As we head into the last week of the regular season (and the start of some conference tournaments), let’s catch up with the Western New York Division I teams. Last year at this time there was serious talk of getting three WNY teams into the tournament, as UB was dominating the MAC while St. Bonaventure, Niagara and Canisius were competitive in their conferences. Only UB ultimately got in (the Bonnies fell a basket short), but can it happen this year?

The Bulls come in today at 18-11 (9-7 in the MAC, good for third place in the MAC-East). Credit new head coach Jim Whitesell with doing an amazing job of assembling a competitive team after losing coach Nate Oats, a great senior class, and their entire 2019 recruiting class! They’ve split their games with conference leader Akron but lost to 2nd place Bowling Green, who they play in the season finale. The Bulls sit at No. 139 in the NET rankings, so they are not going to be an at-large team this year (for comparison, Akron is No. 79 in the NET, projecting them as only a 13 seed). If they win the MAC tournament — and they’re capable of doing so — they’ll claim the automatic bid, and likely would be slotted as a 14-seed. Sub-200 losses to Dartmouth and Army and the lack of a marquee win like the one against Syracuse last year will hold them back from anything higher.

Down the road in Olean, the Bonnies are also 18-11 (though the Committee won’t count their win vs. Division II Gannon), and their 10-6 record in the Atlantic 10 is good for 4th place. The Bonnies rank 113th in the NET, and their best win is a good one, over NET No. 34 Rutgers, but losses to Duquesne and LaSalle this week keep them from moving up. It’s unlikely that this team can get into at-large position, and unlike UB (who’s shown they can hang with their conference leaders), Bona has a dominant team atop their conference in Dayton, who has already won the regular season crown, has only lost twice all season (both in OT!), and is ranked in the top 5 in the country. But if the Bonnies were to somehow win the A-10 tourney and snag the auto-bid, I think they would be a 13-seed, especially if they beat conference front-runners Dayton or Rhode Island.

Up at the Falls, Niagara’s overall record of 11-18 (9-9 in the MAAC) looks pretty rough. But there are some signs of life on Monteagle Ridge. Under new coach Greg Paulus, a former standout guard at Duke who took the reins in October, the Purple Eagles have shown improvement after an 0-5 start, going 11-13 since then. They’re tied for fifth place in the conference, and rank No. 305 in the NET. The MAAC is a very weak conference this year, with only four teams above .500 on the season, but NU beat two of those teams this week. The MAAC champion will be a 16-seed, but their tournament should be competitive and wide open! The key for Niagara will be to finish in fifth place or better, so they can avoid the opening round game and start in the quarterfinals.

NU’s nearby rival Canisius is 10-19, but with a 5-13 conference record (last in the MAAC). Their NET is considerably better than Niagara’s (No. 246), and they beat St. Bonaventure and MAAC leader St. Peter’s. They might be in last place, but they only lost to conference foes Siena and Rider by a point apiece, and to Niagara and Iona by three apiece. They’re not that many bad bounces away from being close to .500 in conference play. So I’m sayin’ there’s a chance!

So all of our WNY teams have a shot at March Madness, but only by winning their conference tournaments. UB has the best chance to do so, but the Bonnies would get the best seed if they pulled it off. And everyone’s got a shot in the MAAC, including NU and the Griffs. Why not?