St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Atlantic 10 (20-11, 10-6)
St. Bonaventure got hot at the right time and made a nice little run in the Atlantic 10 tournament to reach the postseason. The Bonnies played what turned out to be a pretty tough non-conference slate. They did end up with victories over Loyola (MD) and Buffalo, but back then those were not particularly quality wins, but they certainly are now.
Big Wins: 12/3 at Buffalo (66-60), 1/11 Dayton (81-73), 3/9 vs St. Joseph’s (71-68)
Bad Losses: 11/27 at Virginia Tech (64-73), 12/1 Arkansas State (52-58), 1/7 at Duquesne (52-66)
Coach: Mark Schmidt (5 seasons at St. Bonaventure)
Why They Can Surprise:
The Bonnies rely heavily on their frontcourt, most notably superstar Andrew Nicholson. The 6-9, 240 pound senior is the team leader in every facet of the game. He is a superb interior scorer, who can stretch out the defense with his outside shooting, a great rebounder and the best shot blocker on the team. With Nicholson on the team, Da’Quan Cook and Demetrius Conger often get overlooked. Conger is a double figure scorer who can also knock down some long balls. He has taken over the scoring load whenever Nicholson gets into foul trouble. Cook is not the best scorer around, but he can score in the paint and provides some more size and girth on the defensive end.
Why They Can Disappoint:
St. Bonaventure lacks a lot of scoring punch from the perimeter. Charlon Kloof has been in the starting lineup most of the season, but a handful of other players have also worked their way into the starting five. Sophomore Matthew Wright and junior Eric Mosley are the two shooters on the team, but they both take over half of their shots from beyond the arc. While they can score some points on any given day, both Wright and Mosley rely heavily on their outside shooting and neither is particularly consistent. If the Bonnies had a guard who could create opportunities for himself and get to the basket, their offense would have been far more consistent. But as it is, St. Bonaventure can go through some major dry spells on the offensive end if Nicholson or Conger are not being effective in the paint.
Probable Starters:
Jordan Gathers, Freshman, Guard, 1.7 ppg, 1.2 apg
Charlon Kloof, Sophomore, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 2.6 apg
Demitrius Conger, Junior, Forward, 12.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Da’Quan Cook, Senior, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Andrew Nicholson, Senior, Forward, 18.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Chris Johnson, Junior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Eric Mosley, Junior, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 1.7 apg
Youssou Ndoye, Freshman, Center, 2.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Matthew Wright, Sophomore, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 2.8 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.3 (115th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.7 (110, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.6 (85, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.8 (112, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (224, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (152, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.2 (12, 2)
Rebound Margin: 5.5 (28, 1)
Assists Per Game: 13.9 (82, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.5 (241, 12)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
St. Bonaventure 2011 CBI First Round loss to UCF
St. Bonaventure 2002 NIT First round loss to Syracuse
St. Bonaventure 2001 NIT First round loss to Pittsburgh
St. Bonaventure 2000 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Kentucky
St. Bonaventure 1998 NIT First round loss to Vanderbilt
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
