VESTAL, N.Y. - After being picked to finish dead last in the preseason poll, Binghamton men's basketball finds itself among the last four standing as the sixth-seeded Bearcats (12-16) head to Burlington to face top-seeded Vermont (26-5) in an America East semifinal game Wednesday. The teams square off for the third time this season at 7 p.m. at Patrick Gym with a spot in the championship game on the line.  

The Bearcats earned the semifinal berth with a riveting 72-69 road victory over third-seeded New Hampshire on Sunday. Meanwhile, Vermont rolled to a 98-59 win over eighth-seeded NJIT at home. In addition to the BU game, fourth-seeded Hartford will face second-seeded UMBC in the other Wednesday night semifinal. The two winners advance to the March 12 championship game, which will be televised on ESPN2.   

About Binghamton
• Advanced with a hard-earned 72-69 quarterfinal win at No. 3 UNH on Sunday
• Jacob Falko returned from injury and scored a game-high 21 points
• John McGriff made a knifing layup with 30 seconds for the final margin
• UNH missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds
• BU connected on 11-of-23 3-pointers (Falko 4, Tyler Bertram 3)
• Christian Hinckson tallied nine points and 12 rebounds and
Ogeneyole Akuwovo added 10 points
• BU earned its second road upset in the tournament in the last four years

About Vermont
• League's premier program with six straight regular season titles
• Advanced with 98-59 rollover of No. 8 NJIT on Wednesday
• Have beaten AE foes by an average of 17+ points per game
• Only two AE teams have played them to single digits — Hartford in a 75-74 Hawks OT win and UMass Lowell in a 62-61 UVM win
• Shooting 55% in AE play - 10 percentage points higher than anyone else
• Had longest win streak in nation (14) before losing at Hartford on Feb. 14
• Catamounts have won three of the last five AE titles and eight overall
• Program is 86-10 against AE opponents in last six years
• Ranked No. 68 in NCAA Net and No. 8 in Mid-Major Top 25
• Boast 2x Player of Year Ryan Davis (17.1 ppg.), first team all-conference Ben Shungu (15.8 ppg.) and third team all-conference Isaiah Powell (8.6 ppg.)
 
All-time series vs. Vermont
• Vermont holds a commanding 39-8 lead in the series — the most lopsided among all BU's America East opponents
• Vermont has won 15 straight in the series, including an 82-51 win in Burlington on Feb. 9 and a 66-49 win in Vestal on Feb. 23
• In two games this season, Vermont has held BU to an average of 50 points on offense (32% FG), 19 points below the team's season scoring average
• At Patrick Gym, Vermont is 19-2 against the Bearcats with an average margin of victory above 20 points
• Each of the last 11 meetings at Patrick have been decided by 14 or more pts and the last six have been even more lopsided (average of 27 points)
• Binghamton's last win was 57-55 at Events Center on Feb. 18, 2015 (7 yrs.)
• BU's only two wins came in 2006 (67-62) and then in 2009 during BU's championship run when BU rallied from a 25-point deficit in the second half, scored 55 second-half points and won 85-83 to stun the Catamounts (Tiki Mayben scored 31 pts)
   
Falko returns from injury to lift BU with gutsy performance
First team all-conference junior guard and leading scorer Jacob Falko was a game time decision on Sunday after having missed most of three games since rolling his ankle early in the Feb. 23 game against Vermont. Having still been unable to go full steam at practice, his availability, let along effectiveness was in question, particularly since his game features an explosive, to-the-rim style. But Falko defied the odds, started at UNH and logged 33 minutes. His 21-point, 5-assist performance (8-of-17) included 15 pivotal second-half points (4-of-7 3-pointers). It was his seventh 20+ point game of the season — most in the conference.    

Follow UMass Lowell's 6-seed formula
Binghamton will look to replicate the postseason run made by previous No. 6 seed UMass Lowell last season. The Hawks knocked off third-seeded UNH in the quarters (same as BU) and then dropped top-seeded host UMBC in the semifinals to reach the championship game, where they then lost to host Hartford.

Have to clear high hurdles of history, Patrick Gym and Wednesdays
Binghamton has some daunting statistics stacked against them in this semifinal, the first few of which are a 15-game losing streak (spanning 7 years) against Vermont and a 13-game losing streak (spanning 12 years) to the Catamounts at Patrick Gym. In order to win, BU would have to end those streaks, end UVM's current home win streak (14) and on top of that, overcome BU's own struggles on Wednesdays this season (1-8). The Bearcats' peak days this year have been Sundays (4-0), Mondays (1-0) and Thursdays (1-0).  

Best conference finish, highest seed in 12 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 since earning the No. 5 seed in 2016 (lost in quarters to No. 4 UNH).

Falko named one of top-five players in America East
Juniors 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.

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

McGriff delivers huge bucket at end of quarterfinal win at UNH
Sophomore guard John McGriff had his string of six straight double-digit point totals snapped at UNH on Sunday, but his driving layup was perhaps the most important basket of the quarterfinal road win. With BU clinging to a 70-69 lead, McGriff drove through the right side of the lane, cut back in traffic and converted a tough layup before sprawling to the floor. He then hawked UNH with heavy pressure on their final possession and contested the potential tying 3-pointer at the horn. McGriff produced a season-high six assists to go with eight points and two steals. In his last seven games, he is averaging 13.7 points and has reached double figures in 12 of his last 15 games.

Several unsung heroes of quarterfinal win
The Bearcats needed contributions throughout the lineup to advance and got several that weren't obvious in the box score. Christian Hinckson scored BU's first nine points of the game to settle the team. He nearly had a double-double in the first half alone, with eight rebounds as well. George Tinsley made just one basket but it was an important one, a hard-earned layup with 4:33 left to cap a 13-1 BU run that gave the Bearcats a 62-55 cushion. Bryce Beamer (5 pts) had a bucket with 3:41 left and then chased down a defensive rebound and muscled a tied up with the UNH player with 13 seconds left, giving a crucial possession to the Bearcats. Tyler Bertram had 12 points and the last three were huge — on a corner 3-ball with 1:33 left. The shot doubled BU's lead to 70-64. John McGriff (8 pts) provided the final points on a great drive to the basket with 30 seconds left and then played great on-ball defense to contest UNH's final shot.    

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.  

Bearcats are cranking out 20-point performances
With Jacob Falko's 21-point performance against UNH on Sunday, Binghamton now has had 14 instances of a 20+ point performance this season. A league-best six different players have reached the plateau, led by Falko, who has seven, most in the AE. Junior guard Tyler Bertram has done it three times and the others to reach 20 or more points in a game are Kellen Amos, Christian Hinckson, John McGriff and Dan Petcash.

Tinsley joins exclusive 600-point, 400-rebound club
Junior forward George Tinsley scored seven points at UNH on Feb. 26 to reach the 600-point plateau (604). He also has 419 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).