VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball opens its 2022-23 season Monday when Cazenovia College makes the short trip down I-81 for a 7:30 p.m. tip at the Events Center. The game is the second-half of an opening-night doubleheader with the BU women hosting Bloomsburg at 5:30 p.m. to begin their season.

Head coach Levell Sanders begins his second year at the helm and his Bearcats were picked fourth in the America East Preseason Poll - the program's highest predicted finish in six years and tied for the highest in the program's 22-year Division I history.

Returning first team all-conference guard Jacob Falko leads a talented core group of returnees but the lineup also features several transfers who figure to start or see significant time. Junior point guard John McGriff returns to run the offense, which has been bolstered by 6-foot-10 low post player Tariq Balogun. Graduate student and reigning All-Defensive Team selection Christian Hinckson is back and will be joined by versatile newcomers Miles Gibson and Armon Harried. 

Cazenovia went 8-18 last season and competes in the Division III North Atlantic Conference. The team averaged nearly 73 points last winter and shot 44 percent. This year's roster features 18 players from New York State, including six from the Southern Tier. 

After Monday's opener, which is an exhibition game for Cazenovia, BU will play at Marist on Saturday and then face Big Ten power Maryland on Nov. 15 in College Park, Md.