MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont (10-5, 0-0) opens America East play with Maine (4-11, 0-0) and Hartford (5-10, 0-0) in an extended weekend series. The Catamounts make the trip to Maine on Thursday (Jan. 5) at 7 p.m. and host Hartford on Sunday (Jan. 8) at 4 p.m. Single game tickets are available at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Patrick Gym Box Office on gameday. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. 

TELEVISION COVERAGE
Fans can watch Thursday night's game at Maine on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider. Free live video for Sunday's game versus Hartford will be available in HD at AmericaEast.TV.
 
RELATED LINKS
Maine: Video | Live Stats | Audio 
Hartford: Video | Live Stats | Audio 
Game Notes: Vermont (.pdf) | Hartford (.pdf)
 
SETTING THE SCENE
With the hottest 15-game start under head coach John Becker, the 2016 squad became only the fourth UVM team to post a 10 wins during non-conference play since 1980-81 and first since the 2009-10 season. Vermont looks to continue its dominance in America East action. The Cats have won four straight conference openers and have tallied 177 league victories since the 2002-03 season – 54 more than any other program. The green and gold have one of the best inside-out tandems in the conference. Among the league's stats leaders, Trae Bell-Haynes has dished out the third-most assists (57) and is tied for seventh with a 50.0% (58-for-116) field goal percentage. Anthony Lamb is the top scoring freshman and best overall shot blocker in the conference. Lamb is averaging 11.3 points per game and has swatted away 16 shots. Drew Urquhart has joined Lamb in the block with 11 blocks which lands him in a fifth-place tie.  

STEIDL'S QUEST FOR 1,000
After the first 15 games of the season, Kurt Steidl is averaging 8.1 points per contest and only needs seven more points to eclipse the 1,000-career point total. He is on pace to become the 35th member of the 1,000-point club on Thursday at Maine. Steidl is nine three-point field goals shy of becoming the sixth Catamount to record 200+ career three-pointers. 

TOPS IN THE REGION
With 10 wins under their belt, the Catamounts join Providence and UMass as the Division I teams in New England to reach the win column at least 10 times.
 
CLOSING IN ON 1,200 WINS
In its 117th season, Vermont has 1,194 wins in program history and only needs seven more victories to reach the 1,200-win plateau. The Catamounts would become the second America East program behind only Albany to post 1,200 program wins.

LAST TIME OUT | Harvard Highlights
The Catamounts started the 2017 calendar year off with an 82-71 win over Harvard on Monday night in the non-conference finale. Redshirt senior Darren Payen scored a career-high 21 points to lead three Catamounts in double figures. Payen reached his new career-high on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and made 7-of-8 trips to the line. Steidl followed with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including nine points from beyond the arc. Lamb added 14 points and four rebounds while Dre Wills had a solid outing for the Cats with nine points.
 
SCOUTING MAINE
Maine is the best offensive rebounding team in America East by averaging 12.1 offensive boards per game. The Black Bears rank third in total offensive rebounds (554), sit fifth in rebounding margin (-0.5), and own the fourth-best turnover margin (-0.27). Wes Myers is the 12th-best scorer in the conference at 13.8 points per game and has averaged 16.2 points per game in the last six games, including a 31-point outing in a victorious effort at Dartmouth. Andrew Fleming, a three-time America East Rookie of the Week, is the second-highest scorer in the league (10.6 ppg) behind Lamb. Fleming has posted a double-double in three out of the last four games.  
 
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks are the best shot-blocking team and second-best long distance shooting squad in America East. Hartford has 52 total blocks, five more than Vermont in second place, and average 3.5 swats per game. The Hawks are sinking 38.8% of their attempts from beyond the arc and average 9.2 three-pointers per game. Jalen Ross is the second-best scorer in the conference by dropping 21.2 points per game. Ross is coming off a 31-point performance in a tough loss to Yale on Monday, his third 30-point outing of the season. Jason Dunne is the team's second leading scorer at 14.5 points per game which is the fourth-best among the league's underclassmen.

SERIES HISTORY
Maine leads the all-time series 70-64 against Vermont, which dates back to the 1949-50 season. Since the 2006-07 season, the Cats have won 17 of the last 20 meetings against the Black Bears, including eight straight. Becker is 9-1 in his career versus Maine which includes a win in the America East Quarterfinals during the 2012 run to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Vermont has controlled the head-to-head series with Hartford. The green and gold own a 45-23 record against the Hawks and have only lost five times since the new millennium began. The Catamounts have won six in a row and 15 of the last 16 games overall with a 34-5 mark since 1998-99. Becker is a combined 19-2 against Maine and Hartford during his tenure in Catamount Country.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont heads to the Empire State on Wednesday (Jan. 11) to play Binghamton. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.

Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season.