MAINE vs. ALASKA-ANCHORAGE

Time, site: Thursday, midnight, Anchorage, Alaska

Records: Maine 1-1, Alaska-Anchorage 4-0

Series: First meeting

Key players: Maine – 5-10 G John Gordon (14.5 ppg, 4.5 apg), 6-5 F Terry Hunt (10.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg), 6-6 F Allen Ledbetter (10.0 ppg, 14.0 rpg), 6-5 G Ramone Jones (10.0 ppg, 2 spg), 6-8 C Don Long (2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg); Alaska-Anchorage – 6-8 C Ryan Williams (17.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, .780 FG percentage), 6-4 F Clay Anderson (18.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), 6-4 G Rick Stafford (10.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 6.5 apg), 6-6 F Jake Carlisle (9.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), 5-6 G Butch Lincoln (3.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 spg)

Outlook: This matchup in the first round of the national-caliber Great Alaska Shootout isn’t a freebie for the Bears even though the Seawolves are a Division II school. Alaska-Anchorage ranked seventh in the nation in the latest poll, and are used to top competition: each year, some top Div. I teams head north for the tournament. But a national audience will watch on ESPN. The fact that the Black Bears are playing the host team in the first round, usually the spot reserved for the tourney’s weakest team, is enlightening. And the second round doesn’t get easier for Maine. Syracuse or Kentucky await.