As the old adage goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. The low temperature in Binghamton this Thursday is projected to be 33 degrees. All of that bodes well for the men’s basketball team, as they take on UMBC at the Events Center.

In the last meeting between the two teams, on Jan. 28, the Bearcats (19-8, 12-3 AE) dropped the contest to the Retrievers (12-15, 6-8 AE), 84-78.

The Bearcats have been on a roll since then, winning seven straight games. In contrast, UMBC has been up and down, going 3-4 in the stretch since their last encounter with the Bearcats. Thursday’s game will also be filled with emotion for Binghamton, as a win would clinch its first America East regular season title and an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

“We’ll come in focused, and come in with the mentality that we can win,” said Bearcats senior Reggie Fuller. “We take the losing kind of serious.”

It is also worth noting that the Retrievers are the only team in the America East that the Bearcats have not defeated this season.

Statistically, UMBC is a far stronger team than their record suggests, as their roster contains several players topping categories in the conference standings. Senior Darryl Proctor is currently ranked second in the conference in points per game with 20.3. He trails only Binghamton’s junior guard D.J. Rivera in that category. Proctor is also ranked third in rebounds per game with 8.5. Fuller trails him in sixth place, with 6.6 boards per game. Fellow senior Jay Greene is ranked 11th in points (13 per game) and first in assists with 6.3 per game.

Proctor and Greene are currently, and essentially have been, the minutes-played leaders in the conference with Proctor leading the way with 39.6 minutes per game, and Greene playing 39.3.

UMBC freshman Chauncey Gilliam earned his second consecutive Rookie of the Week honor on Monday, the fourth time he has been awarded the honor this season. Gilliam recorded a pair of double-doubles over the week, and averaged 17.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. He is also ranked fourth overall in the conference in field goal percentage (.541 percent), ranking him just behind Fuller (.565) and three spots ahead of Rivera (.483).

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Events Center.