VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball looks to keep its home court advantage in full swing when the Bearcats (7-9, 1-2 America East) face reigning conference champion Vermont (11-6, 1-1 AE) Wednesday night. The teams will tip at 7 p.m. at the Events Center in a game shown on ESPN+.

Binghamton is 6-2 at home this season and one week ago BU knocked off 2019 America East runnerup UMBC to notch the team's first league win of the season. To keep the home court surge going, the Bearcats will have to upend a Catamounts program that has beaten BU in 33 of 41 all-time meetings, including nine straight.   

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 74th season of basketball, 19th at the Division I level
• BU was picked to finish T-6th (of 9) in the America East Preseason Poll
• The Bearcats are 111-181 (.380) in 18 years of America East play with one regular season and one tournament title, each won in 2009
• BU returns just one starter and two scholarship players from 10-23 team
• This is the fourth home game in the last five for the Bearcats (1-2 in those), who will follow by playing four of the next five on road

Last time out
• BU gave up a 25-8 run before halftime and fell at UMass Lowell 85-66 Saturday
• Bearcats brought deficit back to six, 46-40, early in second half but River Hawks answered with 9-0 run and BU didn't get inside 12 points the rest of the way
• BU put four in double figures but couldn't slow top-scoring team in AE (75 ppg.)
• Brenton Mills, Pierre Sarr and Richard Caldwell, Jr. each tallied 14 points          

About Vermont
• Elite program in America East with 11 consecutive seasons of 20 or more wins and league win percentage of 84% over the last eight years (107-21)
• Defending regular season and tournament champions
• Boast reigning Player of Year and HM All-American Anthony Lamb (17.1 ppg.)
• Unanimous pick to win conference again this season
• Dropped AE opener to visiting Stony Brook (81-77) but rebounded with 74-50 drubbing of UMBC Saturday in Baltimore in rematch of 2019 title game
• Lead AE in defense, limiting opponents to 59.7 points per game (17th in nation)  

All-time series vs. Vermont
• Vermont has owned the series and its 33-8 margin is the most lopsided among any of BU's America East opponents
• The Catamounts have won nine straight in the series, including three last season (regular season sweep plus America East semifinal 84-51 win at Patrick Gym)
• UVM is 15-6 in Vestal but the Bearcats have won two of the last eight and played three others to single digits, including a tight 69-63 loss at the Events Center last Feb. 23
• BU's last win in the series was a 57-55 home win on Feb. 18, 2015
• The last time the teams met last March 12 in Burlington, eventual champ Vermont closed the first half with a staggering 30-5 run to put the semifinal away early

Bearcats are eighth youngest team in nation
Binghamton is ranked No. 346 in experience (eighth youngest team in nation) by KenPom. The team's most common starting lineup shows three freshmen (Mills, Tinsley, Hjalmarsson), a sophomore (Sessoms) and a senior (Sarr).

Bearcats have huge scoring disparity at home vs. on road
As conference play heats up, BU will try to balance out its numbers between home and away games. Currently, the Bearcats are scoring 20+ more points at the Events Center (where they are 6-2) than on the road. The team is averaging 81.4 points at home (+10 in scoring margin) but that average drops to 61.3 on the road, where they are minus 20 and just 1-7.

Mills garners second Rookie of the Week honor
Freshman guard Brenton Mills was named America East Rookie of the Week for Jan. 13. He averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Bearcats. Mills hit for a game-high 22 points to pace BU in a home win over UMBC, scoring 16 of those points in the first half to stake Bearcats to a seven-point lead. He added 14 points at UMass Lowell, giving him four straight games in double figures and 10 of 16 collegiate games reaching double-digit points. He is averaging 19.0 ppg. over his last four games and ranks first among America East freshmen in scoring (12.8 ppg.).

Sessoms remains on Lou Henson Award Watch List
The 2019-20 Lou Henson Award mid-season Watch List came out on Jan. 9 and sophomore gaurd Sam Sessoms kept his place on the list, which honors the nation's top Division I mid-major player. Sessoms was on the preseason list and made the first-half cut to what is now 50 players from 22 different eligible conferences. Sessoms was one of just two players from the America East (Vermont senior Anthony Lamb) and one of just nine underclassmen on the list. The Player of the Year Award will be announced in April.  

Tinsley ranks third in nation in minutes played  
Freshman forward George Tinsley led the nation in minutes for the first two months of the season and currently ranks third (38:18). Tinsley has played a full game seven times this season, including all 45 minutes in the overtime win over Boston University on Dec. 7.  

Trio of Tinsley, Mills and Sessoms loading up on minutes  
Binghamton's starting trio of freshmen George Tinsley (38.3 minutes/game) and Brenton Mills (34.5) and sophomore Sam Sessoms (34.4) are 1-4-5 in the America East in minutes played.

Bearcats riding 3-point scoring  
BU ranks 26th in the country in 3-pointers per game (9.6). That average leads the America East. The Bearcats also rank 38th in the country in made threes (154) and are shooting 33% from beyond the arc. The Bearcats rank No. 9 in the country in 3-point reliance (Ken Pom), with 41% of their offense coming via the 3-ball.

Second-half Sam
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms has made a habit out of following steady first halves with much-stronger second haves. Sessoms is scoring 64% of his points in the second half and has scored 13 or more second-half points seven times this season, including 27 pts. in the second half at NJIT and 20 in the second half vs. Sacred Heart. He also had 28 in the second half and overtime against Boston University.  

Young BU lineup is delivering  
Binghamton is receiving 76% of its offense from underclassmen and its top three scorers are all first or second-year guys.

Bearcats boast four different players with double-doubles, five players with 20 or more points in a game  
Binghamton has four different players produce a double-double this season. Freshman forward George Tinsley has four, senior forward Pierre Sarr has three, sophomore guard Sam Sessoms has two and senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. has one. That's the most of any BU team in school history and also leads the America East this season. With freshman Dan Petcash's 25-point showing against Hartwick, BU now has five different players who have scored 20 or more points in a game this season (Sessoms 5x, Mills 3x, Tinsley 2x, Sarr 2x, Petcash).  

Bearacts among the America East, NCAA stat leaders  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms second in the America East in assists (4.3) and is third in both scoring (18.2) and free throw percentage (.833). Sessoms also is fourth in steals (1.6/game) and seventh in 3-point percentage (.312). Freshman forward George Tinsley ranks third in the nation in minutes (38:18/game). Tinsley is second in the America East in rebounding (8.6) and fourth in blocks (1.3/game). Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fourth in the AE in rebounding (8.1). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is fifth in the AE in both 3-point percentage (.371) and 3-pointers per game (2.3). Mills also is the top-scoring freshman in the conference (12.8 ppg.).      

Sessoms already nearing 900 career points  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms is averaging 18.2 points this season and has quickly moved his career total to 879 points halfway through his second collegiate season. He currently ranks eighth in Div. I era scoring at Binghamton and his career average (17.9 ppg.) is on pace to reach 1K in early February (midway through conference play) and become the program's all-time scoring leader (1,705 pts.) by the end of his junior season. Sessoms is also on pace to surpass the 2,000-point mark by the time he graduates, which would make him a 2K scorer in both high school and college.