VESTAL, N.Y. - Riding a four-game win streak and occupying sole possession of first place in the America East standings, Binghamton men's basketball (8-10, 4-1 America East) wraps up a two-game, five-day road trip when the Bearcats face Maine (6-12, 0-5 AE) Sunday afternoon in Bangor. The teams tip at 2 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center and the game will be shown on ESPN+.

QUICK HITS
•    This is Binghamton's 77th season of basketball, 22nd in D-I and the America East
•    The Bearcats were picked to finish fourth of nine in the AE Coaches' Preseason Poll — tied for the highest in the program's 22 years of conference membership
•    This is the back end of a two-game, five-day road trip that began Thurs. at Albany
•    BU has roared into 2023 with four straight wins and sole possession of first place 
•    BU returns four starters but only 61% of scoring and 63% of minutes (8 departures) 
•    BU has the third-oldest roster in the country with an average age of 22.0 years 

About Binghamton
•    Coming off 65-54 road win at Albany on Thursday - team's fourth straight win
•    Tariq Balogun scored career-high 18 points (in 26 min.) on 7-of-9 shooting
•    Balogun added 4-of-4 FT and three blocks and was team-best +16 in plus/minus
•    Jacob Falko added 16 points (11 in second half)
•    Shot 63% in second half to break away from 30-30 halftime tie
•    BU made 15-of-17 free throws and shot 54% from field
•    Limited Albany to 2-of-19 from 3-point range
•    At 4-1 are now off to best AE start in 17 years (2005-06 team started 6-1)

About Maine
•    Picked to finish last in Coaches' Preseason Poll
•    Coming off 66-45 loss at Vermont on Thursday
•    Have dropped first five conference games, though three have been by single digits, including an OT loss to NJIT and a two-point loss at UML
•    Signature win was 69-64 at ACC member Boston College on Nov. 14
•    Georgia Southern transfer Gedi Juozapaitis leads team in scoring and shoots 43% from 3-point range (1st in AE)
•    Former Maine standout player Chris Markwood is in his first season as HC after serving 16 years as an assistant at BC, Northeastern and Maine
 
All-time series vs. Maine
•    Maine leads 23-19
•    Binghamton swept the season series last year and has won 4 of last 6
•    Maine leads the series in their home state 13-7 but the teams have split the last six games in Bangor
•    Last season BU won 73-65 at the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 16 and then 69-60 in Vestal three weeks later 
 
Win streak, first-place stir up memories of 2005-06, 2008-09 teams
Thanks to a four-game win streak to start the 2023 calendar year, BU sits alone atop the America East standings. The last time that happened was in the 2005-06 season, when BU went 12-4 in conference play to finish runnerup to Albany. The four-game win streak equals BU's longest in league play since the 2009-10 team won four. The 2008-09 championship team has the program record with eight straight AE wins.  

Balogun keys 65-54 road win over Albany with career-high 18 points
Junior center Tariq Balogun hit 7-of-9 shots en route to a career-high 18 points and BU pulled away from host Albany 65-54 Thursday in Troy. The Bearcats shot 63% in the second half and ran their win streak to four.

Falko converts game-winning FT in final second to beat UML 66-65
Senior guard Jake Falko scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the final 3:15 and sank a free throw with 1.6 seconds left to provide the winning point in BU's home victory over UMass Lowell on Jan. 14. 

Eight different leading scorers this season
BU has had eight different players share or lead the team in single-game scoring this year and no one player has been the team leader in back-to-back games since Jacob Falko did it in early December. The Bearcats also have had five different players tally 20 or more points (Falko 3x, Dan Petcash 2x, Christian Hinckson, Armon Harried and Miles Gibson.  

Falko hitting stride, approaching 900 career NCAA points
Senior guard Jake Falko is averaging 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his last three games and has reached double figures in five of his last seven. He ranks sixth in scoring in AE (14.7 ppg.) and is seventh in both FG% (49%) and assists (3.5/game). Falko is 32 points away from reaching the 900-point plateau in his three seasons of NCAA play (following two years in junior college). 

Balogun starting to assert himself in post
In his last three games 6-foot-10 center Tariq Balogun is averaging 14.3 points on 14-of-16 shooting (88%). He has also made 15-of-18 free throws (83%) during that stretch. On Thursday against Albany, Balogun netted a career-high and game-high 18 points. Balogun is condensing his production into an average of 17 minutes per game. His 40-minute averages extrapolate out to 19.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Balanced linuep
Binghamton entered the season with its deepest roster in many years and the split of playing time and scoring is evidence. The team has 11 players (out of 12 on roster) averaging nine or more minutes and nine different players have been in the starting lineup. In conference play, BU has five players scoring in double figures — the only team in the conference to boast that depth. 

70 remains tipping "point"
The 70-point scoring mark remains a key indicator for Binghamton's success. BU is 5-1 when they score more than 70 and 3-9 when they are at or below 70. Last season, BU was 8-2 when they reached 70 points and 3-15 when they came in under 70.   

Other predictors
Three-point shooting accuracy has become a strong indicator of BU's success. In games when BU shoots a higher percentage than its opponent, the Bearcats are 8-0. When opponents shoot the 3-ball better, BU is 0-10. The Bearcats also are 5-2 when they commit fewer turnovers and 3-8 when they commit the same or more. When tied or leading at the half the Bearcats are 7-1. When trailing, they are 1-9. The Bryant game on Dec. 31 was the only time BU led at the half (41-40) but lost. The 66-65 win over UML was the only game BU trailed at the half (33-30) but wound up winning.