At the press conference following the Binghamton University men’s basketball team’s win against Maine, Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus was asked about the importance of tomorrow’s game at league-leading Vermont.

“You all know the importance. We’re playing for first place,” Broadus said.

He then walked out of the media room, careful not to say anything to motivate the Catamounts.

Vermont (16-6, 7-2 AE) is already looking for revenge, having dropped its conference opener to Binghamton (13-8, 6-3 AE) in an overtime thriller at the Events Center on Jan. 8. The red-hot Catamounts, who have won seven straight games, are coming off an 83-39 rout of New Hampshire on Saturday.

Vermont boasts the top inside-out duo in the conference in senior guard Mike Trimboli and junior forward Marqus Blakely, the 2008 America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

“I’ll probably watch a lot of film because the guy I’m guarding, Trimboli, is one of their best players,” said Bearcat junior Malik Alvin.

Trimboli, a constant fixture on the conference all-star teams, is having the best year of his career for shooting. He is making .398 of his 3-pointers and .500 of his other shots.

Blakely, on the other hand, has dropped off statistically from his stellar 2007-08 season, in which he averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds. This year he averages 15.4 and 8.8, but his impact on defense is stronger than ever. The Bearcats limited him to 12 points in the teams’ first meeting and will be hard-pressed to replicate that feat.

Senior Colin McIntosh has been the biggest surprise on the Catamounts, scoring 13.2 points per game on efficient shooting.

While the Catamounts are an excellent defensive team, they had trouble limiting Binghamton’s leading scorer, D.J. Rivera, in the first game. The high-flying wing scored 29 points, including eight in the overtime period. Prior to overtime, Rivera, who missed a potential game-winning free throw in the final minute, looked Broadus in the eye and told his team, “We’re not losing this game.”

This time around, Rivera expects to see more attention from UVM’s defense.

“Yeah, every game they’ve been paying closer attention to me,” he said. “But there’s just a way of playing smart and playing around it.”

Binghamton’s aspirations to win the regular season title and No. 1 seed could stay alive or end tomorrow night. Should the Bearcats win, they will enter a tie for second place with the Catamounts, and will own the head-to-head tiebreaker. If they lose, they will drop to fourth place and be two games behind Vermont and Boston University.

“I’m focused,” Rivera said. “It’s like a championship game.”

The teams tip off at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening in Vermont.