Rider vs Binghamton prediction: Rider's 14-newcomer rebuild debuts against a Binghamton team picked third
With no returning minutes, Rider brings a roster of strangers downtown, where Binghamton opens a new home floor carrying real preseason expectations.
- Expect a slow, grinding game: last season Binghamton ranked 319th in pace and Rider 295th, and both offenses struggled to score.
- Watch Binghamton's interior and foul-line pressure against a smaller Rider lineup built around transfer guards Mark Butler and Khalil Farmer.
- No spread or total is posted yet; last season's adjusted net ratings ranked Rider 357th and Binghamton 360th, so both teams carry little track record.
Rider starts from zero
Rider did not just reload. It started over. The Broncs return none of last season's minutes or points, with 14 new names joining a program that went 4-25 in 2025-26. That makes last season's numbers close to useless as a guide to this team, and Rider's ugly efficiency ranks belong mostly to players who are gone.
The biggest departures were the scorers. Flash Burton averaged 15.1 points and Zion Cruz 13.8, and both are off the roster. Kevin Baggett, now in his 14th season, is rebuilding around transfer guards. Mark Butler started all 32 of his games at Lafayette last season and handled 4.2 assists per game. Khalil Farmer, a senior from UMass Lowell, and graduate student Bryce Baker, from Charleston, were named captains. Four freshmen also join, led by guard Richie Rosa. No starting lineup has been announced.
Binghamton's case for third
Binghamton finished 8-23 last season, a year in which the Bearcats were devastated by injury. The league's preseason poll still picked the Bearcats third, with 45 points and one first-place vote, and the coaches' poll agreed. Jeremiah Quigley and Demetrius Lilley both made the preseason all-conference team.
Levell Sanders, in his fifth season, opens a different kind of home schedule. With Events Center renovations unfinished, this game is the program's first-ever appearance at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena downtown. It is part of the Metro-America East Challenge, and Rider leads a series that has been dormant since a 58-50 Rider win in 2009.
A slow game decided at the line
Last season both teams played at a crawl. Binghamton averaged 64.6 possessions per 40 minutes, 319th nationally, and Rider sat 295th. Fewer possessions shrink the margin for error and amplify every trip to the foul line.
That is where Binghamton made its living. Its free throw rate (free throw attempts per field goal attempt) was 41.7%, 32nd in the country, and it converted 74.5% of those attempts, 96th. Binghamton already knows how it wants to score; Rider is still learning who its scorers are.
Size and the glass
The rosters look different in the frontcourt. Binghamton's minutes-weighted average height is listed at 76.4 inches, Rider's at 72.8, a guard-heavy build that fits a roster led by transfer backcourt players.
Binghamton's rebounding last season was lopsided. It grabbed just 21.8% of its own misses, 361st, but secured 71.5% of opponents' misses, 105th. The Bearcats do not crash the offensive boards. They end possessions with a defensive rebound and get back, which suits a slow game against an undersized visitor.
Key players
- Mark Butler (Rider): Started all 32 games at Lafayette last season, averaging 10.7 points and 4.2 assists in 33.9 minutes.
- Khalil Farmer (Rider): Came off the bench at UMass Lowell last season, making 18 of 56 threes (32.1%).
- Bryce Baker (Rider): Played 8 games at Charleston last season, averaging 13.2 minutes.
- Jeremiah Quigley (Binghamton): One of two Bearcats on the America East preseason all-conference team for a club picked third.
- Demetrius Lilley (Binghamton): Joined Quigley on the preseason all-conference team, giving Binghamton two of the league's projected standouts.
Numbers that matter
| Rider returning minutes | 0.0% | Every minute from last season's 4-25 team is gone, so last season's numbers say little about this Rider roster. |
|---|---|---|
| Binghamton free throw rate, last season | 41.7% | Ranked 32nd nationally, Binghamton's most reliable source of offense. |
| Binghamton pace, last season | 64.6 | Possessions per 40 minutes, 319th, pointing to a low-possession game. |
| Binghamton defensive rebound %, last season | 71.5% | Ranked 105th, a clear strength against a smaller visitor. |
| Binghamton preseason poll points | 45 | Good for third in the America East despite last season's 8-23 finish. |
Rider vs Binghamton: quick answers
When is Rider vs Binghamton?
Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET.