MBB: Duke vs. Maine (11/4, 7pm ET, ACCN) Pre-game and In-game Thread

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Nrrrrvous

Nrrrrvous

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Let's get this party started!

Kenpom has Maine at #257 while Torvik projects them at #224.

Who's got some intel on the Black Bears?
 
Well, I know that Cooper's twin, Ace, is going to play for Maine, but not until next season.

probably not the intel you were looking for.
 
Nrrrrvous said:
Who's got some intel on the Black Bears?
Click to expand...

In addition to the nature tips provided above, Maine was picked to finish 4th in the America East preseason poll, the highest projected finish for the Black Bears since 2010-2011. They finished in a 3-way tie for 4th last season, with a 7-9 record in conference and a 15-17 record overall.

The AEC had its Media Day on October 21, and all the men's and women's coaches previewed their teams with The Field of 68. Maine head coach Chris Markwood spoke with Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman in the video embedded below (start around the 45-minute mark). If you prefer, you can watch the isolated segment on the team website.


"There's going to be a great buzz. It's going to be an electric atmosphere with Cooper's first home game at Duke against his mother's alma mater, and just a place that, you know, he grew up coming to games at Maine, and they're from 30 minutes south of our campus, so they know our school really well. There's a unique relationship there, so a lot of people from our state will be down there, rooting for both sides, I'm sure. It's going to be a great opportunity for us, and like you said, just a great atmosphere. Anytime you go into that arena, you kind of know what it's going to be. I think there's a little added energy coming, with the whole Cooper situation."

Coach Markwood is now in his third season as head coach. He played hoops at Maine, as did his wife, the former Ashley Underwood, who is better known for finishing 4th as a contestant on TV's Survivor: Redemption Island. When he wasn't answering questions about the Local Recruit Who Got Away and his arguably more famous wife, he had a lot to say about this year's team. It's worth a watch if you'd like to know more about Duke's opponent.

Bart Torvik has a T-Page for the #223 Maine team, projecting the following 10-man rotation:

PlayerYrHtPRPG!Min%OrtgUsagePpgRPGAPG
Kellen TynesSr6-31.9821012514.83.83.5
Jaden ClaytonJr6-41.4801022111.83.73.5
AJ LopezSr6-51.4681012311.52.71.2
Christopher MantisSr6-71.4651071910.23.61.3
Ridvan TuticJr6-101.263112156.25.81.3
Quion BurnsSr6-61.253103238.23.70.9
Killian GribbenJr6-100.236108112.32.60.5
Logan CareySo6-3-0.32786172.42.40.4
Amare AllenFr6-7-0.21686171.20.40.1
Darius LopesFr6-3-0.11086170.40.60.5

Those stats are also predictions; they are different from the actual numbers that returning players put up, according to Basketball Reference.

Kellen Tynes was named AEC Defensive Player of the Year each of the past two seasons, leading the league with 3.3 steals in 2022-2023 and 2.3 steals in 2023-2024. He was a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, which recognizes the national Defensive Player of the Year. He's a high usage starter who averaged about 35 minutes per game.

Jaden Clayton is the other half of Maine's steady backcourt, playing about 33 mpg; he and Tynes are now in their third season together, and have started every game. Clayton is no slouch on defense either, finishing 2nd in the AEC in steals (1.8) as a freshman and 6th (1.6) as a sophomore.

Coach Markwood went with a 3-guard starting lineup last season, so AJ Lopez, who was fourth in scoring without being a starter, could be the third starting guard this year. Christopher Mantis is a transfer from Appalachian State, and was mostly a reserve there, but shot about 34 percent from outside. Ridvan Tutic defected north from fellow AEC school New Hampshire; he was an all-conference rookie team selection in 2022-2023, but tore his ACL and missed all of last season.
 
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A couple of notes about the Black Bears from some cursory analysis of the roster and stats.
  • Like Jon Scheyer, Maine's head coach, Chris Mackwood, is entering his 3rd season.
  • Last year's leading scorer, like Duke, was named Filip. Specifically, he was Peter Filipovity, a Hungarian F. He is no longer on the team and I assume has graduated.
  • The leading returners are guard/wings SR Kellen Tynes (6'3"), JR Jaden Clayton (6'4"), and AJ Lopez (6'5").
  • The transfer class includes 6'7" G/F Christopher Mantis, a rotation player by way of App State, and 6'10" C Ridvan Tutis, a rotation player by way of America East foe New Hampshire (rival transfer alert!).
  • Maine was a pretty solid defensive team last year for a low-major, ranking 102nd in defense according to KenPom. They excelled at forcing turnovers and generating steals. Starting Gs Tynes and Clayton were particularly good at swiping the ball.
  • Maine was fairly awful on the other end of the court. They were a low-volume (299th in 3PA/gm) and low-accuracy (29.7% as a team) shooting team from deep.
  • They were awful on the offensive boards though decent on the defensive glass. The tempo was super slow, so the statistical profile looks a bit like a pack-line or no-middle defensive scheme.
While Maine isn't that short, I get the sense that Duke's frontcourt is going to overwhelm the Black Bears with size. Duke should win this one relatively easily if they control the ball and make life difficult around the rim. Maine is a team that struggles to score. We saw what Duke can look like on defense on Sunday. Hopefully that same energy carries over to the season opener when the games count.
 
Duke04Dad said:
Rules for bear encounters:
1. Make noise to warn Bears you are around; that's on you, Crazies.
2. Never run from a bear; run on the Bears and rack up the fast break points
3. If you are with a group when you encounter Bears, gather together, make yourselves big, and intimidate them.
Click to expand...
 
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