The University of Maine men's basketball team is getting some love from some well-respected national publications.

Sporting News has ranked the Black Bears No. 1 in America East in its recently-released college basketball preview. Maine has four starters back, including Auburn's Troy Barnies and Gardiner's Sean McNally, from last year's 19-11 squad that placed third in the conference. The magazine notes that the addition of junior college transfer Raheem Singleton, a 6-0 guard from Boston, should put Maine over the top.

Maine is followed by Stony Brook, BU, Vermont and UNH in the Sporting News rankings.

Lindy's ranks Stony Brook atop the conference in its prediction, with Maine slated to come in second followed by BU, UNH and Vertmont. Stony Brook is also the pick by Athlon, with Maine ranked fourth behind BU and UNH.

The Black Bears recently returned from a trip to Canada where they went 5-0 against various Canadian college teams. Barnies, who is a senior this year, was the star of a 79-64 win over University of Quebec, tallying 15 points and seven rebounds.

Singleton dominated an 87-80 victory over Latval University, pouring in 26 points while going 6-for-6 on 3-pointers.