In its first season as a Division I program in 2013-14, UMass Lowell far exceeded expectations. The River Hawks, who were picked to finish last in the 2013 America East preseason poll, ended the season in fifth in conference standings, accumulating eight AE victories.

Instead of taking on fourth-seeded Albany in the first round of the AE Tournament, however, the River Hawks’ season ended early. According to NCAA rules, a team may not participate in the postseason until it has been a Division I program for four years.

This year, the River Hawks face a similar situation: They were again picked to finish last in the AE, and are again ineligible for postseason play.

“We don’t really talk at all about being ineligible for the tournament,” head coach Pat Duquette said. “It’s not something our guys think about on a daily basis. We know the situation. We know we won’t be eligible for three more years. It’s more about competing in our conference and enjoying playing Division I basketball. I think all of our guys are excited to do that and compete within the conference.”

While the preseason predictions may be similar, the roster will be almost completely different. The River Hawks graduated last season’s two leading scorers in guards Akeem Williams and Antonio Bivins. At just 5-foot-10, Williams was the main ball handler and playmaker for Lowell last season, averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while earning second-team all-conference recognition. Bivins, the 2014 AE Sixth Man of the Year, added 13.6 points per contest and led Lowell with 5.9 boards per game.

That’s a lot to replace, but Duquette expressed confidence in senior guard Chad Holley. Holley, who started 25 games for the River Hawks last season, was the only other player who averaged double figures in scoring, with 10.3 points per game. Though the third option last season, Holley will become the primary scoring threat for Lowell this season.

“Chad has made a ton of progress in the offseason,” Duquette said. “He has worked really hard and has improved as much as any player I have seen. I expect him to play a big role. But I also expect us to be a more balanced team than we were last year. Antonio and Akeem did the majority of our scoring last year. This year, I expect it to be more spread out. We have a number of guys who can help contribute.”

Expanding Duquette’s options are nine newcomers. Highlighting the freshman class is guard Lance Crawford, who was a three-star recruit, according to ESPN.com. Crawford averaged 14 points per game as a senior while leading Sagemont School to the Florida State championship.

Factor Crawford in with the addition of Northeastern transfer graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores — who played in 29 games for the Huskies last season and shot 35 percent from 3-point range — and the return of highly touted redshirt freshman Jahad Thomas — who missed all of the 2013-14 season due to injury — as well as six other true freshmen, and Duquette has a range of new faces to field on both sides of the ball.

“We are going to make some changes based on the new guys,” Duquette said. “But we will keep the core of what we have done both offensively and defensively the same. We are still in the process of trying to figure out which freshmen are going to help us right away, and which ones may take a little while to develop.”

During its four-year transition period, the River Hawks aren’t focusing on wins and losses. Instead, the coaching staff is focusing on building a culture that will lead to success down the road while also anticipating the chance to compete in the conference tournament.

“I’m still not measuring by wins and losses or what place we finish in,” Duquette said. “It’s more about continuing the building process that we started last year. This is going to be a long transition. We are just trying to continue to build the culture within in our program, establish our identity and come together as a team. “