Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team is set to begin the 2022-23 season with a road matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Monday, Nov. 7.
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HISTORY:
This will be the first meeting between these two programs.
ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears will be looking to bounce-back following a tough a 2022-23 season in which they concluded the season at a 6-23 record and 3-15 in the America East.
At the helm for his first season as Head Coach is UMaine Alumni, Chris Markwood. Markwood returns to Orono after stints at Boston College, Northeastern and Vermont. In his first season as the 21st Head Coach of the Black Bears, Maine will be looking to improve in areas in which they have struggled in over the past seasons, limiting turnovers and playing fundamental basketball.
Markwood brings with him an all-new coaching staff to the UMaine system, but all three of his assistants come with a combined 52 years of experience.
Maine will be looking for veteran leadership from Senior's LeChaun DuHart and Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish, along with fifth-year transfer Gedi Juozapaitis. DuHart (8.5 PPG) and Wright-MeLeish (7.4 PPG) ranked third and fourth a season ago for the Black Bears in scoring.
The Black Bears are likely to use a rotation of roughly 10 players to begin the season, consisting of: Byron Ireland, Kellen Tynes, Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish, Jaden Clayton, Ata Turgut, Fofo Adetogun, Kristians Feierbergs, LeChaun DuHart, Gedi Juozapaitis and Peter Filipovity.
ABOUT THE CORNHUSKERS:
Nebraska is coming into the season opener having split their two exhibiton contests, winning against Chadron State and losing at Colorado.
In their latest exhibiton at Colorado back on Oct. 30, Emmanuel Bandoumel led the way in
scoring for Nebraska, as he shot 5-11 (2-4 3PT) with a pair of free throws for 14 points in the contest. Juwan Gary (11 pts) and Sam Griesel (10 pts) turned in double-digit scoring performances for the Cornhuskers in the losing effort.
At the helm of the Cornhuskers is fourth-year Head Coach, Fred Hoiberg. He will be looking to build on the growing success of his program as they have increased their win-loss percentage every year under his leadership. Nebraska is coming off of a 10-22 season, 4-16 in the Big Ten Conference.
Tale of the Tape
| Maine (0-0, 0-0 AE) |
Category |
Nebraska (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) |
| 62.4 |
Points Per Game |
73.3 |
| 71.1 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
78.5 |
| -8.7 |
Scoring Margin |
-5.2 |
| 41.4 |
Field Goal Percentage |
44.4 |
| 30.8 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
32.0 |
| 71.0 |
Free Throw Percentage |
73.1 |
| 31.5 |
Rebounds Per Game |
33.1 |
| -4.2 |
Rebound Margin |
-7.0 |
| 13.3 |
Assists Per Game |
12.8 |
| 12.7 |
Turnovers Per Game |
12.6 |
| 12.9 |
Turnovers Forced Per Game |
13.4 |
| 7.2 |
Steals Per Game |
7.2 |
| 2.8 |
Blocks Per Game |
2.7 |
-UMaine-
