Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team heads to Burlington to take on Vermont on Thursday, Jan. 15 to wrap up their three-game road trip.
 

Last Time Out -- The Black Bears picked up their third win of the season and first America East victory as they took down NJIT, 74-70.

TJ Biel led the way as he scored 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range.

Yanis Bamba scored a career-high 14 points while Logan Carey (11) and Ace Flagg (10) reached double-digits in scoring.

Lean on the Defense -- Since Chris Markwood was named the Head Coach of the Black Bears prior to the 2022-23 season, the defensive side of the ball has been a staple of the recent success that the Maine program has seen over the past few seasons. In 2024-25, Maine concluded the season with the 33rd ranked defense in all of the NCAA as they allowed only 66.1 points per game. On the season, the Black Bears are the top defense in the America East, allowing 69.4 points per game. That mark is the 80th-best mark in the NCAA.

Biel Breaks Out -- TJ Biel has been the hottest scorer not only on the Black Bears, but in all of the America East to open up conference play.

On 54/44/63 shooting splits, Biel is averaging 22.7 PPG in his first three America East games, leading the league and the next closest player by two points.

After opening conference play with 20 points against Bryant, he scored a career-high 27 against Bryant before scoring 21 against NJIT last time out. His 22.7 PPG are the most through three games by a Black Bear under Coach Markwood to open conference play.

Impactful Players -- Logan Carey and Ace Flagg have started off conference play putting up season-high averages across the board.

Carey is averaging 8.3 PPG, 5 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.7 SPG in a season-high 23.3 MPG while Flagg 6.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.7 SPG in 22.3 MPG over the past three games.

Series History -- This will be the 155th meeting all-time between these two historic rivals.

Vermont leads the all-time series 83-71 but the Black Bears snapped a 30-game losing streak last season as they eliminated Vermont in the America East semifinals, 57-42.

-UMaine-

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