NCAAB Game Preview - Maine at Washington

Tue Nov 19, 2019 11:00 PM EST

Washington coach Mike Hopkins admitted his team got a "little bit outclassed" in suffering its first loss of the season Saturday, a 75-62 defeat to Tennessee in the James Naismith Hall of Fame Classic in Toronto.

That shouldn't be the case for the No. 25 Huskies (2-1) on Tuesday night when they host Maine (1-2).

The Black Bears, who opened their West Coast trip with a 71-62 loss at Portland on Saturday, have never appeared in the NCAA Tournament, haven't won more than 10 games since the 2012-13 season and last had a winning record in 2009-10.

The Huskies opened the season by rallying for a 67-64 victory against then-No. 16 Baylor at the Armed Forces Classic in Anchorage, Alaska, before returning home to defeat Mount St. Mary's 56-46.

Against the Volunteers, Washington committed 17 turnovers and shot 5 of 18 from 3-point range. The Huskies are averaging 17.3 turnovers per game, which ranked 314th out of 350 teams nationally after Sunday's games.

"I felt like we were in sand a little bit," Hopkins said. "They were moving the ball; we weren't as active and disruptive as we normally were. Our rim protection wasn't as good as it was against Baylor."

Nahziah Carter led the Huskies with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Washington features a trio of former McDonald's All-Americans in freshman forwards Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, along with sophomore guard Quade Green, a transfer from Kentucky.

Stewart totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds against Tennessee, McDaniels had 15 points and Green scored 10 with six assists.

"Every time we had a little bit of momentum where you could turn a switch, they made a big shot or made a big play," Hopkins said.

Second-year Maine coach Richard Barron, whose team went 5-27 last season, compared the rebuilding process to the work of a financial advisor.

"It's not something you can speed up," Barron told the Bangor Daily News. "You put a little away and you get a little better, you save a little bit and you benefit from compounding interest."

Maine has seven true freshmen and four junior college transfers on a roster that includes 12 foreign-born players, although guard Ja'Shonte Wright-McLeish is the only freshman who has started for the Black Bears.

"I like our culture off the court," Barron said. "If you're around jerks it's no fun. I don't care how good they are, I don't want to do that. I'd rather be happy those other 20 hours. But they're good students, they're serious students, they love Maine and they love each other.

"They're also green and they're naive, hopefully they're impressionable. That's my opportunity (to coach them)."

Senior forward Andrew Fleming has had a hand in half of Maine's field goals this season, making 23 baskets and assisting on 12 others. He scored 37 points, one shy of his career-high, in a season-opening victory against Merrimack to pass the 1,000-point plateau.

Senior guard Sergio El Darwich finished with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, five assists and four rebounds against Portland.

--Field Level Media