ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Across the weekend and into Christmas Day, the celebration for the greatest non-conference victory of the Mark Schmidt era was still very much alive.
For every social media post about the joy of gathering with loved ones, there seemed to be two or three containing some sort of reference to juicers or orange peels or fresh squeezed juice. For every conversation centering on the holiday, most exchanges seemed to come back to those game-deciding plays: Oshae Brissett’s missed layup; Courtney Stockard’s charge; LaDarien Griffin’s block.
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team’s 60-57 overtime triumph over Syracuse Friday night in the Carrier Dome was big …
Big from the standpoint that the Bonnies finally ended a 26-year drought against the Orange which spanned 14 contests, that they took down one of the fan base’s most loathed figures, Jim Boeheim, on his own floor and that, for a season, anyway, they can be viewed as the best in New York State.
It was even bigger, however, for what it means for Bona.
With Friday’s triumph, the Bonnies now undoubtedly possess the non-league resume needed for at-large consideration in March. In that way, they’re similar to any NFL team in a win-and-in playoff scenario this weekend: They control their own destiny.
How do we know this?
Coach Mark Schmidt’s team (10-2) owns three Top 75 KenPom victories (over No. 34 Maryland, No. 53 Syracuse and No. 75 Vermont) and is a healthy Jaylen Adams away from being 11-1 with its only loss coming to the No. 10 team in the country — unbeaten TCU.
Even two years removed from a record-setting NCAA Tournament snub, that’s a resume that couldn’t — and wouldn’t — be ignored come Selection Sunday.
Yeah, there’s a long way to go, but for Bona, it essentially boils down to this: If it can go something like 14-4 or 13-5 in league play — in an undeniably down year for the Atlantic 10 — and finish either 24-6 or 23-7, it would almost certainly be dancing for the second time under Schmidt.
The question posed after Syracuse was: Do they feel as though they’ve accomplished part one of their goal?
“We did a really good job in the first section of our schedule,” Schmidt willingly offered, “ … (but) that 10-2 record doesn’t mean anything when we play UMass on the 30th. Everybody’s 0-0 and we have to start again.”
Added Jaylen Adams, who on Tuesday garnered his fifth A-10 Player of the Week award: “In the past three years, these were games we managed to lose somehow, so just coming out with this win, I think it’s a tremendous confidence boost and going into conference, it’s exactly what we needed.
“We’re going to rest up on break and come out with the same intensity. We’re not satisfied.”
For as troubling as that season-opening home loss to Niagara was, it was always going to be up to the Bonnies how that setback would be perceived at year’s end.
And right now, that game seemed like it happened last season.
Bona has looked like an entirely different team since the Maryland game, the one that we were supposed to see from the get-go. It hasn’t lost since Adams reentered the lineup following an ankle injury on Dec. 2, winning six straight (and seven in a row overall), including five over teams ranked No. 160 or higher. It’s taken out two power conference teams away from the Reilly Center.
Another aspect that might be beneficial come March? Even more so than in 2015-16, the national media is beginning to take notice.
The Bonnies received five total points in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, with two voters ranking them No. 24 and one at No. 25. By that metric, they’re currently ranked tied for No. 33 in the country. In Andy Katz’s weekly Power 36 piece, Bona checked in at No. 23, one spot behind Rhode Island, against whom it could well be fighting for the regular season A-10 title.
Regarding Schmidt’s team in “The Rothstein Files” piece, CBS’ Jon Rothstein said, “This doesn’t just look like an NCAA Tournament team — this is an NCAA Tournament team.”
What’s amazing is that after such an inauspicious start, which included the Adams injury, the loss to Niagara and the power outage that forced the postponement of the Maryland-Eastern Shore game, the Bonnies might actually — somehow — be exceeding expectations to this point
(I think almost anybody would have taken a split with Maryland and Syracuse in the preseason).
On Friday, Bona secured a top three triumph of the Schmidt era (also included, on this list, anyway, is the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship victory over Xavier in 2012 and the road win over No. 15 Dayton in 2016, but that’s an argument for another day), one that gives it plenty of momentum heading into the start of conference play.
But with each passing game, it continues to live in the moment.
“I’m just happy to be a part of this team, really,” Adams said. “We’re really trying to leave our legacy this year, especially the seniors; we know this is our last ride. We’re going to leave it out on the floor every night.”
(J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing Company group sports editor, can be reached at othbutler@gmail.com)
