Inconsistent.

That is the word Binghamton men’s basketball head coach Al Walker has used repeatedly to describe his team’s play so far this season. The Bearcats will try to get past the unpredictable play that has marred them the past few weeks when they host the Rider Broncs in a matinee tomorrow afternoon at the Events Center.

Coming off a loss to Colgate that saw the Bearcats struggle to move the ball through the middle, as has been the case since the exhibition season, Walker knows that the inside game must be improved for BU to compete.

“We’ve got to play inside out. If you’re going to just shoot 3s you’re going live and die by the jump shot,” Walker said. “It puts you in a difficult place to be against the better teams. “

The inside game continues to have issues on both sides of the court. Point totals from starters Ian Milne and Giovanni Olomo continue to be low, with only two points combined against Colgate, even though Duane James and Lazar Trifunovic put up 18 and eight points, respectively.

The interior defense has also been an issue; the Bearcat defense has done a good job forcing guards into bad shots, but when the ball gets inside, opposing big men have been able to put the ball in the basket. Colgate had 26 points in the paint compared to BU’s 18, and Walker knows that improvements must be made.

“You have to have your inside presence, and that’s what we’re in the process of developing,” Walker said. “Until we consistently throw the ball down inside, we’re just going have to continue to work on that.”

As far as Rider, the Broncs were on a four-game winning streak entering their Thursday night matchup with Monmouth, a streak that includes a big overtime win against Drexel. Rider is led by junior forward Jason Thompson, who had an outstanding season last year; he was a second team All-MAAC selection, ranking second in the conference in blocks, fourth in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage and seventh in scoring.

Thompson has picked up where he left off, averaging 19 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game and shooting 53 percent from the field. He is complemented by sophomore Harris Mansell’s 16.2 points per game, aided by his 63 percent shooting percentage from 3-point range, and senior Terrance Mouton’s 11.6 points per contest.

If Binghamton wants to win this game, it will have to find a way to clamp down the interior, stop the 6-foot-10 Thompson and keep the guards from getting wide open looks if Thompson is forced to pass the ball back out to the perimeter.

“They are a good team at our level,” Walker said, adding, “they have a nice combo of athletic guards and guards who can really shoot the ball. It’s a nice team that they have right now.”

Sitting at 3-2 thus far, there have been bright spots for the Bearcats, including bench play and foul shooting; turnovers are down and the Bearcats’ lockdown defense has been good, even if not great. Coach Walker knows the sporadic success needs to start translating into more of a day-in, day-out pattern.

“We’ve been inconsistent. Definitely productive in spurts, but we have to get better,” Walker said.

Based on overall records, Binghamton does find itself atop the America East standings, but with conference play quickly approaching and plenty of work to do, the remaining non-conference games are becoming increasingly vital to determining how the team will operate the rest of the season.

Tip off is set for 1 p.m.