In his HBO Special “Never Scared,” Chris Rock said, “America is a nation in the middle, a nation of B and C students.”

Chris Rock may as well have been talking about Binghamton University women’s basketball, a team in the middle.

The America East standings for women’s basketball show a clear hierarchy among its nine members. There are three excellent teams, two doormats and four teams in the middle. Put plainly, Binghamton is one of the four teams in the middle. The question is: Which one of those teams will advance in the conference tournament?

It is hard to argue with the assertion that Boston, Hartford and Vermont are the big three in the America East. The three teams have a combined AE record of 28-4, with all four losses only coming against one another. That makes them a whopping 24-0 against the rest of the America East, including 4-0 against Binghamton. At press time, one has to believe that one of those three teams will win the America East. Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl has praised all three teams this season, which was evident after her team’s home loss to Hartford on Feb. 11.

“Hartford’s a great team with balanced scoring, and they don’t make that many mistakes,” Scholl said.

With Albany and Maine, the conference doormats at one win apiece, Binghamton, UMBC, Stony Brook and New Hampshire have established themselves as the America East’s fourth through seventh best teams. Just one game separates the four teams; UMBC is fourth at 5-6 and New Hampshire is seventh at 4-7. Binghamton is 2-2 against the four teams, with a win against New Hampshire, a loss at UMBC and a season split with Stony Brook.

With the conference’s big three having separated themselves from the pack, this group of four teams is competing for what looks to be the fourth and final spot in the second round of the conference tournament.

Looking forward, one may wonder: Do the Bearcats have what it takes to distinguish itself from UMBC, Stony Brook and New Hampshire, and advance in the conference tournament?

One thing Binghamton will lack is tournament experience.

The Bearcats have dealt with a lot this season, to say the least. The program lost Laine Kurpniece, Laura Sario, Brianna Thompson and Juta Jahilo to graduation — four very key members of last season’s team. Making matters worse have been recent injuries to starting center Laura Franceski and shooting guard Muffy Sadler, the first player off the bench. As a result, the Bearcats have been shorthanded over the past four games. To top it all off, two of the five starters on the team are freshmen and the team is playing under a new head coach in Scholl.

With five freshmen, six new players and just one senior (Franceski) playing significant minutes, having a rebuilding year would have been understandable.

Add a new coach to the mix and it complicates matters even further.

However, the Bearcats have exceeded expectations with the help of two incoming freshmen: Andrea Holmes and Viive Rebane. Both have started every game this year for Binghamton. Holmes leads the team in points, assists and minutes played, and has arguably been the team’s best player. Rebane leads the team in steals, and is second in rebounds and blocks. The two have helped offset the defection of several key members of last season’s team.

So, to answer my question, do the Bearcats have what it takes to advance in the America East tournament? The answer, to be blunt, is I’m not sure. Then again, after all that has happened to Binghamton over the year, the fact that the team is even in this conversation shows how successful this season has been.