Is it conceivable electric Niagara guard Tyrone Lewis could be left off my all-Big 4 Team?

Is it possible there's no room for University at Buffalo workhorse Calvin Betts? It's not only

conceivable, not only possible, it's a done deal. Here's this season's Big 4-Big 5 from this

perspective:

Rodney Pierce, UB, 6-foot-2 Sr. G: Player of the Year. He's averaging 19.2 points

while shooting 42 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line heading into Thursday's

regular-season finale at Miami (Ohio). Has matured into the quintessential scorer in that he

wants the ball at key junctures but recognizes the game and the team isn't all about him.

Scored 20 or more points in a school-record eight straight games when Bulls found their footing earlier in the season, and went off

for 31 against both Akron and Liberty. He's up to 13 games of 20 or more points on the season,

averages 3.4 rebounds, about three assists and leads the team with 59 steals. Tough defender,

too.

Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure, 6-9 So. C: Leads the Bonnies in scoring (16 pgg)

and rebounding (7.5), a nice progression from his freshman numbers of 12.5 and 6.0. Capable of

dominating on the inside, as we saw when he dumped 26 on UMass and 29 on Duquesne in

consecutive games. Shooting almost 57 percent from the field to go with 75 percent from the

line. Nicholson's a gifted offensive player but he'll need to bulk up to round out his game.

Can play tentatively on the defensive end and doesn't get the respect from referees afforded

players of similar high-end ability. Has fouled out of five games overall and four in the

Atlantic 10, where he's averaging nearly four fouls a game. Some of the calls against him

— such as the tie-up on the floor during Saturday's win over Rhode Island — have

been downright ridiculous. Would expect him to be Big 4 Player of the Year each of the next

two seasons.

Frank Turner, Canisius, 5-10 Sr. G: Detractors say Turner doesn't distribute the

ball enough out of the half-court set. The response is, to who? His supporting cast consists

of inconsistent scorers, especially if Julius Coles isn't draining threes. Turner gave the

Golden Griffins everything he had this season and the numbers reflect his impact: 17.5 points,

an astounding 47.5 field-goal percentage for a player his size, 176 assists against 101

turnovers. And his drives to the basket resulted in more than 200 trips to the free-throw

line, a total last achieved by Craig Wise in 1994-95. How vital was Turner to the Canisius

offense? He averaged 38.5 minutes, the heaviest workload in the Metro Atlantic Athletic

Conference.

Jonathan Hall, St. Bonaventure, 6-5 Sr. G: Nicholson's foul troubles and erratic

play at point guard often leave the Bonnies needing someone who can penetrate and finish off

the dribble. That's Hall, who's stepped outside the arc for only 18 of 239 field goal attempts

while shooting 54 percent from the floor. Averaging 13.5 points and 5.7 rebounds overall,

numbers that rise to 14.8 and 6.3 in A-10 play. He's also second on the team in assists (3.6).

Now if only he were a better free-throw shooter (60 percent).

Bilal Benn, Niagara, 6-5 Sr. G: Averages 13.5 points, about three fewer than

teammate Lewis, but makes up for the difference and then some with his team-leading rebounding

(9.9) and more than double Lewis's assist total (92 versus 45). Hasn't been quite the same

since arthroscopic knee surgery in early December but his work on the boards is vital to a

team that runs four and sometimes five guards.

Bulls breakdown

If UB (9-6) wins at Miami (8-7) Thursday it will secure the No. 4 seed for the Mid-American

Conference Tournament and a bye straight to Cleveland. If the Bulls lose to the RedHawks

they'll still finish at No. 4 if Eastern Michigan defeats Central Michigan and Ball State

loses at Western Michigan.

Under any other scenario, the Bulls would be relegated to the fifth or sixth seed and

entertain either Toledo or Northern Illinois on Sunday in the round of campus play-in games

leading to Cleveland.

Bona breakdown

There's a three-way tie for eighth among St. Bonaventure, Duquesne and George Washington

(all 6-8), and the team that finishes there will host an Atlantic 10 Tournament play-in game

while the other two take to the road.

But don't get your hopes up, Bona fans. All the tiebreakers weigh against the Bonnies. To

finish eighth they'll have to win their last two (against Duquesne on Wednesday and at A-10

co-leader Xavier on Saturday) while both the Dukes and the Colonials lose their final two. The

Dukes finish at home against winless Fordham, while GW is home to 3-11 Saint Joseph's before

finishing at co-leading Temple.