Men’s College Basketball
No. 8 MAINE vs. No. 1 VERMONT
Time, site: 7 p.m. Saturday, Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington, Vermont
Records: UMaine 9-21 (5-11 America East), Vermont 24-7 (14-2)
Series: Vermont leads 75-70, Vermont 77-52 on 2/5/2020
Key players, Maine: 6-7 F Andrew Fleming (14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists per game, .491 FG percentage), 6-4 G Sergio El Darwich (14.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.8 steals, .850 FT percentage), 6-8 F Nedeljko Prijovic (10.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 6-9 F Stephane Ingo (4.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 blocks); Vermont: 6-6 F Anthony Lamb (16.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg,), 6-2 G Stef Smith (14.2 ppg, 2.7 apg, .445 3-point percentage), 6-8 F Ryan Davis (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg), 6-6 G Everett Duncan (8.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Game notes: UMaine seeks to end a 19-game losing streak against Vermont, including four straight in the America East quarterfinals. UMaine is coming off back-to-back victories over conference No. 3 seed Hartford and No. 4 Maryland Baltimore County. The Black Bears have averaged 71.7 points per game in the last three contests, well above their season average of 61.8 ppg. The increased contributions of Prijovic and Ingo have been a key, with Prijovic scoring a team-high 20.0 ppg over the last three games while Ingo has rebounded in double figures in each of the Black Bears’ last four contests. UMaine’s challenge against Vermont will be on offense, as the Black Bears averaged just 55.5 points in two regular-season losses to the Catamounts. Vermont suffered both of its conference defeats this winter at home, in its league opener against No. 2 Stony Brook and a 66-64 loss to UMBC on Feb. 29. Other AE quarterfinals Saturday have No. 7 UAlbany at Stony Brook, No. 6 UMass Lowell at Hartford and No. 5 New Hampshire at UMBC.
