There are teams with reason to believe and teams that should be committed for believing, but with conference tournaments beginning this week, the past four months no longer matter. For most teams, the NCAA Tournament is only a few games away.
Here is a look at the area’s mid-majors, minus Big East teams, with a chance to reach the Big Dance:
Stony Brook
(23-6, 14-2 America East) RPI: 72
Regular season recap: The Seawolves captured their second straight regular season conference championship, and third in the past four years, setting a Div. I program record for wins in a season.
Best win: 65-48 over Vermont on Feb. 15.
Player to Watch: Freshman big man Jameel Warney leads the team with 12.2 points per game, shooting a conference-best 62.4 percent from the field, while also leading the conference with 1.6 blocks and eight AE Rookie of the Week awards.
X-Factor: Senior forward Tommy Brenton does everything but sweep the gym, leading the team with 8.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: Never. Stony Brook joined Division I in 1999.
Stony Brook will make the NCAA Tournament if: The regular season is any indication of the postseason. The Seawolves are clearly the best team in the conference, with the top scoring offense and defense, and will have home court advantage in the title game, should they make it.
Next Game: Top-seeded Stony Brook will play No. 8 Binghamton in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament on Saturday (6 p.m.) in Albany.
LIU Brooklyn
(17-13, 12-6 NEC) RPI: 193
Regular season recap: After back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the Blackbirds bounced back from a season-ending injury to Julian Boyd, the reigning conference player of the year, and won 12 of their final 15 games.
Best win: 79-78 at Bryant on Jan. 26.
Player to Watch: Senior forward Jamal Olasewere vaulted to frontrunner for conference player of the year, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
X-Factor: Point guard Jason Brickman leads the nation with 8.5 assists and is shooting a conference-best 45.8 percent on 3-pointers.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2012
LIU will make the NCAA Tournament if: What didn’t kill it made it stronger. Between injuries and suspensions, the Blackbirds have endured a ton of adversity in their quest for the NEC’s first-ever three-peat and will not have the luxury of playing every game at home like the past two seasons.
Next Game: No. 3 LIU hosts No. 6 Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament tomorrow (7 p.m.).
Wagner
(18-11, 12-6 NEC)
RPI: 124
Regular season recap: Coming off a program-record 25-win season, the Seahawks finished second again despite the loss of coach Dan Hurley, behind 29-year-old Bashir Mason, the youngest coach in the country.
Best win: 86-75 at LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 10.
Player to Watch: Senior forward Jonathan Williams, the team’s leading scorer (15.2) and rebounder (6.6), has reached double-digit points in 11 straight.
X-Factor: Because of the team’s excellent depth, uber-athletic sophomore Mario Moody only plays 17.2 minutes per game, but he is a defensive force, averaging 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2003
Wagner will make the NCAA Tournament if: Despite embracing an uptempo offense during conference play, the Seahawks’ core principles, and success, are rooted in a relentless defensive mindset.
Next Game: Wagner hosts No. 7 Central Connecticut State in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament tomorrow (7 p.m.).
St. Francis
(12-17, 8-10 NEC)
RPI: 212
Regular season recap: The Terriers underachieved, finishing below .500 in NEC play for the eighth time in nine years.
Best win: 71-61 vs. Robert Morris on Jan. 31.
Player to Watch: Sophomore forward Jalen Cannon leads the team with 14.7 points and the conference with 8.9 rebounds, posting 10 double-doubles this season.
X-Factor: Ben Mockford, a junior from England and transfer from Iona, is a southpaw sharpshooter who leads the team shooting 40.4 percent on 3-pointers and is averaging 20.5 points over the past four games.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: Never. The Terriers are one of five schools that have been in Division I since 1948 to have never made an appearance in the tournament.
St. Francis will make the NCAA Tournament if: The shooters can get hot. The Terriers need to spread the floor and create room inside for Cannon and senior Akeem Johnson.
Next Game: As the No. 8 seed, the Terriers will travel to top-seeded Robert Morris in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament tomorrow (7 p.m.).
Iona
(17-13, 11-7 MAAC)
RPI: 118
Regular season recap: With the graduations of Scott Machado and Mike Glover from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, the Gaels still produced the third-highest scoring team in the nation (81.2) and remained a contender in the conference despite integrating nine new players.
Best win: 81-78 in overtime at Georgia on Dec. 15.
Player to Watch: Lamont “Momo” Jones, a senior from Harlem, is the third-highest scoring player in the nation (23.2).
X-Factor: The Gaels have little interior presence and 6-foot-8 David Laury can be a difference-maker, when he wants to be. The sophomore averaged 13 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2012
Iona will make the NCAA Tournament if: Defense and rebounding become as attractive as offense. The Gaels may be the MAAC’s most talented team, but defensive lapses and hustle-plays have been an Achilles heel, resulting in seven conference losses by an average of 2.4 points.
Next Game: No. 4 seed Iona will play No. 5 Canisius in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) in Springfield, Mass.
Manhattan
(12-17, 9-9 MAAC)
RPI: 199
Regular season recap: Considered a contender after producing the biggest turnaround in Div. I last season, the Jaspers stumbled after an early season-ending injury to senior George Beamon, but salvaged their season by winning six of their final eight games.
Best win: 62-51 at Rider on Jan. 27.
Player to Watch: Rhamel Brown, a junior from Brooklyn, transformed into a beast in his junior year. The big man blossomed on the block, averaging a team-high 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, while ranking 10th in the nation with 3.03 blocks.
X-Factor: Freshman forward Shane Richards attempted 179 field goals this season, with 149 coming from beyond the arc. When he’s hitting, 39.6 percent of the time, the Jaspers look like a completely different team, having gone 4-1 the past five games he’s hit double-digit points.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2004
Manhattan will make the NCAA Tournament if: It can balance great defense and unreliable offense. The Jaspers lost their top-scoring option when Beamon went down and have had a hard time replacing him, averaging a conference-low 58.4 points, but their defensive pressure can be so overwhelming it might not matter.
Next Game: As the No. 6 seed in the MAAC Tournament, Manhattan plays No. 3 Loyola (Md.) in the quarterfinals on Saturday (9:30 p.m.).
St. Peter’s
(9-20, 3-15 MAAC)
RPI: 284
Regular season recap: After capturing one non-conference win last season, the Peacocks started 3-0, including a season-opening upset at Rutgers, but the team eventually found last place, as predicted, only winning three games in 2013.
Best win: 64-62 over Iona on Dec. 5.
Player to Watch: Sophomore guard Desi Washington averaged a team-high 14.7 points, while shooting a conference-high 87.7 percent on free throws.
X-Factor: Senior Blaise Ffrench, a guard from Queens, leads the team with 4.6 assists and has had eight games with seven or more assists. The Peacocks are 5-3 in those games.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2011
St. Peter’s will make the NCAA Tournament if: It turns out the Peacocks were just hustling everyone. Since the Iona upset, the Peacocks are 0-12 against the MAAC’s top-seven teams.
Next Game: No. 10 seed St. Peter’s will play No. 7 Fairfield in the first round of the MAAC Tournament on Friday (9:30 p.m.).
Hofstra
(7-24, 4-14 CAA)
RPI: 321
Regular season recap: The arrests of four key players on burglary charges and Jamal Coombs-McDaniels’ season-ending knee injury quickly turned a promising season into one Pride fans will never forget, for all the wrong reasons.
Best win: 66-63 over South Dakota State on Nov. 16.
Player to Watch: Senior point guard Stevie Mejia plays a team-high 34.2 minutes and has assumed the brunt of offensive responsibility with the team’s lack of depth, averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 4.1 assists, along with two steals per game.
X-Factor: Penn State transfer Taran Buie, a sophomore guard, is one of the few Pride players who can create his own shot and leads the team with 12.3 points.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2001
Hofstra will make the NCAA Tournament if: Karma exists. Coach Mo Cassara, and Pride fans, deserve better than what the off-the-court issues have sentenced them to this season.
Next Game: No. 7 seed Hofstra plays No. 2 Delaware in the quarterfinals on Saturday (6 p.m.) in Richmond, Va.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com