VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball hits the road for the first of three straight when the Bearcats (0-1) travel to Fairfield, Conn. to face Northeast Conference member Sacred Heart (1-1) Sunday afternoon. The teams will tip at 1 p.m. at William H. Pitt Center and the game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row.   

About Binghamton
•    Bearcats opened the Levell Sanders coaching era with a 76-69 home loss to Cornell on Tuesday
•    BU struggled with outside shooting (6-for-35 3-pt) and turnovers (18) but kept within striking distance all game, trailing by just three with eight minutes to play
•    Newcomer point guard John McGriff scored team-high 16 points with four assists in just 21 foul-plagued minutes
•    Junior transfer Jacob Falko and junior forward Bryce Beamer added 13 points apiece with all of Beamer's production coming in 13 second-half minutes
•    BU played the opener without injured guards Dan Petcash (8.6 ppg., 5.1 rpg.) and Hakon Hjalmarsson (19 min./game in 2020-21)     

About Sacred Heart
•    Pioneers have split games to open the season, beating La Salle 88-81 in overtime on Tuesday before losing at Providence 92-64 on Thursday
•    SHU has more wins than any other team in the NEC over the last three years
•    Went 9-9 (9-7 NEC) and placed third in conference last winter
•    Lost in conference semifinals
•    Picked to finish sixth (of 10) in this year's NEC Preseason Poll
•    Return NEC leading scorer and second team all-conference guard Tyler Thomas (19.1 ppg.) plus senior guard and double-digit scorer Aaron Clarke (13.3 ppg.)
•    Have players from Lithuania (2), Italy and Haiti on roster plus brothers Tyler and Tanner Thomas (freshman forward)
 
All-time series vs. Sacred Heart
•    Bearcats lead all-time series 4-1
•    Programs first met as Division II members of the New England Collegiate Conference in 1998 and 1999 and split two games
•    Since both elevated to Division I, BU has won two of three, including last two
•    The home team has won four of the five games
•    In the last meeting two seasons ago (Nov. 16, 2019), BU rallied from 15 points down to win 76-72 in its home opener. George Tinsley contributed 21 points and 12 rebounds (first collegiate double-double) to pace the Bearcats
•    The last meeting in Fairfield was Dec. 17, 2017 - when BU held the host Pioneers scoreless for the final 9+ minutes in a 51-48 comeback win
•    Binghamton is 19-15 all-time vs. teams from the NEC (nine different opponents) 

McGriff shows burst of talent, quickness in debut
Sophomore point guard and St. John's transfer John McGriff made a quick impression on the Events Center crowd with an eye-catching debut Nov. 9 against Cornell. Despite being saddled with foul trouble that limited him to 21 minutes, McGriff led the team with 16 points and four assists. He scored eight of BU's first 12 points in the opening 4:39 and sent several Big Red defenders to their backsides with some deft dribbling.    

BU-Sacred Heart matchup reunites two sets of teammates
This matchup features the reunion of two players from each team. Binghamton senior center Yarden Willis (Roswell, Ga.) played AAU ball in Georgia with Pioneers senior guard Alex Watson (Marietta, Ga.) in 2015-16 for Atlanta Select. Meanwhile, Bearcats' sophomore guard John McGriff (Glenn Dale, Md.) played high school ball alongside Sacred Heart second-year guard Kenneth Womack (Upper Marlboro, Md.) at Bishop McNamara. In 2018-19, senior McGriff averaged 9.3 points and 4.1 assists playing alongside junior backcourt mate Womack (9.2 ppg.). The pair, who also date back to AAU teams as teenagers, led McNamara to a 22-14 record and berth in the state private school semifinals.    

Hutchison returns home to Connecticut
Freshman walk-on guard Brett Hutchison returns for the first of two games this season in his home state of Connecticut. Hutchison grew up in Orange, 20 miles north of Fairfield. He played prep ball for Canterbury School after completing his scholastic career at Notre Dame-West Haven. At Canterbury last winter, Hutchison averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists.