VESTAL, N.Y. - After taking their turn on the conference bye weekend, Binghamton men's basketball is back in action on Wednesday when the Bearcats (5-11, 1-1 America East) travel to Baltimore to face reigning conference champion UMBC (9-9, 1-2 AE). The teams will tip at 7 p.m. at UMBC's new Event Center and the game will be shown on ESPN+. 


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
• This is the 18th America East season for BU, which is 106-170 (.384) all-time
• This is the middle of three straight road games vs. teams picked to finish 4-3-1
• BU is back after a bye weekend and six days off
• This will be BU's first visit to the UMBC Event Center, which opened last Feb.  

Last time out
• BU forced 25 Stony Brook turnovers and was tied five minutes into the second half before a 15-0 Sealwolves run created the margin in a 59-46 loss last Wednesday on Long Island. It was BU's lowest scoring output of the season
• Bearcats shot just 29 percent and endured a rare struggle (9-for-34 FG) from its starting backcourt tandem of Sam Sessoms and J.C. Show
• Senior forward Caleb Stewart had 12 points and seven rebounds
• Sessoms wound up with 12 points and eight boards
• Show eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark with eight points    

About UMBC
• Coming off 74-63 loss at UMass Lowell on Saturday
• Retrievers made just 3-of-16 3-pointers and Lowell made 21-of-24 FT
• Have dropped two straight after opening AE play with win over Maine
• Reigning America East champions coming off championship season that culminated with a historic 74-54 NCAA win over No. 1 overall seed Virginia
• Three starters and nine lettermen return from that 25-11 team (12-4 AE, 2nd)
• Graduated top two scorers Jairus Lyles (20.2 ppg.) and K.J. Maura (11.3 ppg.)
• Team was picked to finish third in the America East Preseason Poll

All-time series vs. UMBC
• Thanks to five straight wins, UMBC leads the all-time series 17-16
• Before that, BU had won four straight
• The Retrievers hold an 11-4 lead in games in Baltimore
• UMBC swept the series pair last year, winning by 12 at home and 10 at BU
• In the most recent meeting last Feb. 8 in Vestal, UMBC scored the game's first nine points and then closed the half with a 12-3 run to build a 41-28 halftime cushion. The Bearcats drew no closer than seven in the second half, despite putting 40 points on the board. J.C. Show tallied a team-high 23 points in 40 minutes of work.

Bearcats lead America East, rank sixth in nation in blocks
Despite opening the season without the top shot blocker in the America East (Thomas Bruce), BU has racked up 96 blocks through 17 games, second only to NCAA leader Duke (118). In blocks per game, BU led the country for a week and currently ranks 10th. Individually, senior forward Caleb Stewart swatted a career-high five vs. Columbia and has 36 blocks, which ranks third in the conference and 30th in the country. His 2.1 average is 37th. Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has 27 blocks (4th in AE). The Bearcats lead the America East in blocks, thanks to four players in the league's top-9.   

Sessoms seventh in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.4 ppg.) and ranks seventh in the entire nation in freshman scoring. He has scored in double figures in 15 of his first 17 collegiate games, including six 20+ games. Sessoms also ranks 45th in the country in made field goals.   

Show eclipses 1,000-point mark; Stewart next
Senior guard J.C. Show tallied eight points at Stony Brook on Jan. 9 to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau (1,001 pts.). Show, who played his first collegiate season at Bucknell, became the third Bearcat in the last three years and 21st overall to reach the milestone. Senior forward Caleb Stewart also continued his march toward 1K. After single seasons at South Carolina-Aiken and Saint Leo, Stewart is finishing his last two at Binghamton. He has 924 career points.  

Barnard big on glass despite being 6-foot-4 frame
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard leads the Bearcats with 6.6 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in the America East in rebounds and ranks 14th in the country among players 6-foot-4 or shorter.

Barnard shooting lofty 68 percent, ranks 20th in kenpom FG%
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has converted 62-of-91 shots (.681) and ranks 20th in kenpom's "effective FG percentage" category. Barnard's 68 percent would rank fifth in the nation but he falls short of the minimum FGs.

Sessoms named America East Rookie of Week for fifth time
Last week freshman guard Sam Sessoms earned his fifth America East Rookie of the Week honor in eight weeks (Nov. 12, Nov. 26, Dec. 10, Dec. 24, Jan. 7) after averaging 23.0 points on 57 percent shooting in games against Columbia and UNH. With five weekly honors, he ties former BU standout and AE Rookie of the Year Dylan Talley, who also had five during the 2009-10 season. It's just one honor behind the school-high of six, set by Jordan Reed during the 2012-13 season. Sessoms is on pace to tie the conference record of 10 weekly rookie honors, set by former Boston University and pro player Tunji Awojobi in 1993-94. He has received the weekly honor every OTHER week since the season began. If he continues that pattern, THIS week will be Sessoms' week to shine again. 

Two-time All-Defensive Team selection Bruce out for season with injury
Six-foot-nine senior center Thomas Bruce, a two-time America East All-Defensive Team selection, will red-shirt the season after a slow recovery from a preseason concussion. Bruce averaged 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds last winter. He ranked second in the conference in rebounding and led the league with 2.1 blocks per game in 2017-18.