ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — They got an early practice in, packed their bags and headed out to board another plane.
For the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, it’s been a brutal two-week stretch … and it’s not over yet.
By late tonight, Bona will have played on the road four times in five games against arguably the Atlantic 10’s toughest competition – in order, the teams ranked Nos. 5, 4, 1 and 3 in the KenPom ratings. The first three have ended in losses.
It’s a safe bet that no other A-10 team has had as challenging a start to the conference campaign.
But, with a season edging closer to the brink, Bona can’t dwell on that. One final game in that span still awaits, one more opportunity to salvage an unsightly road swing and start a much-needed run: Tonight’s nationally televised contest with Davidson inside Belk Arena.
“We can’t blame it on that,” said senior Jaylen Adams, when asked how much the Bonnies’ schedule has contributed to its recent woes. “(Davidson) is going to be a good test for us. We’re just trying to get through it at this point. We understand that we gotta steal some on the road, so I think it’s preparing us for later in the season.”
Added coach Mark Schmidt: “We knew it was going to be a tough stretch. We knew who we were playing. You just go on the road and try to play as well as you can. Hopefully we can get a victory against Davidson, come home and protect our home court.”
Tonight’s game – the A-10’s version of Monday Night Football since it’s the lone league game on the docket and is being aired on ESPN2 – features two teams trending in different directions.
Davidson (9-7, 4-1) enters as the A-10’s hottest team aside from Rhode Island, winner of four straight, including the last three (George Mason, George Washington and Fordham) by a gaudy average of 28 points. Bona (12-5, 2-3), after a glittering non-conference, has lost three of the last four – all on the road – by an average of 10 points.
While both rank among the best in the league offensively, this matchup could boil down to one strength vs. another: The Bonnies rank 13th nationally in 3-point percentage defense (.299) while the Wildcats lead the league and rank No. 18 nationally in shooting it, making nearly 11 per game.
Davidson made an amazing 26 3s in a season-opening win over Charleston Southern – two off the NCAA Division I record – and sank 15 in a 75-45 rout of Fordham on Sunday.
“It’s the most important key,” Adams said. “First on the (white) board, in the scout. They run a lot of stuff – baseline, out of bounds sets. Just their offense is a lot of motion, so we have to be prepared. Just talk, communicate and be ready to defend.”
Despite its recent skid, Bona ranks No. 64 nationally in the KenPom (and No. 43 in the RPI), though it desperately needs this win to keep its NCAA at-large chances alive. Davidson checks in right behind at No. 66 and certainly has the talent to finish inside the top four and earn a first-round bye in the A-10 Tournament.
The Wildcats are led by reigning first team all-conference selection and Player of the Year candidate Peyton Aldridge, who averages 20 points and seven rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8 forward currently ranks third in the league in scoring while Adams sits fifth at 19 points.
A year ago, Aldridge and Jack Gibbs made up the second-highest scoring tandem in the nation while Adams and Matt Mobley accounted for the third-highest. This year, Aldridge is primarily getting help from freshman guard Kellan Grady (16 points, 40 percent on 3s) and sophomore guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson (15 points, 38 percent on 3s).
Davidson ranks in the top four of the league in just about every offensive category, including scoring (4th), field goal percentage (2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (3rd), free throw percentage (2nd) and assists (1st).
For Bona, it’ll be a massive test to the very thing that has made it so vulnerable of late. Schmidt’s team has allowed an average of 85 points in its three road losses.
“They’re not just a 3-point shooting team,” Schmidt said. “They’re a team that curls, gets into the paint. You’ve gotta limit their easy baskets. They’re going to hit some 3s, and you’ve gotta contest, but you can’t give them the easy ones where they’re curling to the basket and laying the ball in. They get four or five of those a game.”
For most Bona fans, tonight is it.
If the Bonnies, currently in 10th place behind six teams at 3-3, lose and fall to 2-4 in a weak Atlantic 10, there’s almost no conceivable chance of rallying for an at-large bid, short of running the table.
As it is, Schmidt’s team can ostensibly only lose one to two more the rest of the way and still be in good standing.
It’s still early, with 13 league games remaining, but with that in mind, tonight’s game – against a Davidson team that’s unbeaten (5-0) at home – seems nothing short of a “must-win”. Do the Bonnies view it the same way?
“Every game is a must win at this point,” Adams said. “I feel like every game period has been a must win. That’s the way we approach every game. Obviously, you don’t want to get to 2-4, so there’s a little more urgency on it. I think we’ve just gotta prepare the same way, go in, be tough on the road, defend, make our foul shots, and I think we’ll be OK.”
