For Immediate Release: July 29, 2005
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton men's basketball to face Oklahoma University in 2005-06
Trip to Norman, Okla. in November highlights non-conference schedule

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton University men's basketball will face reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma on November 23 in Norman, Okla., the school announced today. The date with the high-ranking Sooners highlights an 11-game non-conference schedule for head coach Al Walker's 2005-06 Bearcats.

The schedule also includes a trip to Logan, Utah for the Utah State Holiday Classic on December 29-30. The Aggies won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA tournament last winter.

Binghamton will open the season by hosting 2005 NCAA tournament team Niagara on November 18 at the Events Center. Other home dates include first-time matchups with Central Connecticut State (Nov. 28) and University of North Florida (Dec. 17) and a game against Brown (Dec. 10).

On the road, BU will face Mt. St. Mary's (Nov. 21), Hofstra (Dec. 1), Central Connecticut State (Dec. 22) and St. Francis (N.Y.) (Dec. 3).

Oklahoma, which captured the Big 12 regular season and postseason championships last year, returns four starters for head coach Kelvin Sampson. The Sooners went 25-8, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and were ranked No. 17 in the final AP poll. They were the No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional and beat No. 14 Niagara, 84-67, before falling to No. 6 Utah, 67-58, in Tucson, Ariz. Sampson's teams have won 20 or more games in eight consecutive seasons. Oklahoma boasts the nation's longest postseason streak, having made 24 consecutive trips (19 NCAA and five NIT).

The November 23 game will be played at the 12,000-seat Lloyd Noble Center, where the Sooners were 14-1, including 7-0 against non-conference foes last season.

In all, BU will face five teams that played postseason a year ago. Oklahoma, Niagara and Vermont were NCAA tournament teams and Hofstra and Boston University were selected to the NIT. A possible in-season tournament game against Utah State would bump that number to six.

The entire 2005-06 schedule, including the 16-game America East slate, will be released next week.

NOTES
Oklahoma will be the third team from the Big 12 that Binghamton has ever faced. The Bearcats lost to Iowa State in 2002-03 (86-56) and to Kansas in 2003-04 (78-46)... After playing Syracuse in four straight seasons, BU will not see the Orange in 2005-06.