VESTAL, N.Y. - Facing a must-win scenario for a playoff berth, Binghamton men's basketball (6-23, 2-12 America East) begins its closing two-game homestand by hosting New Hampshire (8-18, 4-9 AE) Thursday night. The teams tip at 6:07 at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

The Bearcats sit two games out of a playoff spot with two remaining, meaning Binghamton needs to beat UNH and Maine (on Sat.) and then have either Bryant or UNH drop their remaining games to create a tie for the eighth and final berth. Tiebreak scenarios would then come into play and the Bearcats have a sweep over Bryant, an edge that could propel them into the postseason.  

ABOUT UNH
•    Have had three waves during conference play: lost three straight, won four straight and now have lost six straight
•    Tied for seventh with three games left — one game out of sixth
•    Are 7-5 at home but just 1-13 on road this season
•    In AE play, are giving up league-worst 74.6 ppg.
•    Average 8.0 made 3s in conference play (2nd in AE)
•    Coming off 61-58 home loss to Maine on Saturday. It was the team's fourth conference defeat by six or fewer points

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UNH
•    UNH leads 28-24 
•    Five weeks ago in Durham, UNH pulled out an 88-82 win in 3OT
•    In that epic game, host New Hampshire closed the third overtime period with a deciding 9-2 run. Playing the program's first triple overtime game in 29 years, the shorthanded Bearcats nearly pulled out a road win as they played with the lead for 41 minutes and led by as many as 18 points before running out of gas and players in the final frame. 
•    Home team has won eight of the last nine games
•    In Vestal, the series is knotted at 13-13, but Bing has won the last 4
•    Between 2002-11 Binghamton was 15-5 in the series
•    UNH won nine straight between 2015-18
•    In last six years, series has been near even with UNH leading 9-7
•    In last five meetings, it has taken an average of 80 points to win

SHOOT 63 PERCENT ... AND LOSE?!?
Despite shooting a season-high 63% and scoring 44 second-half points at UML on Saturday, the Bearcats lost 92-79. Binghamton is now one of just TWO teams across the country this season to shoot 63% or higher and lose. Bellarmine (Ky.) shot 69% in its 95-92 loss to fellow ASUN opponent Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 21.  

STILL ALIVE FOR POSTSEASON BERTH
Despite a 92-79 loss at UMass Lowell last Saturday, the Bearcats still have a chance at grabbing the eighth and final playoff spot. In golf terminology, Bryant (who Bing is trying to catch) sits "dormie," up two games with two to play. Any ONE Bryant win or Binghamton loss will eliminate the Bearcats. Holding the tiebreak by virtue of a season sweep of the Bulldogs, Binghamton just has to forge a tie. Bryant's remaining games are at UMBC (Thurs.), home vs, NJIT (Sat.) and at UNH (Tues.). The Bearcats also could tie UNH, but wouldn't fare as well on the tiebreaks (UNH beat UML). A three-way tiebreak between UNH, Bryant and Binghamton would favor the Bearcats.    

UPTICK IN OFFENSE
After averaging 63.4 points in a five-game stretch (1-4), Binghamton has averaged 77.3 points in its last three (1-2) — a jump of 14 points per game. During that three-game stretch, the Bearcats are shooting 56%.

QUIGLEY TOPS AE IN ASSISTS, IS 7TH IN SCORING
Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley continues to lead the America East in assists (6.5/game) and is seventh in scoring (14.0 ppg.). Quigley ranks 17th in the country in assists.    

QUIGLEY SETS SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST RECORD
Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley totaled 11 assists in the UML game and early in the second half, registered record-breaking handout No. 174, which surpassed the old mark of 173 set by Symir Torrence in 2023-24. That total is the highest of any America East player in 14 years. Torrence will still hold the record for assist average (7.2).

BEVERLY IS 5TH IN EFFICIENCY
Junior forward Zyier Beverly ranks fifth among all America East players in Player Efficiency Rating (sports-reference.com). The rating is based on per-minute production and Beverly has a rating of 20.6 (league average is 15). In traditional stats, Beverly ranks second in FG% (61%), fourth in blocks (1.3), 12th in rebounding (5.0) and 14th in scoring (11.8).