COLLEGE
Men’s Basketball
MAINE at No. 5 DUKE
Time, site: Saturday, 5:30 p.m., Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
TV: ESPN2
Records: UMaine 2-5, Duke 7-1
Series record: First meeting
Key players: UMaine — 6-2 G Wes Myers (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg), 6-7 F Andrew Fleming (10.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), 6-6 G Ilker Er (9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg), 6-7 F Marko Pirovic (8.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg); Duke — 6-5 G Grayson Allen (17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.6 apg), 6-6 G Luke Kennard (17.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.4 apg), 6-3 G Frank Jackson (15.4 ppg, 2.1 apg), 6-9 F Amile Jefferson (14.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.0 bpg), 6-5 G Matt Jones (10.4 ppg, 2.0 spg)
Outlook: The Maine men’s basketball program gets its first look inside historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the Black Bears may not be in a sightseeing mood in their role as heavy underdog to Duke after an 82-61 loss to Central Connecticut on Wednesday night. Little went right for coach Bob Walsh’s club in that contest save for a 20-point, eight-rebound performance from Fleming, a freshman and former Oxford Hills of South Paris high school star, in just his third college start. Duke, the preseason No. 1 pick nationally, has overcome injuries to several members of its heralded freshman class for a nonconference start marred only by a two-point loss to No. 4 Kansas. Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s club features Allen, the All-America guard who scored 24 points in Duke’s 78-69 win over Michigan State on Tuesday despite foot/toe injuries that have kept him from practicing for the last two weeks. With all the injuries, the Blue Devils used just six players against Michigan State while extending their win streak to four games. Maine returns home on Dec. 7 for a 5:30 p.m. start against Holy Cross as part of a doubleheader with the women’s team, which faces Northeastern at 7:30.