Scouting report: UW men face Maine in a first-ever matchup

No. 25 Washington vs. Maine

Time: 8 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Alaska Airlines Arena

TV: Pac-12 Networks (Aaron Goldsmith and Eldridge Recasner)

Radio: KOMO 1000 AM & 97.7 FM (Tony Castricone and Jason Hamilton)

Records: UW (2-1): Maine (1-2).

Projected starting lineups:

Maine

Player … Ht. … Yr. … PPG … RPG … APG/SPG/BPG

G Sergio El Darwich … 6-4 … Sr. … 17.0 … 3.7 … 5.0

G Ja’Shonte Wright Mcleish … 6-4 … Fr. … 9.5 … 9.0 … 3.0

F Andrew Fleming … 6-7 … Sr. … 20.3 … 6.3 … 4.0

F Nedelijko Prijovic … 6-8 … Jr. … 9.3 … 10.0 … 2.0 (steals)

F Vilgot Larsson … 6-8 … Jr. … 9.3 … 3.0 … 2.0

UW

Player … Ht … Yr … PPG … RPG … APG

G Quade Green … 6-0 … So. … 5.7 …. 3.3 … 6.0

G Nahziah Carter … 6-6 … Jr. … 18.3 … 7.3 … 2.0 (steals)

F Jaden McDaniels … 6-9 … Fr. … 12.7 …. 7.0 … 3.0

F Hameir Wright … 6-9 … Jr. … 5.0 …. 4.0 … 3.3

F Isaiah Stewart … 6-9 … Fr. … 15.0 … 7.3 … 2.0 (blocks)

Coach: Richard Barron has a 6-29 record is in his second year at Maine after compiling a 5-27 record overall record and 3-13 record in the America East last season. Prior to taking over in 2018, Barron spent one year at Maine as the special assistant to the Maine athletic director. Barron was the head coach of the Maine women’s basketball team from 2011 to 2017 while compiling a record of 232-228.

Preseason prediction: The Black Bears were picked eighth among the nine teams in the America East preseason coaches poll.

Series: This is the first meeting between Washington and Maine.

Previous game: Maine sparred with Portland for over 30 minutes before succumbing to a late rally and falling 71-62 on the road on Saturday. The Black Bears held the Pilots to 3-of-12 shooting on three-pointers, however Portland shot 54.9 percent from the floor.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

— Senior forward Andrew Fleming scored 37 points in a season-opening win over Merrimack College. He averaged 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds last season to nab All-America East second-team honors. Last season Fleming Scored a season high 38 points against UMass Lowell while shooting 90 percent (18-20) from the field. The 222-pound Norway, Maine native is a four-year starter and a former Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine as a high school senior.

— Senior guard Sergio El Darwich is a second-year starter who averaged 10.4 points and 4.2 rebounds last season. He finished wit 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, five assists and four rebounds last Saturday at Portland. El Darwhich began his collegiate career at South Dakota State (2016-17) before transferring to Western Texas College (2017-18).

OVERVIEW:

— Following the season-opening win, Maine suffered a humbling 67-46 defeat at Harvard that was reminiscent of its recent nonconference games.

— Last year, the Black Bears lost 75-61 at Utah.

— Barron is taking a long-view approach to revamp a moribund Maine team that has never appeared in the NCAA tournament, hasn’t won more than 10 games in a season since 2012-13 and had its last winning season in 2009-10.

— Maine has seven freshmen and four transfers on a roster that includes 11 foreign-born players. However, guard Ja’Shonte Wright Mcleish is the only freshman who starts and the Black Bears are asking a lot out of Fleming and El Darwhich.