Binghamton Game Notes
Michigan Game Notes

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Binghamton men's basketball will face its toughest opponent of the season on Saturday when the Bearcats (2-4) meet undefeated No. 3 Michigan State (8-0) at the Breslin Center. The game will be televised on ESPNU at noon and will mark BU's first-ever appearance on ESPN's primary college channel. 

QUICK HITS
•    The Bearcats have won two of their last three after starting the season 0-3.
•    The team is making a two-game, four-day trip through the state of Michigan. After the game in East Lansing, BU will head east to Rochester to face Oakland Monday night on ESPN3.
•    At. No. 3, Michigan State is tied for the highest-ranked opponent BU has ever faced, with the other No. 3 being Michigan in the 2012-13 season. 
•    Binghamton is making its first-ever appearance on ESPNU. The program has appeared twice on ESPN2 — in the 2009 America East championship game and again the following November in a regular-season game at Pitt (CBE Classic). 
•    Binghamton's rotation features no seniors and just two juniors. The team's underclassmen account for 84% of the minutes and 83% of the scoring. Of the team's eight players averaging double-digit minutes, seven are underclassmen.
•    Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez is the reigning America East Conference co-Player of the week after posting back-to-back 20-plus point performances last week. Rodriguez (17.0 ppg., 7.2 rpg.) leads the America East in scoring and is fifth in rebounding. 

LAST TIME OUT
•    On Tuesday, BU used a 20-6 first-half run to pull away early from visiting Colgate, 69-50, snapping a four-game losing streak in the all-time series.
•    Binghamton put the defensive clamps on a Colgate team that was shooting 45 percent entering the game, holding the Raiders to just 29 percent.
•    Senior guard Marlon Beck led three players in double figures with 14 points.
•    BU got to the line, converting 25-of-36 free throw attempts.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
•    Made NCAA tournament 18 straight years — third-longest active streak
•    Thirteen Sweet Sixteen appearances during that span
•    2000 NCAA Champions
•    Seven Final Four appearances (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015)
•    HC Tom Izzo is eight-time National Coach of the Year
•    Six former Spartans are currently in the NBA
•    Nine of the team's top-11 scorers return from a 27-12 team that reached the NCAA Final Four last season
•    Senior guard Denzel Valentine is a preseason All-American and leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.5 ppg.) and assists (8.4 apg.) and is second in rebounding (8.4 rpg.)

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MICHIGAN STATE/BIG TEN/BCS SCHOOLS
•    This is the first-ever meeting between Binghamton and Michigan State.
•    Binghamton is 0-2 vs. the Big Ten, having lost twice to Michigan (2004 and 2012).
•    Binghamton does own two wins vs. BCS schools: a 79-74 win at then-ACC member Miami on Dec. 20, 2006, and a 66-56 win over BIG EAST member Rutgers on Dec. 6, 2008.

BINGHAMTON VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
•    Binghamton is 0-10 all-time against ranked teams and 0-5 vs. Top-5
•    The last time BU played a ranked opponent was Dec. 7, 2013 — a 93-65 loss to No. 4 Syracuse. 
•    Binghamton has played four games against Syracuse teams that were ranked. The schools are approximately 70 miles apart in Central New York.
•    The closest game BU has played vs. a ranked opponent was a 21-point loss to No. 19 Syracuse (75-54) on Dec. 13, 2003.