In case you haven’t been paying attention lately, Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team has been making a statement to the rest of the America East Conference. And that statement is this: We’re at the top, and we’re not letting go.

As evidenced by Saturday’s 60-59 victory over Boston University, the Bearcats are proving the critics wrong, the same critics and experts that picked the team to finish fifth in the conference in a preseason poll. Binghamton is 3-1 on the season against the top two preseason favorites, Boston and the University of Vermont, with the lone loss coming on Jan. 17 at the hands of the Terriers.

The win over Boston on Saturday proved that the Bearcats belong with the elite in the conference, as they handled a top program with grace and never folded under the pressure of trying to win a game that needed to be won. They played together as a team, and as a result, won together as a team.

The Bearcats are currently riding a five-game winning streak, their second streak this season of five or more wins. They have also eclipsed the school’s Division I win total for a season, with 17 victories currently. And as of late, they’ve been doing it without some big guns.

Junior guard Malik Alvin, one of the true playmakers on the squad, has been slowed of late with ankle and knee issues, while senior Dwayne Jackson has been suspended for the past few games, and obviously has not played.

Transfer D.J. Rivera has been the juggernaut that other teams clamor to defend, leading the conference in points per game (20.7) and ranking seventh in steals (1.7 per game) and eighth in rebounds (6.3 per game).

Although junior Tiki Mayben has been bothered by back problems, he hasn’t missed time. In fact, Mayben’s play recently has been the catalyst for the Bearcats’ success. The statistically “pass-first” player has exploded in the last two months with his scoring ability, leading the team in points in two contests. His 25-point output against Albany would have been good enough for tops on the team in the game had Rivera not scored 27.

And I’ll be honest, if anyone had asked me at the beginning of this basketball season if Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team would be in the position that they currently are, I would have responded that I thought it was a rebuilding year, and Bearcat fans should just take what they could get.

When Pipe Dream viewed a team practice prior to the start of the season, players looked sluggish and head coach Kevin Broadus really exercised his vocal cords. However, looking back on that, I can say with utter sincerity that this is an entirely different team.

Never mind the fact that the team is currently in charge of its own destiny in the conference, they are sitting in a spot that I certainly did not expect them to be in.

I have had several people ask me lately if this is the best Bearcats basketball team of all time. And the simple answer to that is, no, of course not. The season is not nearly over yet, and to make a distinction of greatness like that the team will need to not only go far in the conference tourney, but win it. After that, a bid to the NCAA tourney would follow, where I believe that Binghamton would certainly turn some heads with their high-speed, go-for-broke style of play.

So in terms of greatness, they’re not there yet. But let’s put it this way: there certainly is far more “bang for your buck” for a ticket holder at a men’s basketball game now than there has been in recent years.

Now on to the big question: will the Bearcats win the AE conference championship? Obviously, I don’t own a crystal ball, or I’d have a definitive answer for that. However, I will say that given the way that they have been playing of late, and the fact that they’ve been doing it with the limited roster that they have, it will be very difficult for any team to stop that momentum.

However, I think we’d all like to see them try.