VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball tackles its second road game in four days and third straight away game to start the season when the Bearcats (0-2) face Ivy League member Columbia (0-2) Wednesday night in Manhattan. The teams tip at 7 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Bearcats have shown balanced scoring in their first two games, as five players are averaging 8.0 or more points. Senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. leads the team with a 11.5 average. Caldwell is shooting 50 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms is averaging 9.0 points and team-highs of 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Freshmen Brenton Mills and George Tinsley are contributing 8.0 points.  

Last time out
•    On Sunday BU ran up against No. 1 Michigan State and suffered a 100-47 loss
•    Sam Sessoms and Richard Caldwell, Jr. tallied 12 and 11 points respectively
•    The Bearcats trailed by 31 at half (54-23) and couldn't recover      

About Columbia
•    Return three starters and nine lettermen from a 10-18 squad that went 5-9 and finished 7th of 8 in the Ivy League last season
•    Start four upperclassmen and were picked sixth in the Ivy preseason poll
•    Lean on senior and second team All-Ivy guard Mike Smith (1,014 career points), who returns after missing final 16 games last season with knee injury
•    Opened season with 65-63 road loss at Lafayette and then dropped an identical 65-63 game to ACC member Wake Forest on Sunday. In that game, Columbia led 63-59 with 50 seconds remaining before the hosts rallied

All-time series vs. Columbia
•    The teams have only met three times with Columbia holding a 2-1 edge
•    They played in 2000-01 (when BU was D-II) and again in 2002-03, splitting lopsided wins. Columbia won 62-37 at Levien Gym in 2001 and BU posted a 70-42 win at West Gym two seasons later
•    Renewed series last season and Columbia posted a 65-63 win at Events Center
•    In that game, BU rallied from 19 points down in the second half but the Lions won the game on a cutting layup at the buzzer. Sam Sessoms (25 pts.) had tied the game at 63-63 with his seventh 3-pointer of the game with nine seconds left 

Bearcats fall to top-ranked Michigan State in first-ever game against a No. 1
Binghamton ran into a much bigger and more experienced Michigan State team Sunday in East Lansing and the top-ranked Spartans cruised to a 100-47 win at Breslin Center. MSU shot 57% in the first half to open up a 31-point cushion and wound up with five in double figures. Backcourt mates Sam Sessoms (12 pts.) and Richard Caldwell, Jr. (11) led a Bearcats squad that lost starting forward and leading scorer Pierre Sarr just four minutes into the game. Sarr sustained an injury and didn't return.   

Binghamton vs. Ivy League
The Bearcats are 6-17 all-time vs. the Ivy League. Binghamton has played Cornell, Brown, Penn, Dartmouth and Columbia. The team's wins have come against Cornell (4), Dartmouth (1) and Columbia (1). 

Up Next
After the Columbia game, BU returns home to prep for Saturday's home opener against Sacred Heart. The game will be the second-half of a basketball doubleheader with the BU women, who host Niagara at 2 p.m. In-between games, the athletics department will have a special tribute to Calistus Anyichie, who passed away in July. The ceremony will start immediately following the women's game and is expected to begin at approximately 3:45 p.m.