After a lengthy offseason, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team is finally set to tip off its regular season tomorrow night, but recent concerns may present some challenges.
The Bearcats, who enter Saturday’s game against Colgate University unsure of the status of junior starting point guard Jimmy Gray, will take the court fresh off Monday’s 79-64 exhibition win over Division II Mansfield University.
But prior to Monday’s game, news broke that the team’s lone senior Kyrie Sutton had been dismissed from the roster, and with Gray sidelined by injury, the new-look team that lost the bulk of its squad to graduation last year suddenly seems even newer.
Binghamton played well against Mansfield despite the off-court road bumps and lingering question marks. Four Bearcats recorded double digits, including sophomore guard Robert Mansell, who netted a game-high 21 points to help propel his team to victory.
On Thursday, Binghamton head coach Mark Macon referred to the possibility of Gray seeing playing time in Saturday’s game against Colgate as a “game-time decision.” With the status of their starting point guard still uncertain, the Bearcats’ starting five could resemble the starters of Monday’s win over Mansfield.
Returning four starters from last year’s squad, Colgate was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League preseason coaches and sports information directors poll.
“We don’t know too much about Colgate because they have a new coach,” Macon said, referring to Matt Langel who was appointed in April as the 20th head coach of the Raiders. “But our game plan is to come out and try to execute our offense and play defense well, and win the game. That’s the simplest you can do it — if you come out and try and win the game by executing the things you know how to execute.”
Among the four returners for Colgate is senior forward Yaw Gyawu, who led the team in scoring last season with an average of 12.6 points per game. Also back is senior guard Mike Venezia, who averaged 9.6 points per game last season, and senior forward Nick Pascale. At 6-feet-10-inches, Pascale led the team in rebounds over the course of the 2010-11 season, collecting an average of 6.6 boards per contest.
Coincidentally, Binghamton faced Colgate in last year’s season opener, narrowly topping the Raiders 62-60 on the road. Colgate went on to finish in second-to-last-place in the Patriot League standings, posting an overall record of 7-23.
But after opening the season with the victory over Colgate, Binghamton went on to lose its next six games before finally capturing another win.
While Macon acknowledged the significance of getting off on the right foot, he stressed that the team’s overall goals obviously extended beyond its first game.
“The importance is trying to win every game,” he said. “Not just this one, every game. We want to come out and play well enough to win the game, and win [it].”
The Bearcats will then travel to Cornell University for their first away game of the season.
Like Colgate, the Big Red returns four starters from last year’s squad and was selected to finish in sixth in 2011-12 Ivy League preseason media poll.
Cornell finished last season tied for fifth in the Ivy League standings, posting an overall record of 10-18. The Big Red would fail to capture the Ivy League crown for the first time since 2007-08.
The Bearcats’ season-opener against Colgate is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Events Center. Tip-off against Cornell is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Newman Arena.