BINGHAMTONRecord: 7-11, 1-4 America East
Last 10: 3-7
Last Game: Maine 86, Binghamton 63 on 1/19/20
Last Game with SBU: Binghamton 78, Stony Brook 72 in AE quarters on 3/9/19; BU led 53-29 with 16 min left; Olaniyi 27 and 9
Checkmate Unofficial Line: Stony Brook -16.5
NET Ranking: Stony Brook 130, Binghamton 337
KenPom Rating: Stony Brook 126, Binghamton 335
KenPom Prediction: Stony Brook 81, Binghamton 63
Olaniyi Point Watch: 1,016
Division I: Currently 10th. Next up: Mike Popoko (2003-07)/Anthony Jackson (2010-14) 1,048
All-time: Currently 24th. Next up: Greg Angrum (1980-84) 1,031
Listen/Watch:TV:
http://bit.ly/BBallGm21VidRadio:
http://wusb.fm/Notables:6-0/190 so G Sam Sessoms 17.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.6 spg, .809 FT%
6-3/185 fr G Brenton Mills 12.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .385 3-pt FG%
6-6/200 fr F George Tinsley 10.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg
6-8/215 sr F Pierre Sarr 9.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg
6-4/190 sr G Richard Caldwell Jr. 6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .375 3-pt FG%
My first, second and third thoughts: How the hell did we lose that game in March? Ugh.
Bingo's headed for another bottom half finish in the America East. In fact, they haven't finished higher than fifth in conference since Broadus took them to the tournament in 2009 – and then making a quick exit amid a recruiting scandal. He resurfaced as the HC at Morgan State this year and has them in good shape already.
I thought they were on to something early on this year, utilizing their young talent to upend a few decent teams – Army, BU, Sacred Heart, etc – but it's been the same old Binghamton ever since, with three lopsided conference losses leading into this one. Most recently, they got flattened by Maine 86-63 up in Orono on Sunday, getting outrebounded 43-23 and allowing Maine to shoot 53 percent. Coincidentally, they beat the Black Bears by 23 at BU late last year.
Dempsey has really ridden Sessoms, Mills and Tinsley in the first half of the season. Tinsley leads the conference in minutes at a whopping 38.1 per game, which ranks fifth nationally. To give you an idea of how rare that is, he's the only freshman in the top 50, and one of only three in the top 100. In league, Sessoms ranks fifth (34.2) and Mills is seventh (33.9). I just wonder if these guys can sustain it for an entire season, before they really mature and before they get in the weight room in the offseason. Dempsey raves about Tinsley's toughness and he's had to be. I just hope that, with the way players move around, they all stick around. Six players transferred out in the offseason, so only THREE Bearcats remain from the team who beat us in March – Sessoms, Caldwell and reserve Leo Gallagher.
You'll recall that Binghamton will play a 2-3 zone, which may have given us trouble in the past, but it should be something against which we can get wide-open looks from deep. I also think we can utilize Gueye as a weapon in the high post. We saw a little bit of that against Albany.
Offensively for BU, it obviously all starts with Sessoms, who did not impress in his first game here but sure showed up in the postseason, going for 26 despite shooting only 1 for 6 from the line. I was definitely one of his naysayers, but he was terrific that night. Of course, in the semis in Burlington, he put up a donut. Zippo.
Whether it's on Wednesday or down the road, I just can't see a younger version of their roster coming in – Show, Barnard, Davis and Stewart out, a bunch of newcomers in – and competing against what I view to be a team far superior to last year's, all of whom remember their last visit.
Us by 20.