Well played, America East. Nicely done.

You really dropped the ball on this one.

By advanced statistics, your conference has not produced a team as dominant as Stony Brook since 2005, when Vermont ranked No. 71 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings and finished with a 25-7 (16-2 America East) record. That Catamount team, if you recall, earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament and upset No. 4 Syracuse as T.J. Sorrentine hit a shot from the parking lot in overtime — thank you, Gus Johnson, for that amazing call.

Stony Brook, which ranked No. 59 in KenPom as of Monday afternoon, could have inflicted similar damage in this year’s Big Dance, but because the America East does not believe in holding a neutral-site conference tournament, the top-seeded Seawolves lost a semifinal road game to host No. 4 Albany. That’s right, the No. 1 seed walked off the SEFCU Arena floor as Great Dane fans rushed on to celebrate.

The fact that a fanbase expressed such jubilation after merely reaching the conference finals speaks to the Seawolves’ reputation.

Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell told me last week that he didn’t view the potential semifinal clash with Albany as unjust or aggravating. If his team was good enough to win, he said, it would win regardless of the venue.

But whether or not Pikiell truly felt that way, he never — ever — should have had to field such a question.

A league like the America East, which never qualifies for multiple bids to the NCAA tournament, should do everything in its power to improve its best team’s chances of earning the automatic bid. If you want to establish a brand, you need to send your strongest warrior into battle.

And, frankly, the America East hasn’t boasted a warrior as strong as Stony Brook in several years.

As a result, the conference has lost any national cachet it had earned since Sorrentine’s shot. With the exception of Albany scaring UConn in 2006, no America East team has come within 19 points of a tournament win. For all intents and purposes, Vermont’s defeat of Lamar in last year’s play-in round does not count.

The league sorely needs an impressive showing in the Big Dance, and now, with Stony Brook relegated to the NIT, that won’t happen. The Seawolves could have been a No. 14 seed with a reasonable shot at an upset. Now, either Vermont or Albany, whichever team wins the conference title on Saturday, will be a No. 15 or No. 16.

So, America East, use this as a reason to change your tournament format. There are several blueprints to follow.

The Northeast Conference and the Horizon League have the higher seed in each matchup play host while the entire Big Sky tournament is held at the regular season champion’s home court. The West Coast Conference awards semifinal byes to its top two teams, and several other leagues, like the Atlantic-10, play at a neutral venue.

We all know the axiom that history repeats itself unless we learn from our mistakes.

Well, America East, it’s time to learn.