They’re Back! Binghamton Bearcats take on the Nittany Lions in NCAA First Round. Again.

On December 4th, at 5:00 pm, Penn State will take on the Binghamton Bearcats in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The match will be covered by Game Tracker.

Who are the Binghamton Bearcats and how did they get here, you ask? Memories can be short: Penn State played the Bearcats in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. OK, maybe that match was a bit one-sided (see “No. 2 Women’s Volleyball Throttles Binghamton, 3-0, in NCAA First Round“), but this is a new season with new players. So, for a bit of background on this season’s Binghamton Bearcats, check out the video above.

As to how Binghamton got here, it earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the America East Championship, of course! In the championship match, it upset #1 seeded University of Albany, 3-1. Here’s the Binghamton press release:

So, they’re excited, and why not? Below are some quotes from Binghamton’s pre-tournament Media Day:

Binghamton NCAA Media Release
Binghamton NCAA Media Release

One thing that stands out, so to speak, from looking at the Binghamton roster: they aren’t very tall. The local Binghamton television station called them a Cinderalla team. If the universe implodes and they defeat the Nittany Lions, everyone will be calling them “Giant Killers.”