Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team plays just 11 home games during the 2003-04 season.
“It’s understandable. When you’ve got one of the best young big guys in the country, there aren’t many teams that want to play you at home,” coach Al Walker said in the preseason.
His Bearcats (4-5) boast 7-foot junior Nick Billings, who brings averages of 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds an outing into tonight’s game against Kansas University.
Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. A live telecast is available on the Jayhawk Network (channel 13 and Sunflower Broadband Channel 15), and a tape-delay replay is at 10:30 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.
The Bearcats aren’t afraid to take their show on the road.
The America East Conference school, which returns two starters from last year’s 14-13 squad, scheduled national champion Syracuse and NCAA runner-up KU this year.
Binghamton gave Syracuse a tough test, holding Orangemen standouts Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara to nine points apiece off combined 6-of-15 shooting.
McNamara, who hit one three-pointer in four tries against Binghamton, burned KU for six threes in 10 tries for 18 points in last year’s title game. Warrick had six points against the Jayhawks.
“We competed at a very high level for a long period of time,” said Walker, whose Bearcats trailed Syracuse by 10 points with 11:56 remaining before Syracuse went on a 9-1 run.
“We gave it everything we had, but they beat us up on the boards. Basically, we just ran out of gas at the end,” said Binghamton guard Brandon Carter, a 6-3 senior from McPherson who scored a game-high 13 points.
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Binghamton has wins over VMI, Charleston Southern, Long Island and St. Francis with losses to Syracuse, St. Mary’s, Idaho State, Loyola Marymount and Lafayette.
The squad has several players with Kansas ties. Billy Williams, a 6-3 junior forward who averages 2.3 points a game, went to Colby CC. Alex Adediran, a 6-8 junior forward out of Seward County CC, contributes 7.2 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Wichita natives Darel Lucas and Brett Watson have played a reserve role in four games and six games respectively. Lucas has left the team indefinitely to focus on academics.
Walker, who is 41-51 in four years at the Binghamton, N.Y., school, also has been head coach at Chaminade, Cornell and Colorado College and an assistant junior-varsity coach to former KU coach Roy Williams at North Carolina in 1983-84.
In 2001-02, Walker’s Bearcats scared North Carolina before falling, 61-60, at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Of this year’s team, Walker said: “Being eligible for the conference tournament is the next step.”
His Bearcats are eligible to compete at the America East tourney for the first time. Schools must wait two years to be eligible for the postseason after jumping from NCAA Division Two to Division One.
“I’m looking forward to an extraordinary year as we continue to build and get better for the America East championship in March,” Walker said.
