The University of Maine women’s basketball team will take its show on the road for the fourth straight game this postseason when it opens the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears (26-8), the America East Conference runners-up, take on Quinnipiac (24-8) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Hamden, Connecticut.
All 32 of the WNIT first-round matchups were announced late Monday night.
Despite having the 10th-highest Rating Percentage Index (No. 60) among the 64 teams in the tournament, UMaine was sent packing for the first round. Quinnipiac, which plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, is 87th in the RPI.
America East ranks 16th among the 32 Division I conferences in RPI, while the MAAC is No. 23.
And even though the WNIT does its matchups based in part on geography in order to minimize travel and missed class time, UMaine would have appeared a candidate to host.
However, UMaine did not have access to its home arena for two of the three potential first-round dates this week, which may have adversely affected its chance to play at the Cross Insurance Center.
UMaine athletics director Karlton Creech said he does not know how that dynamic may have affected the Black Bears’ placement in the tournament.
“We don’t control the WNIT selection, seeding or game assignment process, so I can’t comment on if it affected our ability to host the first round,” Creech said in a text message.
UMaine’s only other option would have been to bid to host a WNIT contest at Alfond Arena in Orono, the home of Black Bears hockey and the former home of women’s and men’s basketball. However, the facility has not been used for basketball since 2013.
“We didn’t consider it at all,” Creech said. “Cross Center is our home court, so we only considered hosting the dates it is available.”
That’s not to say there was any guarantee UMaine would have been awarded a first-round home game had the Bangor Boat Show not been occupying Cross Insurance Center on Friday and Saturday. Other matchups in the WNIT involve teams with higher RPIs going on the road in the first round.
The good news for the Black Bears is, if they beat Quinnipiac, a second-round game in Bangor is a possibility.
UMaine was informed on Tuesday that if it advances, and Temple (No. 69 in the RPI) wins Friday’s cross-town game at Drexel (No. 80), the Black Bears would play host to Temple on March 21 or 22.
If UMaine and Drexel win their games, the Black Bears will play at Drexel, most likely on Sunday.