For Immediate Release: August 9, 2009
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU basketball to face national power Pitt Nov. 17 on ESPN2
Bearcats one of 12 teams to play in O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Binghamton men's basketball will play a first-ever game against national power Pitt early in the 2009-10 season. The November 17 game in Pittsburgh is part of a four-game set for the Bearcats in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic and will be televised live at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The Bearcats are also scheduled to face Duquesne, Western Carolina and Illinois-Chicago at a common sub-regional site on November 23-25.

A total of 12 teams were selected for the tournament with the top four (Pitt, Texas, Wichita State and Iowa) serving as first-round hosts and automatically advancing to the Championship Round games in Kansas City.

Pitt went 31-5 last season, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight and finishing the year ranked No. 2 in the RPI and No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. The Panthers, coached by Jamie Dixon, were 15-3 in the Big East and boasted a 19-0 record at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt returns just one starter from that team, but has a "Top-15" recruiting class that includes McDonald's All-American freshman Dante Taylor.

Head Coach Kevin Broadus returns four starters and eight letterwinners from his record-breaking 23-9 squad of last season. The Bearcats captured the America East regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The team was ranked No. 22 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll and held a final RPI of 88 out of 343 Division I programs.

The remainder of BU's 2009-10 non-conference schedule is being finalized and will be announced in the coming weeks.

NOTE
The only other time BU played on ESPN2 was last season's America East championship game on March 14 at the Events Center. The Bearcats defeated UMBC 61-51 to advance to the NCAA tournament.