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The state of Maine is having its moment in March Madness.
Between the state’s flagship university advancing to the America East Tournament championship game, Maine native Cooper Flagg being on track to become National Player of the Year after a standout freshman season at Duke, and his twin brother, Ace Flagg, set to enroll at Maine for the 2025-26 season — the Flagg twins were originally in the same high school recruiting class before Cooper reclassified up one year to enroll in college early — this is turning into the golden era in basketball for The Pine Tree State.
Maine defeated conference No. 2 seed Vermont 57-42 on the road Tuesday to advance to Saturday’s conference title game against Bryant. The Black Bears broke their playoff losing streak — which spanned more than two decades — with a win over UMass Lowell in the American East quarterfinals last weekend.
The Black Bears are one of 35 Division l teams currently eligible for the NCAA Tournament that have never appeared in the Big Dance and will have to win another road game to get over the hump. Maine lost both regular-season meetings against Bryant.
Maine’s journey to a potential NCAA Tournament berth started four months ago against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Against the school he grew up less than an hour from, Flagg finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in his collegiate debut. The Flagg twins grew up in Newport, Maine, and attended Nokomis Regional High School together before transferring to Montverde Academy in Orlando, Florida.
Flagg’s rise has become a big storyline for residents living in the Northeast. The list of players drafted from Maine isn’t extensive: former Vanderbilt standout Jeff Turner is the highest draft pick (17th overall in the 1984 NBA Draft) from the state.
While Flagg made headlines at Duke as one of the best one-and-done prospects of the modern era, his twin brother was completing his senior season. Ace scored 11 points in a win for Greensboro Day School in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A state title game — the same day his brother’s team recorded a blowout win over Illinois at Madison Square Garden.
“Just proud of him,” Cooper Flagg said last month on his brother winning another state title. “He got three state championships in three different states through his high school career, so that’s pretty cool.”
Duke begins ACC Tournament play Thursday against the winner of Georgia Tech and Virginia. It’s possible that the Blue Devils and Black Bears play for their respective conference titles on the same day. A win by both would be a monumental moment in the state’s modest college basketball history.
