Somewhere in the America East, teams are winning. Thoughts of postseason runs aren’t so far-fetched and dreams of championships and trophies and getting to punch your ticket to the NCAA tournament aren’t completely delusional.

While the Binghamton University men’s basketball team sits winless in the basement of not just the conference but the entire nation, action elsewhere is starting to pick up and an interesting scenario is starting to form in the America East.

As of Monday night, Stony Brook University sat atop the America East conference with only a single conference loss under its belt. But with a handful of games left, the University of Vermont stood in second place, just one game behind the Seawolves.

The conference’s two top teams are strikingly similar. Both are hot right now, each riding win streaks of seven consecutive games, and both are undefeated on their home courts in conference play. Stony Brook remained undefeated at home through non-conference play as well, and currently boasts an overall record of 11-0 at home.

On the back of the conference’s top-ranked defense, Stony Brook has led the America East in both points allowed and scoring margin this season, giving up under 59 points per game and winning matches by an average of 8.7 points. Vermont’s average scoring margin of 5.0+ is good for second best in the conference.

On Jan. 2, the Seawolves handed Vermont its first of two conference losses, dropping the Catamounts 65-59 at home. The teams are set to face off again this Sunday at Vermont, where, if the standings remain intact, the Seawolves will be forced to pull out another win if they hope to retain sole possession of first place.

Stony Brook and Vermont are not alone in the race.

After a recent road bump of back-to-back losses to the conference’s two top teams, Boston University sunk to third place and is now just two games back from first. Saturday’s game against last-place Binghamton was likely just what the Terriers needed to get back on track, keeping them still very much a part of the race.

Last night, the Terriers faced off against fourth-place University at Albany, yet another team still alive in the conference, barely edging the Great Danes, 81-78.

Following the weekend, Albany led the league in scoring, averaging 73.9 points per game on the back of the conference’s top scorer, junior Gerardo Suero. Suero was averaging nearly 22 points per contest, with a .489 field goal percentage.

With the America East Championship looming less than a month away, the upcoming games for all of these teams will be crucial. As the standings read right now, any of the conference’s top five teams has a legitimate shot to come up on top for a chance to represent to America East in the tourney.

Look for Maine to make a run up from fifth place, and expect the Terriers to finish strong. Stony Brook and Vermont will likely hang around until the end. With the way things are going, however, it’s practically guaranteed that the run for the conference title will be exciting to watch.

After a bleak season in Binghamton, some excitement is just what we need.

The America East crown could belong to anyone.

And for the Bearcats … at least there’s next year.