VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins its postseason Sunday on the road when the sixth-seeded Bearcats (11-16) meet third-seeded New Hampshire (15-12) in an America East quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lundholm Gymnasium. 

The No. 6 tournament seed is BU's highest seed since 2016. Binghamton and UNH just played at Lundholm last Saturday in the second-to-last regular season game and will now square off for the third time this season.  

Against conference opponents, junior Jacob Falko leads the Bearcats in scoring (15.4) and assists (3.8). Falko has missed the last 2+ games, however, with an injury. Sophomore John McGriff (12.1 ppg.) and junior Christian Hinckson (10.1 ppg., 7.6 rpg.) are also scoring in double figures. As a team, BU is shooting 44 percent from the field, including 35 percent from 3-point range, and 69 percent from the line. 

The four quarterfinal winners will meet in the semifinals on Wednesday, March 9 at the two highest remaining seeds. The bracket will be re-seeded with the highest-remaining seed hosting the lowest-remaining seed and the second-highest remaining seed hosting the second-lowest remaining seed. The two semifinal winners then will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed's home court. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
 
All 2022 #AEPlayoffs action can be watched on ESPN networks. The quarter and semifinals will air on ESPN+ as part of The AE on ESPN with a simulcast for international viewers on AmericaEast.TV. The championship game will be nationally televised on ESPN2. All three rounds will also be available via the ESPN app.

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 76th season of basketball, 21st in the America East
• BU opens postseason with its highest seed since the 2016 tournament
• The last time BU played in the quarterfinals (2019) they pulled off a road upset when #7 BU toppled #2 Stony Brook 78-72
• BU and UNH square off for second time in eight days
• This is the third time BU faces UNH in the postseason (1-1) — first since 2016

About Binghamton
• Looking for a spark after dropping six of seven to end regular season
• Have played without leading scorer and first team all-conference player Jacob Falko for last 2+ games
• Produced best America East season since going 8-8 in 2009-10 (12 years)
• Went 5-4 on road in league play — first winning record in 13 seasons
• Coming off 78-68 loss at UMBC on Tuesday
• Trailed by 12 points early in second half before using 20-9 run to pull within one, 61-60, with 7:07 left. But UMBC hit back-to-back 3s and used an 11-3 run to stabilize. The Retrievers then made five FTs in final 46 seconds to seal the win.
• After allowing UMBC to shoot 63 percent in the first half, BU limited the hosts to nine field goals (39%). But the climb was too great.
• Christian Hinckson tallied 15 points and nine rebounds. John McGriff produced 15 points, four assists and three steals.

About New Hampshire
• Alternated wins and losses for two months (13 games) before winning five of its last seven
• Have won three straight, capped with 64-48 road win at UML on Tuesday
• Are 10-3 at home this season
• Led by second team all-conference selections Jayden Martinez (15.0 ppg.) and Nick Guadarrama (12.8 ppg.)
• Rank second in AE in rebound margin (+3.7) and third in defense (65.9 ppg.)
• Picked to finish third in preseason poll and did finish third
 
All-time series vs. New Hampshire
• Close series with UNH holding 24-20 edge, thanks to winning 5 of last 6
• In Durham, UNH holds an 11-10 edge and has won seven of last eight
• Last Saturday at Lundholm, UNH broke away from a 50-50 tie in the final 4:19 and held off BU 66-62. The Wildcats ran off seven straight points after BU had tied it up at 50. New Hampshire hit a pair of dagger 3s in the final 1:32 and then made 6-of-6 free throws in the closing 32 seconds to seal the win. Christian Hinckson produced his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard John McGriff had 12 points
• The game featured eight ties and six lead changes  

A win over New Hampshire would ...
• Advance BU to semifinals for second time in four years
• Be team's fifth upset of a higher seed in its 16 years of AE tourney play
• Be team's second road upset of a top-3 seed in last four years

Back to Durham: Third time's a charm?
Binghamton gets a third crack at UNH this season after the Wildcats swept the regular season series. UNH won by nine points in Vestal on Feb. 12 and won by four points in Durham last Saturday.

Best conference finish, highest seed in six years
Binghamton finished with eight conference wins — the most since going 8-8 back in 2009-10. The six seed is BU's highest seed in six years, since earning the No. 5 seed for the 2016 tournament.

Falko named one of top-five players in America East
Junior Jacob Falko was named to the five-player all-conference first team and becomes the first Bearcat to earn first team accolades in 12 years (since Greer Wright in 2010) and only the fourth BU player in 21 years to be named to the first team. He combined an explosive offensive game with team-based play as BU's top assists and steals leader. In conference play, Falko averaged 15.4 points, 3.8 assists (third in AE), 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He had six 20+ point games against America East opponents - most of any player in the league - and shot 49 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the free throw line. Falko's signature game was a 29-point, 5-assist, 3-steal performance in BU's 77-61 road win over Stony Brook on Feb. 2. He also netted 22 points to life BU to a come-from-behind 74-64 win over Hartford on Jan. 24.

Hinckson selected to America East All-Defensive Team
Junior Christian Hinckson earned All-Defensive Team honors and becomes BU's first All-Defensive honoree since Thomas Bruce in 2018. In conference play, he averaged 10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds (second in AE) and 1.1 blocks (4th in AE). Hinckson recorded a team-high four double-doubles. In his last three games, he has really been impactful with 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Against America East opponents he is shooting 47 percent from the field, including 41 percent from 3-point range, and 81 percent from the line. He leads the Bearcats in blocks and steals.

Second half team
The Bearcats have been relatively slow out of the gate in conference play, averaging 31 points in the first half of games, compared to opponents' 34 points. In the second half, BU is outscoring opponents by an average of two points (36-34).    

First to 70 wins
When BU scores 70 or more points (in regulation), they are 8-1 this season. When opponents reach 70, BU is 1-9.

McGriff continues scoring string
Sophomore guard John McGriff scored 15 points in Tuesday's loss at UMBC, giving him six straight double-digit point totals. McGriff is averaging 14.7 points in his last six games and has reached double figures in 12 of his last 14 games.

Bearcats have used 13 different starting lineups this season
Due to injuries and COVID, BU has had to use 13 different starting lineups this season, among the most in the country. Eleven different players have started at least one game. There have been different starting groups in each of the last four games.  

Tinsley joins exclusive 600-point, 400-rebound club
Junior forward George Tinsley scored seven points Saturday at UNH to reach the 600-point plateau (602). He also has 416 career rebounds. 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).  

Bearcats among stat leaders
In conference play, BU ranks among the league's top-3 in a handful of categories. Binghamton leads the league in rebounds (36.4/game) and 3-point defense (32%) and is third in blocks (3.7/game).

The Bearcats in the America East
Binghamton is finishing up its 21st season of membership in the America East. The Bearcats are 119-203 all-time (37%) during those two decades. The team's best regular season conference records came in 2008-09 (13-3, 1st) and 2005-06 (12-4, 2nd). The program also had 10 America East wins in 2003-04 (5th place) and nine wins in both 2002-03 (4th) and 2007-08 (T-4th). Binghamton had been kept below six conference wins for 11 straight seasons before winding up with eight wins in 2021-22.