"If SBU cannot beat an average team when it matters, then winning over a once-ranked team doesn't mean a whole lot"
Mid-majors beat ranked teams in December every so often (esp ranked teams that are probably over-ranked), it just so happens SBU caught that magic this year. That's all a December game like that means.
And truth is, today's UVM game probably doesn't mean much of anything except just a basketball game on a cold day in early January. UVM/SBU/UA/Hart (barring a major player going down) will all likely scramble into the top 4 in some order, get a home game, then it's simply who is playing well and can win two games in March. Recent history shows that being on the home court for a big tournament game don't mean much. There's your one-bid-conference March Madness!
After Warney (and Puriefoy on a good day) SBU is just a bunch of kids like about everyone else in the conference. Right now, today, looks like UVM and UA playing well, but we got a good month-and-a-half and a lot of games and leg strains and practice and colds/flu to go....