VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins back-to-back key home games when the third-place Bearcats (10-11, 7-5 America East) host fifth-place New Hampshire (10-10, 5-6 AE) Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. With six regular season games remaining, the standings are tightly packed as teams jockey for top-4 position and the accompanying quarterfinal host role.

It's the first of two meetings between BU and UNH, with the second coming in two weeks in Durham. 

Binghamton will look to shake off Wednesday's 31-point loss at undefeated, league-leading Vermont. The Bearcats are led by junior guard Jacob Falko, who leads the entire America East in both scoring (18.1 ppg.) and assists (4.3 apg.). Falko has been dominant in conference play with 51 percent shooting and 83 percent accuracy from the free throw line. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 76th season of basketball, 21st in the America East
• The 2021-22 season marks the NCAA coaching debut of Levell Sanders, who was elevated to the head coach position in March after two seasons as an assistant coach. Sanders previously coached five years in the Czech Republic after a 17-year pro career overseas
• There are six games remaining in the regular season (3 home, 3 away)
• For playoff seeding, there are six teams separated by just two losses

About Binghamton
• Coming off most lopsided loss of season, 82-51 at Vermont on Wednesday
• Unbeaten, league-leading Catamounts shot 56%, put five in double figures and pulled away early, extending nation's second-longest win streak (13 straight)
• Vermont was first opponent to shoot 50% or higher against Bearcats' defense
• Jacob Falko was lone BU player in double figures with game-high 14 points
• Bearcats dug a hole by missing 16 of first 20 shots, including numerous in paint
• Played game without starting point guard John McGriff (injured)
• Were minus 20 on the glass and hit just 5-of-23 from 3-point range

About New Hampshire
• Since Dec. 11 the Wildcats have alternated wins and losses over their last 13 games; haven't won or lost two in a row in the last two months
• UNH has split the season series with Hartford, Stony Brook and Maine
• Three scoring in double-digits, ledy by first team all-conference forward Jayden Martinez (14.8 ppg.)
• Have played the last two games without all-conference big man Nick Guadarrama (13.1 ppg.)
• Rank second in AE in rebound margin (+3.9) and third in 3-point shooting (37%, 8.1 per game)
• UNH is 8-2 at home but 2-8 on the road (1-4 in AE road games)
• Picked to finish third in preseason poll after finishing third last season

All-time series vs. New Hampshire
• Near-even head to head with UNH holding 22-20 edge
• Teams have split the last six after UNH ran off nine straight between 2015-18
• BU won seven straight between 2007-10, including a win in the 2009 AE semifinals played at Albany
• In games played in Vestal, UNH leads 12-9
• Last Jan. 30-31 at Events Center, teams split weekend series with BU winning 65-44 and UNH gaining the split the next day with a 71-65 OT win
   
Powerful Vermont slows Bearcats' surge
BU joined the rest of the conference with Wednesday's loss to league-leading Vermont. The Catamounts are 11-0 in conference play and are 80-9 against America East teams over the last six years. No conference opponent has played them to within single digits this season. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, they have to face Vermont one more time (Feb. 23), but that matchup will be at the Events Center, where BU has had more relative success (6-18 all-time in Vestal as opposed to 2-19 at UVM).  

Logjam in middle of standings
With six games remaining in the regular season, there is congestion in the middle of the standings, with five teams separated by just two games in the loss column. Unbeaten Vermont has distanced itself from the pack, but UMBC is just a half-game ahead of BU for second place. The third-place Bearcats are one game up on Albany and 1.5 ahead of New Hampshire. The teams are all eying a top-4 finish that guarantees at least one home playoff game.  

70 remains magic number
When BU scores 70 or more points (in regulation), they are 7-1 this season. When opponents reach 70, BU is 1-8.

Bearcats notch seventh AE win, now eye loftier goals
The win over Maine last Saturday completed a season sweep of the Black Bears (first time in 13 years) and gives BU its seventh conference win — the most the program has had in 12 seasons — still with six games remaining to add to that total. The 2009-10 team went 8-8, following the championship team's 13-3 mark the year before. The Bearcats are setting their sights on a top-4 conference finish, which would deliver a home playoff game to the Events Center for the first time in 13 years (since BU won the AE title on March 14, 2009).

Ten starting lineups
With injuries, COVID and balanced production, BU has utilized ten different starting lineups through its first 21 games. That figure ranks ninth-most across the country.

Falko named America East Player of Week  
Junior guard Jacob Falko exploded for a season-high 29 points at Stony Brook (11-for-20 FG) and earned America East Player of the Week honors this week. The Gardner-Webb (N.C.) transfer averaged 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a 2-0 week that vaulted the Bearcats into second place. He ranks among the league's top-3 in scoring (3rd, 18.5), assists (first, 4.5) and field goal percentage (3rd, 52%) — the only player to cover those stat categories. He has the most 20+ point performances (6) in the conference. Falko also ranks fourth in free throw percentage (82%).  

Bearcats are cranking out 20-point performances
Binghamton has had 11 instances of a 20+ point performance through its first 21 games. A league-best five different players have reached the plateau, led by junior guard Jacob Falko, who has six, most in the AE. Junior guard Tyler Bertram has done it twice and the others to reach 20 or more points in a game are Kellen Amos, Christian Hinckson and Dan Petcash.

Tinsley scores season-high 17 points vs. Maine, eclipses 400-point mark in career
Junior forward George Tinsley continued his resurgence with 24 strong minutes off the bench against Maine on Saturday. Tinsley hit 6-of-7 shots (3-of-3 3-pt.) for a season-high 17 points. He added five rebounds to reach the 400-board mark for his career, which ranks eighth all-time at Binghamton. He is 17 points away from reaching the 600-point plateau (583). Only six previous Bearcats have achieved the 600-point, 400-rebound milestones in BU's 21 years of Division I (Willie Rodriguez, Jordan Reed, Nick Billings, Thomas Bruce, Sebastian Hermenier, Bobby Ahearn).  

Hinckson filling up stat sheet
Junior forward Christian Hinckson has become a key contributor since moving into the starting lineup halfway through the season. In 12 conference games, Hinckson is averaging 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. He has produced three double-doubles and notched a career-high 20 points in the Jan. 24 win over Hartford. Hinckson ranks second in the America East in rebounds and is fourth in blocks (1.2/game). He is shooting 53 percent in league play and 52 percent from beyond the arc (16-of-31).

Bearcats Among Stat Leaders
Into the second half of conference play, BU ranks among the league's top-3 in a handful of categories. Binghamton leads the league in rebounds (37.3/game), FG% defense (42%) and 3-point defense (33%). The Bearcats are third in blocks (3.6/game) and fourth in both scoring (68.6) and scoring defense (67.8).