Maine @ Virginia preview

Sixth-ranked Virginia hosts Maine on Wednesday after leaning on its stellar defense to survive Arizona State’s upset bid and remain undefeated on Sunday. The defending national champions gave up 19 unanswered points and trailed by nine in the second half before rallying for a 48-45 victory and, while freshman guard Casey Morsell scored 19 points, it was the nation’s stingiest defense that carried the Cavaliers to the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament title.

“We’ll keep trying to become more efficient offensively, but we can never give ground defensively,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett told reporters after Sunday’s victory, in which the Cavaliers shot just 36.7 percent from the field. Morsell had struggled with his shot in his first five collegiate games, going 5-for-36 from the field and scoring just 12 points, but hit 7-of-12 shots Sunday and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:02 to play. The Cavaliers have not allowed more than 55 points so far this season and have limited opponents to fewer than 50 points five times. The Black Bears defeated Division III Maine Maritime 90-50 on Sunday, five days after falling 72-53 at No. 22 Washington.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT MAINE (2-3): Senior forward Andrew Fleming leads three players averaging double figures in scoring at 20.4 points (second in the America East Conference), shooting 58 percent from the field. Junior forward Nedeljko Prijovic is shooting 51.2 percent from the field while averaging 11.2 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds. Both Fleming and Prijovic scored 18 points in the loss to Washington, as the Black Bears committed 20 turnovers and trailed by 18 points at halftime.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (6-0): Senior forward Mamadi Diakite scored 15 points Sunday, leads the Cavaliers in scoring at 13.7 per game and is 7-for-14 from 3-point range. Senior guard Braxton Key, who led Virginia in rebounding the past two seasons, has recorded at least eight rebounds in four games this season and averages 8.3 boards along with 10.3 points. The Cavaliers lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (30.2 percent) and fewest fouls per game (10.8), and held Arizona State scoreless for 7:04 of the second half Sunday.

TIP-INS

1. Virginia sophomore G Kihei Clark is averaging 9.7 points, five rebounds and a team-leading five assists.

2. The Cavaliers have held all six opponents to less than 41 percent shooting from the field.

3. Virginia has won 20 consecutive home non-conference games.

PREDICTION: Virginia 73, Maine 48