouble.

Any conversations of a title run had ceased.

“We always talk about our expectations being championships here but I think we stopped that talk right around late January or early February,” Becker said. “We had to get ourselves right and try and figure out what we were going to be and what we were all about before we talked about wins and losses.”

The bus ride from Lowell to Burlington that night felt longer than usual, too — the heating system had shut down at one point on the trek. It fit the Cats’ current narrative: Their season had gone cold.

“It seemed like things weren’t going our way,” senior Ethan O’Day said.

Oh, have things turned.

The offense, balanced and efficient, started to click. The defense gained a foothold. The on-court cohesion became a strength.

And it’s put UVM in a familiar position: Playing for the conference championship for the ninth time since 2003.

Third-seeded Vermont (21-12), riding a seven-game winning streak, will look to advance to the program’s sixth NCAA tournament when it takes on host and No. 1 Stony Brook (25-6) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2 at sold-out Island Federal Credit Union Arena on Long Island.

UVM, Stony Brook to tangle for America East crown

“We definitely had our highs and lows through the year, and some pretty low lows at moments,” O’Day said. “To come back and just be able to listen to coaching and come together as a unit has been something that’s been pretty special.”

Becker, in the earlier rounds of the league playoffs, called this season “his most rewarding” and “the best coaching job” in his tenure. Associate head coach Kyle Cieplicki agreed.

“He never stopped trying and never stopped pushing buttons — he’s been persistent,” said the former UVM captain who’s in his fifth year as an assistant coach. “For as much talent as we have, it was really frustrating for us as a staff and for John to not get the guys to play the way we wanted them to play.

“We came to a fork in the road and John took us in right direction.”

Old school, new school approach

Longtime friend and Siena coach Jimmy Patsos grew close to Becker playing pick-up basketball at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. They were also fans of the musical group Grateful Dead.

“I would say John is a little new school and old school as a coach, and I find that refreshing,” Patsos said.

After taking the reins of the Catamounts from Mike Lonergan, another friend of Patsos, in May 2011, Becker captured an America East title and won a First Four game over Lamar, the program’s second NCAA tournament triumph.

“When Mike left, Becker created his own style, his own demeanor, his own identity,” Patsos said. “He’s gone ahead and made his own band.”

Lonergan, the George Washington coach, said he isn’t surprised of his former assistant’s success.

“John is a very good coach and he took advantage of the opportunity he was given,” Lonergan said, “and he’s kept it going and he’s done it his way.”

Hired as UVM’s director of basketball operations a decade ago, Becker went from a $90,000 a year salary as an IT manager and took the low-man position on Lonergan’s coaching staff.

When Lonergan bolted for GW, UVM tabbed Becker, whose previous head-coaching experience was at Gallaudet, a school for the deaf and hearing impaired.

And it’s been a happy union.

Under Becker, the Cats continued their run of at least 20 wins per season — the streak is now at eight — and have reached three conference title games. Along with the 2012 run, Becker’s Cats also seized the regular-season crown in 2014 following a 15-1 mark in league play.

His win-loss record stands at 108-61.

“I absolutely did make the right decision,” Becker said to come to Burlington. “It’s hard to imagine it’s been 10 years since we moved up here and made that huge decision. It just seems like a lot of great memories.”

Player-coach relationship is Becker’s bedrock philosophy.

“I think it’s a credit to his ability to not only coach but to connect with his guys and be able to lead them to certain things,” Cieplicki said.

So when Becker demands more of his players in practice — with expletive-laced diatribes — O’Day understands the place it comes from.

“I never take any of that stuff personally,” O’Day said. “When he’s getting on you, it’s just expecting more of you. Its tough love, he really cares about you and wants to you to be successful.”

For Becker, it goes back to trust.

“I always feel I’m doing guys a disservice if I’m not honest with them and coaching them all the time,” Becker said. “I don’t think guys want that, I think they want structure, they want to be told the truth.

“Good players want those things. And Ethan is no different than anyone else.”

Adapting on the fly

Brendan Kilpatrick left the team shortly after the 2014-15 season concluded. Then Zach McRoberts and Brandon Hatton, part of UVM’s herald 2014 freshman class, asked for transfers in the summer.

Hatton’s departure was the day before fall classes began. All of sudden, UVM was down to nine scholarship players, three walk-on players, including the late arriving Nate Rohrer, and a pair of Tulane forwards who had transferred in to fill the void.

“I’d be lying if I said Hatton and McRoberts leaving didn’t bother me,” Becker said. “I had a good relationship with them. I know they liked it here, I know they were treated well and were going to be big parts of this program and for different reasons they wanted to move on.”

When the season started, junior Dre Wills, an all-league defensive pick, missed time for an injury and was hit with an eight-game NCAA suspension for the re-sale of his academic books.

The effect of those losses played out during the nonconference schedule — the first signs UVM’s defensive and offensive schemes would lag.

“We tried to play the way we always had played, but it wasn’t working. Part of it was we didn’t have the personnel to execute what we wanted to do,” Becker said. “Then we got into conference play and realized our defense wasn’t getting any better and guys seemed hesitant on offense.”

Something needed to change.

The Catamounts, traditionally a man-to-man team under Becker, began mixing up their defenses, throwing a zone at opponents when necessary (that strategy worked, for example, at Stony Brook in the regular-season finale).

UVM also went to a smaller lineup, at key times, with four guards to maximize their scoring output with dribble-drives and some hi-low post game. The Cats are averaging 83.2 points during their seven-game winning streak. And for the season, O’Day (11.9 ppg), Trae Bell-Haynes (11.6), Ernie Duncan (11.2) and Kurt Steidl (11.1) are all in double figures.

“It’s a process, but we are finally at a really good place,” Becker said.

Championship year?

After tough-to-swallow league tournament losses in each of the last three seasons, Becker knows not to take things for granted.

“Hopefully I can put the guys in a position to be successful,” Becker said. “Guys come here to try and win championships and it’s exciting that a new batch of Catamounts are going to be in the finals and have this experience.”

The pressure to win doesn’t dissipate.  It only makes winning that much more satisfying.

“The longer you are around and you know how hard it is win a college basketball game, let alone 20 of them,” Becker said. “You really learn to enjoy these, and to get through and get to the finals and put yourself on the doorstep, that’s all you can do.”

With only O’Day and bench player Dylan Sinnickson, a graduate transfer, not returning next year, the Cats’ future is bright.

“I think we have nowhere to go but up,” Cieplicki said. “We are going to look back on this year as hopefully a foundation for great things to come.”

The present doesn’t look too bad, either.

“We are in the finals this year and we have to assume this is the last time we are ever going to get to the finals, because you never know,” Becker said.

UVM’s opponent, Stony Brook, has yet to taste victory at this round of the league tournament (0-4 in final appearances since 2011).

A title for the Seawolves would put an exclamation point on Jameel Warney’s career. Becker and the Cats have other plans.

“We have gotten this far, we are 40 minutes away. We have to try and seize this opportunity. We are a pretty tough group and won’t be afraid of the moment,” Becker said.

This story was originally published on March 10, 2016. Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aabrami5

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP

Teams: No. 3 Vermont (21-12) at No. 1 Stony Brook (25-6)

Tip-off: 11 a.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WCPV-FM 101.3