Bears face BU for trip to NCAA tourney Maine will try to mix up defensive looks vs. Terriers

Over the course of a 29-game season, the University of Maine Black Bears found a way to defeat most of their America East men’s basketball foes.

The only teams they failed to beat: Stony Brook (which was eliminated in the first round of the America East tourney), Hartford (ditto, in the second round), and Boston University.

Today, the only thing standing between the Black Bears and their first-ever NCAA tournament berth: the Terriers of Boston, one of the teams they’ve yet to solve. Maine lost by two points in Orono and by 11 in Boston.

Game time at hostile Case Gymnasium is 11:30 a.m., with a national television audience tuned in for the game on ESPN.

For UMaine coach John Giannini, the chance to propel UMaine into the NCAA tourney is a driving force in his career.

“It’s probably the biggest reason I wanted to be the basketball coach at the University of Maine: To see if I could take a school at the Division I level to that event, and especially to do it for the first time in school history,” Giannini said. “That has been our goal since Day One, it’s been our players’ goal, and that’s what’s most important.”

The 12-17 Black Bears, who advanced to their first America East championship berth since 1994 with upsets over No. 4 New Hampshire and No. 1 Vermont, have their work cut out for them.

But in a season full of what Giannini has called “50-50 games,” he thinks his team has what it takes to make history.

BU’s strength: Depth. Plenty of it. And plenty of weapons who are equally adept at hitting outside shots and breaking down the defense. And on defense? The Terriers protect the basket tenaciously and make every possession count.

“Defensively, they don’t let you get the ball deep to the basket, which is something that we need to do,” Giannini said. “So we’ve worked on some things offensively to try to [do that].”

On offense, the Terriers have been opportunistic, with a different star stepping forward each game. Case in point: Stijn Dhondt, the senior whose only shot in the Terrriers’ semifinal victory was an off-balance 3-pointer that he released with one-tenth of a second on the clock … and which rattled in after the horn against Hartford.

“They’re a team that’s very hard to guard man-to-man, because even though [we have] four outstanding defenders, they’ll always have one or two positions on the court where the offensive player is probably more gifted than the defensive player is,” Giannini said.

Giannini said the Terriers also execute well against zone sets because they pass well and have so many good shooters.

The solution may well be switches between man-to-man and zone, or a hybrid combination of both that changes on the fly … though Giannini isn’t sharing any secrets.

“I don’t want to tip my hand too much, but we’re certainly going to do some things that I think we’re already familiar with and that we could do pretty easily, but are also unconventional and might give them a hard time,” he said.

Maine’s 7-foot center, Justin Rowe, pointed at that defensive effort as a key to the game. His team has held opponents below 50 points in two of its last three victories.

“We’re gonna go in, we’re gonna be intense, but defense is what it’s all gonna come down to,” Rowe said. “If we can contain the perimeter … that’s a huge factor. We’ve got to make sure they don’t run on us, so we’ve got to get back quick, big men, myself, especially.”

Maine’s leading scorer, Errick Greene, said he expects to play a big role in Maine’s fortunes.

“Coach is talking about putting the ball in my hands,” Greene said. “I’ve had it all year, so I’ve just got to make smart plays. If they double me, we’ve got guys who to hit [shots]. If they don’t, then I’ve got to be ready to play.”

Junior Rickey White, who has become a big part in Maine’s tourney run after missing five weeks to a knee injury in the middle of the season, said Rowe is on the right track.

“Defense is gonna win it for us, but if we’re not playing with heart, then the defense won’t be there,” he said. “Everybody has to show up, and everybody has to play, like we played in our two previous games.”