Every week Pipe Dream’s Sports staff will bring you its America East Power Rankings. This week we see UMBC remain at its top post, probably forever, after the Retrievers beat George Washington, while New Hampshire tries for some respect among the AE’s elite.

Biggest gainer: Albany from No. 4 to No. 2; Hartford from No. 8 to No. 6.

Biggest drop: Binghamton from No. 5 to No. 8.

Team record points last week comments

1. UMBC (4-1) 36 (4) 1: The Retrievers have replaced Boston University as the AE’s representative in ESPN’s Bracketologoy, and when ESPN notices that someone in the AE is making noise this early in the season, it probably means something.

2. Albany (4-1) 30 4: The Great Danes are making believers out of teams who thought they wouldn’t succeed without Jamar Wilson. Their only loss is to Bucknell, a team currently residing in the country’s top 40 RPI rankings.

3. Vermont (2-3) 28 3: After defeating NJIT and Loyola for their first two wins of the season, the Catamounts hold strong in the third spot and receive the same number of votes as they did in last week’s poll.

4. Boston (1-4) 25 2: The preseason favorite has been hit by some injuries and some inexplicable did-not-plays. The losses are to good teams, but until they get some wins, the Terriers will be tough to judge.

5. New Hampshire (3-1) 21 6: The Wildcats, predicted in our preseason poll to finish last, have an RPI ranking of 89, tops in the AE. And they beat Central Connecticut State.

6. Hartford (3-4) 16 8: The Hawks got a pair of nice wins over Jackson State and South Carolina State to finish in fifth place at the Las Vegas Invitational this weekend.

7. Maine (3-4) 12 7: The Black Bears hung around before losing to Northeastern this weekend. This could be their highest ranking of the season.

8. Binghamton 9 (1-4) 5: Only one voter failed to put the Bearcats in the bottom two. BU’s 331st RPI ranking is the worst in the AE, worse even than Maryland-Eastern Shores.

9. Stony Brook (0-5) 4 9: The Seawolves were demolished by Columbia, meanwhile their arch nemesis, Maryland-Eastern Shores, is now 1-6 after losing to Florida-Gulf Coast by 13 points. Yeesh.

Compiled by the Pipe Dream Sports staff. First place votes in parentheses.