• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Binghamton University’s men concluded their America East Conference basketball season with a 78-69 loss to Vermont on Sunday.  The Catamounts’ Marqus Blakely, two-time conference Player of the Year, contributed 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on Senior Day in what may have been his final game in Patrick Gym.  Binghamton (13-18, 8-8 America East) was within four of Vermont with 3:24 remaining before committing three turnovers in a 36-second span, leading to seven consecutive Catamounts points and a 74-63 lead.  The Bearcats drew no closer than eight through the conclusion.  Fifth-seeded Binghamton will oppose fourth-seeded Boston University in an America East Conference Tournament quarterfinal, scheduled for a 2:45 p.m. tip-off Saturday in Hartford.  Freshman Dylan Talley had a game-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting and added a team-high four assists in 29 minutes. Junior forward Moussa Camara added 17 points, the 11th straight game he’s reached double figures. Sophomore center Kyrie Sutton chipped in 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.”
• Burlington Free Press: “‘Greer Wright is one of the best offensive players in the league: He’s 6-7, he can shoot, and Garvey took him out of his game,’ UVM coach Mike Lonergan said. ‘That was a big key to the game.’  Binghamton erased a 10-point halftime deficit and took a 49-48 lead on Moussa Camara’s long 3-pointer with just less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Vermont rattled off the next seven points to regain control.  ‘They got a lot of offensive rebounds on us today; the last few days that hasn’t been happening,’ Binghamton coach Mark Macon said. ‘They have a lot of size in there; their big guys were getting the ball in there and laying it up.’”

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “BU (12-17, 7-7 America East) is currently in fifth place in the America East and can clinch the fifth seed in next week’s conference tournament with a victory over the Hawks.  With a loss, there is the possibility of BU falling all the way to the seventh seed. Conference seeding, however, matters little to  Macon right now.  ‘I just want us to get better each game,’ Macon said. ‘This has nothing to do with the conference tournament. We not going into the conference tournament until it starts. I don’t want to jump the gun.’  The positives that BU displayed in its decisive victory over UMBC — good ball movement, rebounding proficiency — were severely lacking during its four-game losing streak, which occurred exclusively on the road and included losses by 42 points at Boston University and by 20 points at Stony Brook.”
• WICZ (Video): “If Binghamton University’s Student Association has their way, Basketball Coach Kevin Broadus will no longer coach at BU.  The association’s president says after reading about Broadus’ coaching conduct in Judge Kaye’s report, students no longer want him working at the university.  Therefore, the S.A. is formally calling for his immediate resignation as head coach.”

All the metrics point towards a Binghamton victory.  UMBC is in the cellar- the place that everyone thought that we would be at this point in the season.  Just like how everyone looked passed us, we can’t look pass UMBC.  A win is a win no matter who you play.  Playing at home with the disrespect card, should make UMBC a dangerous opponent.   An opponent that has nothing to lose.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “When the Bearcats meet University of Maryland-Baltimore County in an America East Conference contest at 7 Wednesday at RAC Arena, a key concern will be avoiding taking the Retrievers lightly.  BU (8-13, 3-3 America East) was picked to finish last in the conference’s preseason coaches poll, yet among its victories this season are home victories over Vermont and Stony Brook.  Meanwhile, UMBC is in the midst of a dreadful 1-19 season, which includes an 0-7 mark in conference play that has the Retrievers in last place in the America East.  ‘Of course we’ve talked about not overlooking UMBC; we’re not overlooking any team,’ BU interim coach Mark Macon said. ‘We’re just looking to play with a high level of intensity and just trying to come in not start off slow.  I think UMBC is a good team; I truly do as a coach. We can’t underestimate anybody in our conference.’”

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “With Greer Wright scoring 30 points — including a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining that gave BU the lead for good — the Bearcats held off the University of Vermont, 73-69, in an America East Conference men’s basketball game in front of 3,928 spectators at the Events Center.  Mahomoud Jabbi and Moussa Camara added 14 points each for BU (8-13, 3-3 America East), which would have fallen into a sixth-place tie in the conference and three games out of first place with a loss but now remains firmly entrenched in a wide-open America East title chase.  Unlike Thursday’s 64-63 loss at Hartford, in which BU squandered a 10-point lead in the last five minutes, the Bearcats finished strong Sunday.  It started with Wright, who was magnificent on a day in which he also tallied 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.”
• Burlington Free Press: “The University of Vermont men’s basketball team relinquished first place with its second consecutive loss.  Greer Wright racked up 30 points to guide Binghamton to a 73-67 victory over UVM Sunday afternoon at the Events Center, which yanked the Catamounts into fourth place in the America East Conference….Three days after missing a dozen free throws in a 65-60 loss to Stony Brook, Vermont went 20-for-31 from the foul line against Binghamton.  ‘I don’t think we came out ready to play and turned it over a lot early and they jumped out to a good lead,’ Lonergan said. ‘Turnovers and missed free throws I felt cost us the game….’  ‘They took advantage of being at home and out-played us,’ Lonergan said about Binghamton. ‘I give them credit. They play hard, crashed the boards and are very talented offensively.’
• Pipe Dream: “With the Catamounts holding a 62-60 lead with just 2:01 left, Wright hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead. He followed with two free throws to give BU a three-point lead with 1:33 to go. Jabbi hit a pair from the line with 1:07 left and Wright grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two more free throws to put BU up 69-62 with 57 seconds left to seal it.  ‘Today we closed our game out,’ Binghamton head coach Marc Macon said. ‘The guys wanted to perform for the students.’  Coming into the game, the Bearcats were the worst free-throw shooting team in the America East, but tonight they made 10 of 12 down the stretch to close the game.  Wright opened the game with stellar shooting; he hit 10-15 from the field and 5-6 from 3-point range. He had BU’s first eight points and propelled his team to a 28-20 lead at the break. The Catamounts were plagued early by sloppy play, including two turnovers to start the game that led to early BU fast-break points.”

Chris (Binghamton, NY): Dana, loved your piece on coach Mark Macon and my Bearcats. With the news of University president Lois DeFleur’s retirement, do you project Macon as the long-term solution for Binghamton? Have you heard any other coaches’ names surface?

Dana O’Neil (1:27 PM): Chris: I don’t think he’ll be the long-term solution. In fact, there’s a decent chance Kevin Broadus will be back. Unless the audit reveals a cause to fire him, they owe him an awful lot of $$$ to buy him out

A lot of what ifs in all of these scenarios.  Binghamton basketball fans just need the Kaye report to come out ASAP, so we can stop thinking about what ifs and start think about finally putting this mess behind us.

• ESPN: “Macon, Temple’s all-time leading scorer, could just be the best man for this crazily messy job. He is a disciple of John Chaney, a man who never saw a mountain he couldn’t scale or impossible odds he couldn’t beat. Chaney made a career out of fashioning his teams piecemeal out of players no one else thought much of.  Not long after he was given the interim job, Macon reached out to his mentor, not so much for basketball advice but just for life advice. The wise old Owl delivered.  ‘He said just keep it simple and be a voice,’ Macon said. ‘I’m not a screamer by nature, but he told me I had to have a voice.’  His voice appears to be resonating. A talented player who also played with the sort of work ethic Chaney demanded, Macon is rubbing off on his team.”
• USA Today: “Binghamton is last in the league in scoring (58.0 points), free throw shooting (63.2%), three-point shooting (27.6%) and turnover margin (-3.6). But Macon has molded these Bearcats in the defensive image of John Chaney, his coach at Temple. They’re second in the league in blocked shots, have held their own on the boards and are 4-3 at home.  The starters usually include Wright (a junior college transfer), Mahamoud Jabbi (a walk-on from Division III Oswego) and Chretien Lukusa and Moussa Camara, who had a total of 19 starts last season.  Freshmen Dylan Talley and Pina Guillaume have been thrown into the fire, as has Turkish transfer Umur Peten.  ‘Most everyone I talk with thinks Coach Macon is doing a great job,’ Cheriyan said. ‘ A lot of the players are walk-ons. Students don’t blame them for what’s happened.’  Students will be back on campus when Binghamton hosts league-leading Vermont on Sunday. Almost 600 students have confirmed via Facebook that they will attend, and a crowd of 4,000 is expected.  ‘Everyone knows we’re not where we were last year,” Cheriyan said. “But we still support these guys, and we still support the program.’”

• Press & Sun has a article on the Hollywood career of former Bearcat Jeremy Greenberg
• Vermont continuing the America East drubbing of Rutgers.  Vermont wins this year.  Bearcats won last year.
• Sam Perkin is back covering the America East for Hoopville.  Not lot of good things to say about Binghamton.  Prepare for more drama BU hoop fans.

St. Bonaventure Recap:

• Press & Sun Bulletin

CBE Classic Previews:

• Press & Sun Bulletin
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Asheville Citizen-Times