VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball will look to reverse its fortunes when the Bearcats (4-12, 0-1 America East) travel to Burlington to face conference kingpin Vermont (9-7, 1-0 AE) Thursday night. The teams tip at 7 p.m. at Patrick Gym.

Binghamton is battling through an unprecedented season of ravaging injuries and it will get no easier against a Catamounts team that has won 18 straight head-to-head matchups at home.  

ABOUT VERMONT 
•    Premier program and preseason favorite in the America East with three championships in last four years and eight regular season titles in last nine
•    61-7 last four years in conference play
•    Have perhaps best backcourt in league in preseason all-conference pics TJ Hurley and TJ Long
•    Added Seton Hall transfer Gus Yalden, a player of year candidate (17.5 pts.) 
•    Have won 20 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons and have won 10 or more America East games in 16 straight seasons 
•    Opened league play with a 80-61 road win at UNH
•    Went 21-12 last season (13-3 AE) but lost to No. 3 Maine 57-42 in semis, clearing way for regular-season winner Bryant to win its first title

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. VERMONT
•    Vermont holds a commanding 46-9 lead in the series — the most lopsided among all Bing's America East opponents
•    The teams split the season series last year, with Bing stopping a 22-game head-to-head UVM win streak (stretching 10 years) with a 75-72 home win Jan. 30 at Events Center
•    In that game, Binghamton used an 18-2 second-half run to pull ahead and the Bearcats sank four free throws in the final 21 seconds to hold off the Catamounts. Wes Peterson, Jr. scored eight of his team- and career-high 18 points during the pivotal run, which spanned 4:24. The Bearcats trailed 52-47 with 7:52 remaining before Peterson aggressively turned a pair of and-1 layups into three-point plays and Gavin Walsh (17 pts., 13 rebs.) sandwiched a 3-pointer in-between. 
•    At Patrick Gym in Burlington, UVM is even more dominant head-to-head with a 24-2 cushion, including 18 straight wins
•    In that 0-18 stretch, Bing has been outscored by 21 pts. per game
•    In Burlington, Bing has only been within single digits three times and no closer than eight points (last year)
•    The last win in Burlington was epic and was executed by BU's 2009 NCAA team. In the game, Bing trailed by 25 in the second half before mounting what at the time was the eighth-greatest road comeback in NCAA history – an 85-83 win on Feb. 4, 2009 (17 years ago)
•    Bing has been held under 60 points in 19 of the last 25 meetings
   
BEARCATS DROP OPENER AGAINST NJIT
On Saturday, Bing outshot NJIT but gave up a 19-5 second-half run and lost by eight. The shorthanded Bearcats led by three at half and outshot NJIT for the game. But playing without the conference rebound leader Demetrius Lilley (injured), Bing was minus-11 on the glass and was held to just 20 points on six field goals in the deciding second half. Junior guard Ryan Richardson led the Bearcats with 16 points – 11 in the first half. Junior forward Bryson Wilson added 15 points.

QUIGLEY LEADS AMERICA EAST IN ASSISTS, 8TH IN SCORING
Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley continues to lead the America East in assists (6.2/game) and ranks eighth in scoring (13.1 ppg.). Quigley ranks 19th in the country in assists and has registered 6+ assists eight times this season. Former PG Symir Torrence averaged a school-record 7.2 assists in 2023-24 (5th in NCAA).   

BEARCATS LEAD NATION IN POINTS VIA FREE THROWS
Led by junior guard Jeremiah Quigley (68, 75%) and senior center Demetrius Lilley (59 makes, 81%), Binghamton is getting to the free throw line and converting points. The Bearcats lead the entire nation in percentage of points from free throws with 29.3% of their points coming at the line. As a team, Bing leads the America East in free throw makes (298) and is second in percentage (75%).