March 1, 2012
• 2011-12 Virtual Guide
• Dougher led Stony Brook's turnaround (Newsday.com)
• Pikiell on FOXCT
• America East On Campus Feature
• Pikiell and Brenton on News 12
2011-12 Stony Brook Men's Basketball
Game #29: Binghamton Bearcats (2-28) vs. Stony Brook Seawolves (20-8)
America East Championship Quarterfinals
Sat., March 3 • Chase Arena • West Hartford, Conn. • 12 p.m.
On the Radio
WUSB 90.1 FM & GoSeawolves.org with Mike Solano, Curt Hylton & Jeff Bernstein
LIVE: STATS | AUDIO | VIDEO | TWITTER
INFO: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Stony Brook Seawolves (20-8, 14-2 America East)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell, seventh season
Overall Record: 98-134
Record at SBU: 93-116
Binghamton Bearcats (2-28, 1-15 America East)
Head Coach: Mark Macon, third season
Overall Record: 23-69
Record at Binghamton: same
About the Game: Fresh off winning the America East regular season championship for the second time in three seasons, Stony Brook begins its quest for the America East Championship in the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed against No. 9 Binghamton. The Seawolves are seeking their first-ever league championship and automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This is Stony Brook’s second go-around as the No. 1 seed; the team was 1-1 in 2010, defeating Albany and losing to Boston University. Stony Brook is 3-1 all-time in tournament games at Chase Arena, and including games against Hartford, the Seawolves are 7-1 in this building since 2009.
Scouting Binghamton: This is the 54th all-time meeting between the two teams, but it is the first time they are playing each other in the America East Championship. The Seawolves lead the all-time series 28-25 and have won three straight. The Bearcats have been hanging in all of their games of late and picked up their first win of the season last week against Vermont. On Thursday, the Bearcats defeated UMBC in the first round to get to today’s quarterfinals. The BU offense has struggled, ranking last in the league at 56.5 PPG. Rob Mansell and Ben Dickinson lead the offense, and Jimmy Gray has surprised by averaging 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals. Dickinson had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists vs. UMBC on Thursday.
Season Series vs. Bearcats: Stony Brook swept the season series, but the two games were different from each other. At home on Feb. 1, the Seawolves shot 56% and hit a school Div. I record 14 three-pointers in an 82-48 victory. At Binghamton on Jan. 5, the Bearcats led for most of the first half before the Seawolves powered through and won 60-54. Bryan Dougher led Stony Brook in the two games with 12 points per game while Tommy Brenton averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Robert Mansell scored 22 points against the Seawolves at Binghamton but may not be available today due to a knee injury.
Tommy Lights Up Binghamton: Tommy Brenton is likely to make some waves. In six career games against the Bearcats, he is averaging 9.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 73% from the field and 55% from the free throw line. Earlier this season, Brenton had a 17-point, 13-rebound performance at Binghamton.
America East Championship History: This is Stony Brook’s 11th season in America East and thus the program’s 11th appearance in the America East Championship. The Seawolves are 7-10 in the tournament and have advanced to the semifinals three times, including in each of the last two seasons. Stony Brook advanced to its first-ever final last season. This is SBU’s second go-around as the No. 1 seed; the team fell to BU in the 2010 semifinals. The Seawolves are 3-1 in tournament games held at Chase Arena.
King of the Mountain: Stony Brook finished the America East season with a 14-2 record, the best mark for any conference member since Vermont was 15-1 after the 2006-07 season. It is Stony Brook’s second regular season title in three seasons and gives the Seawolves the No. 1 seed. The No. 1 seed has gone on to reach has gone on to reach the finals of the America East Championship 22 times in the 29 years that the tournament has been seeded. The No. 1 seed has won the title 19 times.
Home Court Matters: Should Stony Brook win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, it will host the championship final on March 10. SBU will have the odds for winning the title on its side. In the 28 years that the final has been played on the court of the highest remaining seed, the home team has won 25 times.
Wire to Wire: Stony Brook has been in first place in America East every day during the regular season. The Seawolves are the first wire-to-wire regular season champion since Vermont went 15-1 during the 2006-07 season.
Senior Leadership: The season and careers of four Stony Brook seniors are winding down and they have been a part of a massive turnaround. Before Bryan Dougher, Danny Carter, Dallis Joyner and Al Rapier stepped on the court at SBU, the Seawolves had only won 84 games in eight seasons as a Div. I program. Since they got here, the Seawolves have won 73 games in just under four seasons and won their second regular season championship in three years.
The Offense is Flowing: Stony Brook has won 17 of its last 19 games and the offensive rhythm the team is in has played a large role. The Seawolves are shooting 45 percent from the field over the last 19 games while averaging 67.9 points. Six times during the streak, SBU has shot better than 50 percent and six times SBU has scored 75 points or more.
Don't Forget About the D: Not to be forgotten is SBU’s defensive run during this 19-game stretch. The team is only allowing opponents to score 56.7 points per game over the last 19. Eight of the last 12 opponents have not reached 60 points, and the highest point total allowed in the span is 69 -- to Albany, which has the America East’s best scoring offense, and Northeastern. For the season, Stony Brook is 16th in the nation in scoring defense (59.1/game).
Rebounding Machines: Stony Brook has done a nice job on the glass so far this season, outrebounding opponents by a 7.6 margin (37.2 to 29.6), which leads America East and is sixth in the nation. What’s more impressive is the work on the offensive end, grabbing a league-best average of 13.6 offensive rebounds per game. That is leading to an average of 14.1 second chance points per game.
D is the Key: The math is usually simple for Stony Brook and its defense: hold the opponent under 60 points and it’s a victory. The Seawolves are 15-0 this season when holding their opponent under 60 points.
Home Streaks: SBU has won a program Div. I record 14 consecutive home games, dating back to last season. The streak surpasses the program’s previous Div. I record of 13, which occurred between Dec. 2, 2000 and Dec. 4, 2001. The streak is the 12th longest active home winning streak in the nation, and the Seawolves are one of only 13 teams that’s undefeated at home this season. Since returning to Pritchard Gymnasium prior to the 2008-09 season, the Seawolves are 38-15 (.717) in the building.
Up Next: If Stony Brook wins its quarterfinal game, the Seawolves will play either No. 4 Albany or No. 5 New Hampshire in the semifinals Sunday at 5 p.m., live on ESPN3.
