Men’s college basketball

MAINE vs. NORTHEASTERN

Time, site: 7:30 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 8-3 (1-2 America East), Northeastern 1-8 (0-1)

Series, last meeting: NU leads 55-41; Maine won 70-67 (OT) on 2/24/00

Key players: Maine – 6-10 F Julian Dunkley (16.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg), 6-2 G Huggy Dye (16.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg), 6-6 F Carvell Ammons (13.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg), 5-11 G Tory Cavalieri (8.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg), 6-3 G Errick Greene (8.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg), 6-2 G Derrick Jackson (5.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg); Northeastern – 6-2 G Marcus Blossom (13.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg), 6-4 G Ricky Cranford (13.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg), 6-5 F Tyrone Hammick (13.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg), 6-5 F Jean Francois (9.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg), 5-11 G Jean Bain (8.0 ppg, 2.5 apg)

Outlook: The Huskies are at their best when they push the ball upcourt in transition. UMaine’s biggest challenge is to stop their smaller opponents from turning the game into a track meet. For a smallish unit, the Huskies aren’t particularly adept at shooting the long ball. Northeastern’s percentage is a bit better than Maine’s, but the shot isn’t an integral part of the offense: The Huskies have only connected on 33 as a team all year long. In contrast, Dye has 26 on his own. Ammons has been murder on America East opponents, scoring at an 18.7 ppg clip in three contests. Maine must pile up wins against the league’s bottom five teams. Northeastern, which finished ninth in the conference last year, figures to fall into that category.