VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins a daunting three-game road stretch with a matchup at ACC member Notre Dame Tuesday night. The Bearcats (3-8) and Fighting Irish (7-3) tip at 7 p.m. at the Joyce Center. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra and Watch ESPN app.

QUICK HITS
•    This is Binghamton's 73rd season of basketball, 18th at the Division I level
•    BU was picked to finish 6th (of 9) in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll
•    Bearcats have four games left before conference play begins (Jan. 5)
•    This is the first of three straight road games to end the 2018 calendar year
•    BU is 1-6 all-time vs. ACC with the one win coming in a 79-74 road victory over Miami during the 2006-07 season

Last time out
•    The Bearcats dug themselves itself a nine-point halftime hole against visiting Youngstown State on Saturday and lost 58-48
•    Shot just 33 percent (5-of-22 3-pt.) and were minus 13 on the glass
•    Senior forward Caleb Stewart led BU with 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in a career-high 36 minutes
•    Freshman guard Sam Sessoms was limited to nine points - the first time in 11 collegiate games he didn't reach double figures 

About Notre Dame
•    ACC member coming off 88-80 win over Purdue on Saturday
•    Shot 52 percent and hit 11 3-pointers in the win
•    Return two starters and seven lettermen from 21-15 team that reached ACC quarterfinals and NIT second round
•    Opened season with seven-game homestand and only blemish was a 63-60 upset loss to Radford
•    Picked to finish ninth of 15 in the rugged ACC
    
All-time series vs. Notre Dame
•    Fighting Irish lead 1-0 after an 82-39 win on Nov. 11, 2014
•    In that 2014-15 season-opening game, host Notre Dame shot 55 percent and held BU to 26 percent shooting in the lopsided win
•    The Bearcats trailed by 18 points at the half and UND put 41 points on the board in each half in front of 7,360 fans

Bearcats rank second in nation in blocks
Despite opening the season without the top shot blocker in the America East (Thomas Bruce), BU has racked up 76 blocks through 11 games (6.9), led the country for a week and currently ranks second, behind only Duke (7.5). Individually, senior forward Caleb Stewart has 23 blocks and senior forward Chancellor Barnard has 21 blocks. Barnard ranks 94th in the nation in block percentage (kenpom) and is one of just two players under 6-foot-5 in the top-100.  

Sessoms ranks 10th in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (17.6 ppg.) and ranks 10th in the entire nation in freshman scoring. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his first 11 collegiate games.   

Barnard shooting lofty 77 percent, ranks 5th in kenpom FG%
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has converted 39-of-51 shots (.765) and ranks fifth in kenpom's "effective FG percentage" category. Barnard's 77 percent would rank third in the nation but he falls short of the minimum made FGs.

Welcome back to South Bend Patrick Norris
Current Bearcats program assistant and Binghamton native Patrick Norris returns to Notre Dame, where he served as team manager from 2013-16 before graduating in 2017. Norris was on the Fighting Irish sidelines when BU last played at the Joyce Center in 2014. That year, Notre Dame won the ACC title and reached the NCAA Elite 8. Norris' uncle, Jim Norris, is in the BU Athletics Hall of Fame after a lengthy tenure as basketball coach and then AD. 

Sessoms named America East Rookie of Week for third time
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms earned his third America East Rookie of the Week honor in six weeks (Nov. 12, Nov. 26, Dec. 10) after averaging 21.0 points on 50 percent shooting in games against Morgan State and Loyola. 

Bearcats will play LIU in Barclays Center on Dec. 21
Binghamton has an upcoming three-pack of games in prominent venues. In between games at Notre Dame (Dec. 18) and No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 30), BU will now play its road game against LIU on Dec. 21 at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets. Barclays opened in 2012 and holds 19,000 for basketball.  

Pair of Bearcats moving toward 1,000-point mark
Seniors J.C. Show and Caleb Stewart are marching toward the 1K mark for their scoring careers. Show, who played his first collegiate season at Bucknell, currenty sits at 946 points. Stewart played single seasons at South Carolina-Aiken and Saint Leo before finishing his last two seasons at Binghamton. He has 860 career points.