MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
 
The Vermont men's basketball team wraps up a brief two-game homestand Wednesday night when it takes on the Binghamton Bearcats at Patrick Gym.
 
Wednesday's 7 p.m. tipoff can be seen via a FREE live stream available on AmericaEast.TV. Radio coverage begins at 6:30 on ESPN 101.3 FM with AJ Kanell and Bernie Cieplicki calling the action.
 
RELATED LINKS
Vermont Game Notes (.pdf)
Binghamton Game Notes
Binghamton Game Coverage: Live Video – Live Audio – Live Stats
Hartford Flashback: Game Recap – CatamounTV Highlights
 
Last Time Out vs. Hartford: Kurt Steidl scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and Dre Wills recorded his third double-double of the season as the Vermont men's basketball team outlasted Hartford, 92-81, Sunday afternoon at Patrick Gym. Steidl canned five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes of the contest and finished shooting 5-of-9 from deep and 6-of-10-overall. The junior swingman also went 9-for-10 from the free throw line to polish off his first career 20-point game. Wills grabbed 12 of Vermont's 44 total rebounds and finished with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Ernie Duncan and Darren Payen each scored 15 points while Ethan O'Day added 10 points and eight rebounds. A Cam Ward circus layup gave the Catamounts their biggest lead of the day (13) with 5:16 remaining in the half but Hartford had the answer. The Hawks made six free throws in the final 2:30 of the half and closed the gap to 44-37 at the half. The Catamounts would not let go of as they scored 13 of the game's final 19 points en route to their 28th win over Hartford in the last 30 meetings.
 
About Binghamton: Binghamton enters Wednesday's contest coming off a 68-54 win over Hartford last week. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bearcats. Against the Hawks, Willie Rodriguez tied his career-high with 27 points and the Bearcats led for 35 minutes to pull away from Hartford. The Bearcats are led by Rodriguez, who reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season in his last contest. He averages 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game to pace a Binghamton team that scores 59.0 points per game. Everson Davis is second on the team with 9.7 points per game followed by Marlon Beck at 9.6. Beck scored 18 points against the Catamounts in the teams' first meeting. Binghamton's three league wins have come against UMass Lowell, UMBC and Hartford. The Bearcats have won those three games by an average of 10 points.
 
Series History: Vermont leads the all-time series with Binghamton 27-8. The series dates back to the 2002 season. The Catamounts have won 11 of the last 13 meetings with the Bearcats. The two losses both occurred on the road and were decided by a combined six points. John Becker is 7-2 against Binghamton in his career. At home vs. Binghamton, the Catamounts are 12-2 and the last home loss to Binghamton came on Feb. 6, 2006 (67-62).
 
Last Meeting vs. Binghamton: Vermont picked up its fourth straight win away from Patrick Gym and climbed back over .500 in league play with a 61-52 victory over Binghamton. Kurt Steidl played one of his best all-around games in the win finishing with a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Drew Urquhart contributed solid minutes off the bench collecting eight points and four rebounds while Dre Wills stuffed the stat sheet with eight points and four rebounds of his own to go along with three assists, three steals and two blocks. During a 10-1 UVM second-half run, Wills picked up one of his three steals and went coast-to-coast for the layup and then Steidl buried a step-back three to seal the win.
 
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: Over the last four games, the Vermont offense has been sizzling. UVM has averaged 85.2 points per game during the 2-2 stretch. The Cats have shot 57%  from the field (130-of-228) and have 72 assists (60% of the made field goals).
 
Jolly Green Giant: Ethan O'Day has been a beast in conference play averaging close to a double-double. He's been even better in three league games played on Wednesday nights - 20.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 60.5% FG. The Catamounts are 3-0 in those games.
 
Home Is Where the Heart Is: In 11 home games this season, Vermont has an 8-3 record with a +9.4 ppg scoring margin. Five Cats average over nine points in those 11 home games led by Kurt Steidl's 13.2 ppg. UVM has held opponents under 70 points per game while shooting 50.2% from the field.
 
Swat Team: With 116 blocks through 26 games, the Catamounts rank second in the America East in total blocks and second in blocks per game (4.3). Ethan O'Day ranks second with his 54 blocks.
 
Kurt and Ernie: In Vermont's last three games, Kurt Steidl and Ernie Duncan have shot a combined 20-of-40 (50%) from beyond the arc. Duncan has averaged 17.3 points per contest in those three games while Steidl has averaged 15.6. 
 
Tickets to Wednesday's game can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located on the balcony in Patrick Gymnasium (Mon - Fri; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.), over the phone during office hours at 802-656-4410, or one hour before game time in the lobby of Patrick Gymnasium.