Women’s Basketball
MAINE vs. HARVARD
Time, site: Friday, 5:30 p.m., Lavietes Pavilion, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Records (2014-2015): Maine 23-9, Harvard 14-14
Series, last meeting: Maine leads 7-5, Maine 65-46 on 12/7/14
Key players: Maine — 5-8 Sigi Koizar (14.3 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game), 5-10 G/F Liz Wood (13.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.7 spg), 5-8 G Sophie Weckstrom (7.5 ppg), 6-2 F Mikaela Gustafsson (5.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg), 5-10 F Bella Swan (3.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg), 6-0 G Chantel Charles (3.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg); Harvard — 6-1 F AnnMarie Healy (13.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg), 5-11 G/F Shilpa Tummala (5.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg), 5-10 G Kit Metoyer (5.0 ppg, 2.8 apg), 6-1 G Kirby Porter (2.6 ppg), 5-7 G Sydney Skinner (1st season)
Game notes: The Black Bears open the season with a two-game swing through Boston against Harvard and Boston College (Sunday). UMaine returns all but one player off the team that handled the Crimson last season in Bangor. Harvard, picked to finish third in the Ivy League, has two starters and seven letterwinners back. The Crimson are 39-4 since the start of the 2011-2012 season when holding opponents under 60 points. UMaine has the ability to launch an offensive from the 3-point arc, but the Bears also will try to get the ball inside to Wood, Gustafsson and Swan. Harvard’s Cathy Delaney-Smith is the winningest coach in Ivy League history with 532 in 32 seasons.
Men’s Basketball
MAINE vs. No. 20 CONNECTICUT
Time, site: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut
Records (2014-2015): Maine 3-27, UConn (20-15)
Series, last meeting: UConn leads 83-16, UConn 95-68 on 12/6/13
Key players: Maine — 5-9 G Kevin Little (12.5 ppg, 2.6 apg), 6-8 F Till Gloger (11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .526 FG pct.), G Aaron Calixte (7.3 ppg, 3.4 apg), G Troy Reid-Knight (.4.8 ppg), 6-6 F Garet Beal (6.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg), 6-6 F Issac Vann (1st season) ; UConn — 6-7 F Shonn Miller (16.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg), 6-2 G Sterling Gibbs (16.3 ppg, 3.8 apg), 6-4 G Rodney Purvis (11.6 ppg)), 6-7 F Daniel Hamilton (10.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg), 3.7 apg), 7-0 C Amida Brimah (9.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg)
Game notes: The Black Bears begin their second season under coach Bob Walsh with a big test against the 20th-ranked Huskies of the American Athletic Conference. It will mark the 100th meeting between the two programs dating back to the 1921-1922 season. UConn has won the last 12 meetings. UMaine faces a Huskies squad that returns four starters, along with graduate students Gibbs (Seton Hall) and Miller (Cornell). The toughest part for the Black Bears may be trying to match up with UConn’s size and athleticism inside, although UMaine will give up several inches at the guard spots as well. UConn, which qualified for the NIT last season, was picked second behind Southern Methodist in the AAC preseason poll. The Bears’ Ilija Stojiljkovic and Beal have been cleared to play after injuries.