DURHAM, N.H. - Binghamton men's basketball (9-9, 0-3 America East) plays the first of two straight on the road when the Bearcats face New Hampshire (10-6, 1-1 AE) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lundholm Gym. The game will be shown on ESN3.

The Bearcats are looking to snap a three-game losing streak and record their first league win this winter after a solid non-conference performance. 

QUICK HITS
•    This is Binghamton's 70th season of basketball, 16th at the Division I level
•    Bearcats lead the America East and rank 85th in the nation (out of 351) in assists (253). They also are 65th in made 3s (147) and 80th in 3-pt. FG% (.377). 
•    BU ranks second in the country (kenpom.com) in bench minutes (behind Michigan State). Eleven BU players are averaging 10+ minutes
•    Bearcats are averaging 71.3 ppg. on offense, nearly 11 points higher than their 2015-16 average (60.9)
•    Junior Willie Rodriguez (945 pts.) and senior Marlon Beck (939 pts.) continue their climb toward the 1,000-point plateau. Rodriguez ranks third all-time in scoring and Beck is fifth on BU's all-time scoring list (D-I). 
•    Freshman guard Fard Muhammad claimed his first America East Rookie of the Week honor this week after averaging 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games.
•    BU has been hit by injuries of late. Veteran guard Yosef Yacob (18 min./game) has been limited to six total minutes over the last four games and junior wing Justin McFadden (65 career games) has missed five of the last seven games. Leading scorer J.C. Show (13.3 ppg.) was lost for the season after 12 games with an injury. 

Last time out
•    BU surrendered a 20-6 run midway through the first half and Vermont shot 51% in a 67-50 Catamounts win
•    Sophomore center Thomas Bruce notched his second career double-double with game-highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds
•    Junior forward Willie Rodriguez and senior guard Marlon Beck had 12 points apiece    

About New Hampshire
•    The preseason No. 2 pick had a strong non-conference showing, beating 2016 NCAA teams Temple (57-52) and Holy Cross (56-53)
•    Wildcats boast pair of 1,000 point scorers in all-conference selections Jaleen Smith and Tanner Leissner
•    UNH went 20-13 last season (11-5 in AE) and won a game in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament
•    UNH won 19 games two seasons ago
•    UNH leads the league in defense, allowing just 63.6 points per game    

All-time series vs. New Hampshire
•    BU leads the all-time series 17-15
•    BU has a 9-7 record at Lundholm Gym
•    UNH has won five straight in the series and took all three games last year, including a 56-51 win in the America East quarterfinals
•    The last BU win was a 72-71 overtime win in Durham three years ago

Muhammad named America East Rookie of the Week
Freshman guard Fard Muhammad was selected for his first America East weekly honor after averaging 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games last week. Muhammad drained four three-pointers en route to 16 points at UMBC and then chipped in 10 points and five boards against Lowell. He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games, twice netting a season-high tying 16 points.   

BU puts nine wins on the board in non-conference play
This season, BU produced the most non-conference wins (9) in 33 years (since 1983-84), going 9-6. The team had a winning record in both November and December and rang up the most wins ever in November (5). Through its first 15 games, BU also didn't lose twice in a row, going 6-0 following defeats.  

Beck sets school record for career three-pointers
Senior guard Marlon Beck hit a three from the left foul line extended with 12:28 left in the first half against Lowell on Jan. 8 and that trey set the new mark for all-time made three-pointers (183). He entered the game tied with 1,000-point scorer Troy Hailey (2003-07) and made 3-of-8 to stand alone atop the list. Beck also ranks fourth in all-time scoring with 939 points.   

Beck and Rodriguez closing in on 1,000-point milestone    
Junior forward Willie Rodriguez (945 pts.) and senior guard Marlon Beck (939 pts.) and  are within striking range of the 1,000-point plateau. There have been 18 players to reach the 1,000-point club in BU's 69-year basketball history. Just two four-year Division I players (Troy Hailey and Mike Gordon) have reached the plateau. The last time two BU teammates reached the 1,000-point mark in the same season was Jeffrey St. Fort and Mike Wright during the 2001-02 season. St. Fort is also the last Binghamton player to reach the mark in three years.

Division I-II era 1,000-point scorers
Jeffrey St. Fort (1999-03)    1,335 pts.
Mike Wright (1998-02)    1,127
Troy Hailey (2003-07)    1,042
Mike Gordon (2004-08)    1,023
All-time scoring leader: Chris Jackey (1986-90), 1,721 pts.

Bearcats have made meteoric rise in offensive statistics
Binghamton currently ranks 80th in the nation (out of 351) in three-point percentage (.377), 65th in made threes (147) and 85th in assists (253). Last season, the Bearcats ranked 325th in assists and 315th in three-pointers. The team's current scoring output of 71.3 is nearly 11 points higher than the 2015-16 average (60.9). Three times this season BU has shot above 60 percent for an entire game and seven times the Bearcats have shot 60 percent or higher for a half, including a program record 73 percent (16-of-22) in the first half against Loyola on Dec. 10. In that game, BU made its first nine shots of the game — another school record. 

BU bench and depth paying dividends
Binghamton has 11 players averaging 10+ minutes in 2016-17 and their bench minutes rank second in the nation (kenpom). The bench has outscored opposing benches in 13 of its first 18 games and BU is 8-5 in those games. Seven times in the first 15 games BU's bench has contributed 30 or more points. Coach Dempsey has used 10 different starting lineups this season.

Rodriguez back in form
Junior forward Willie Rodriguez has rounded into form after an early-season hamstring injury limited him to nine minutes in the team's first 10 games. In his last five starts, he is averaging 17.0 points (on 59% FG) and 7.6 rebounds. He is also shooting 77 percent from the free throw line in that stretch. 

The "3" ball is best indicator of BU success
Through 17 games, BU is 9-2 when outshooting opponents from three-point range (3-pt FG%) and 0-7 when not.