The Maine Black Bears (8-18) welcome the Stony Brook Seawolves (22-5), the America East’s best team, to Cross Insurance Center. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, Feb. 21.
The Black Bears got blown out by Albany 108-64 the last time they played. Issac Vann was the game’s high scorer, finishing with 26 points. The Seawolves are coming off an 82-70 loss to that same Albany squad in their last outing. Jameel Warney had a team-high 14 points.
The inefficient offense of Maine (302nd in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 98.1) will square off against the top-notch defense of Stony Brook (10th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 92.5). The Seawolves figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. Moreover, the 32nd-ranked offense of the Seawolves (offensive efficiency of 113.9) will try to exploit the 319th-ranked defense of the Black Bears (defensive efficiency of 110.5).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Seawolves won the first game 81-54. Carson Puriefoy was a top performer in the victory with 23 points, five rebounds, one steal, one block, and five three-pointers.
Notes
Maine lost its last game by a 44-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Stony Brook is 11-1. Maine is 0-6 in blowouts this season.
Ranked 32nd, the Stony Brook Seawolves have an offensive rating of 113.9. The Maine Black Bears rank 319th with a defensive rating of just 110.5.
Maine has an average field goal percentage of 43.8%. Stony Brook is an even 4-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Maine Black Bears and the Stony Brook Seawolves both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Maine is 198th and 192nd in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Stony Brook ranks 52nd and 32nd in these categories.
Stony Brook ranks 26th in assists, recording 16.5 per game. Maine performs worse at 114th with 14.3 assists per game.
Stony Brook, the 47th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.7 per game. Maine does worse, ranked 206th with 3.2.
Maine ranks 159th in offensive rebounds, while Stony Brook ranks 56th in defensive rebounds.
The Maine Black Bears make an average of 8.8 steals per game, ranked ninth in the nation. When the Stony Brook Seawolves allow 8 or more steals, they are undefeated (4-0).