ThomasCostello
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Maine Black Bears’ unique tournament history and they can hurt Ohio State
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Staff Photo by Gabe Souza/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
When the Buckeyes welcome the Black Bears, it’s not your usual No. 2 vs. No. 15 matchup
Maine Black Bears graduate senior Anne Simon is the star of the America East Conference. The Luxembourg native enters Friday’s game against Ohio State women’s basketball off of a Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year-winning season in Maine. Simon led the conference averaging 18.8 points while averaging 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. All three are career highs for the graduate senior.
Should the University of Maine pull off the upset, Simon will be a big part. However, before there was Simon, in the 90s it was the Black Bears head coach Amy Vachon leading Maine to a March upset.
Vachon is a piece of Maine women’s basketball history.
After playing high school basketball at Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, winning two state titles, two Gatorade Maine Player of the Year awards, and 1996’s Ms. Basketball Maine, Vachon played four years at the University of Maine.
In those four seasons, Vachon led the Black Bears to the NCAA Tournament twice, with 1999 playing another part of Maine history. That’s when Vachon and her teammates defeated the No. 6 seeded Stanford Cardinals. The lone First Round victory for Maine in the program’s history.
For the 23/24 edition of the Black Bears, including Vachon, that history doesn’t matter.
“It was a long time ago. It was 25 years ago,” said Vachon with a laugh. “While it’s part of our history, it’s not going to help us win tomorrow. It’s important for our current players to have their own history, their own experience to create their own history.”
Maine is a team that’s doing just that. Simon, in her fifth season as a Black Bear, isn’t challenging Ohio State alone.
The Black Bears are a strong defensive team. In 33 games, 13 ended with opponents scoring less than 50 points. With that kind of defense, shooting 40.2% hasn’t been a concern for Maine, who averages 59.1 shot attempts per game.
Also, Maine has strengths that can exploit the Buckeyes. For one, passing the ball around in the half-court. The Black Bears take good shots through their movement. With screens confusing defenses, Maine finds open spots to take shots.
“They have good chemistry,” said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. “They share the ball well. And so I think we’ll have to really be on point against a really good team.”
A way that the Scarlet and Gray is likely to try and stop that half-court play is through its full-court press.
“The press that Ohio State playing is extraordinary,” said Simon. “I don’t think we’ve seen that. We’ve seen presses from other teams but not quite the press Ohio State has.”
Even if it's new to this side, Maine is a team that’s had to fight through its share of adversity. In 2020, it was a conference championship-winning Black Bears team missing a chance at the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19, wiping away the entire Atlantic East Conference Tournament.
Last season, it was the injury of star point guard Simon, missing over half the season. When Simon did return for the end-of-season run, Maine fell to the University of Albany. This season is the final chance for Simon to play in the NCAA Tournament, and the Black Bears did it in convincing fashion.
This season, Maine welcomed the Indiana Hoosiers to The Pit. Despite losing, it wasn’t the result many expected. The Black Bears lost 67-59, but led the Hoosiers 37-29, carrying a two-point lead into the fourth quarter before Indiana found its stride.
“It was a close game,” said Vachon. “I think it gives our team the experience that we can compete with a Big Ten team and teams that are nationally ranked.”
More recently, in the 2024 postseason, the Black Bears went down 10 points in the AEC Tournament Semifinal. Maine charged back to beat Binghamton Bears. Then followed it up with a 20-point win over the Vermont Catamounts in the tournament final.
Maine has showed that it is a team that isn’t easily shaken, which the Buckeyes will try to do on Friday.
All the expectations sit on the shoulders of the Buckeyes on Friday. If any doubt creeps into Ohio State’s game plan or execution, Maine’s shown it has the ability to exploit it.
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Staff Photo by Gabe Souza/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
When the Buckeyes welcome the Black Bears, it’s not your usual No. 2 vs. No. 15 matchup
Maine Black Bears graduate senior Anne Simon is the star of the America East Conference. The Luxembourg native enters Friday’s game against Ohio State women’s basketball off of a Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year-winning season in Maine. Simon led the conference averaging 18.8 points while averaging 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. All three are career highs for the graduate senior.
Should the University of Maine pull off the upset, Simon will be a big part. However, before there was Simon, in the 90s it was the Black Bears head coach Amy Vachon leading Maine to a March upset.
Vachon is a piece of Maine women’s basketball history.
After playing high school basketball at Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, winning two state titles, two Gatorade Maine Player of the Year awards, and 1996’s Ms. Basketball Maine, Vachon played four years at the University of Maine.
In those four seasons, Vachon led the Black Bears to the NCAA Tournament twice, with 1999 playing another part of Maine history. That’s when Vachon and her teammates defeated the No. 6 seeded Stanford Cardinals. The lone First Round victory for Maine in the program’s history.
For the 23/24 edition of the Black Bears, including Vachon, that history doesn’t matter.
“It was a long time ago. It was 25 years ago,” said Vachon with a laugh. “While it’s part of our history, it’s not going to help us win tomorrow. It’s important for our current players to have their own history, their own experience to create their own history.”
Maine is a team that’s doing just that. Simon, in her fifth season as a Black Bear, isn’t challenging Ohio State alone.
The Black Bears are a strong defensive team. In 33 games, 13 ended with opponents scoring less than 50 points. With that kind of defense, shooting 40.2% hasn’t been a concern for Maine, who averages 59.1 shot attempts per game.
Also, Maine has strengths that can exploit the Buckeyes. For one, passing the ball around in the half-court. The Black Bears take good shots through their movement. With screens confusing defenses, Maine finds open spots to take shots.
“They have good chemistry,” said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. “They share the ball well. And so I think we’ll have to really be on point against a really good team.”
A way that the Scarlet and Gray is likely to try and stop that half-court play is through its full-court press.
“The press that Ohio State playing is extraordinary,” said Simon. “I don’t think we’ve seen that. We’ve seen presses from other teams but not quite the press Ohio State has.”
Even if it's new to this side, Maine is a team that’s had to fight through its share of adversity. In 2020, it was a conference championship-winning Black Bears team missing a chance at the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19, wiping away the entire Atlantic East Conference Tournament.
Last season, it was the injury of star point guard Simon, missing over half the season. When Simon did return for the end-of-season run, Maine fell to the University of Albany. This season is the final chance for Simon to play in the NCAA Tournament, and the Black Bears did it in convincing fashion.
This season, Maine welcomed the Indiana Hoosiers to The Pit. Despite losing, it wasn’t the result many expected. The Black Bears lost 67-59, but led the Hoosiers 37-29, carrying a two-point lead into the fourth quarter before Indiana found its stride.
“It was a close game,” said Vachon. “I think it gives our team the experience that we can compete with a Big Ten team and teams that are nationally ranked.”
More recently, in the 2024 postseason, the Black Bears went down 10 points in the AEC Tournament Semifinal. Maine charged back to beat Binghamton Bears. Then followed it up with a 20-point win over the Vermont Catamounts in the tournament final.
Maine has showed that it is a team that isn’t easily shaken, which the Buckeyes will try to do on Friday.
All the expectations sit on the shoulders of the Buckeyes on Friday. If any doubt creeps into Ohio State’s game plan or execution, Maine’s shown it has the ability to exploit it.
Continue reading...