ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was a rare bit of forewarning on Mark Schmidt’s part.
“We’re 3-0 (in the Atlantic 10), but we’ve got to get better,” the 13th-year St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach said after Saturday’s 64-44 triumph over Fordham. “We’re nowhere near where we need to be. We’re about to play four really good teams, so we’ve got to improve.”
Though he typically won’t address beyond the next opponent, even Schmidt couldn’t help but mention it: After today, his Bonnies (11-5, 3-0) will face as brutal a stretch as could be conceived, with back-to-back road games against VCU and No. 13 Dayton and a home meeting with Rhode Island.
It’s a span that’s preceded by tonight’s game against Massachusetts (7 o’clock, WPIG-FM, WHDL-AM, ESPN+-live stream) in the Alesco Advisors Roc City Hoops Classic at Blue Cross Arena.
But given that this one is against a UMass team (7-9, 1-2) that has lost nine of 11 following a 5-0 start and comes in a quasi-home game for the Bonnies, the question is: How important is it move to 4-0 tonight with contests against arguably the league’s three best teams on the horizon?
“We’ve got 15 hard games coming up,” said Schmidt, reverting back to his “no game is more important than the next” mentality. “No one team is easy in this league … all of our attention is on UMass. They’re a very good team, very well-coached with good players, so it’s going to be a really difficult game.
“If you look ahead, then you’re going to get hit in the face, so we can’t do that.”
Added sophomore center Osun Osunniyi, echoing his coach’s sentiment: “We’ve just got to focus on the next game. This game right now is the most important game … we’re trying to do what we can and get the best gameplan and come out with a victory, so we’re not really focused on VCU or Dayton or Rhode Island right now.”
No, Bona is focused on the Minutemen, and on continuing not one or two, but three positive trends:
— Schmidt’s teams have won six-straight inside Blue Cross Arena following the program’s six-game slide from 2002-11.
— The Bonnies have owned UMass of late, taking seven-straight and 11 of the last 13 matchups dating back to their 84-80 victory in the 2012 A-10 Tournament semifinals.
— Bona, winner of 10 of the last 11, is seeking to become only the third team in program history open the A-10 season 4-0, alongside the 1999-00 and 2015-16 teams, neither of which got to 5-0.
UMass, meanwhile, has struggled of late, winning just two of its last 11 games and coming off an 88-60 loss at UD Arena. Still, the Minutemen are one of the more physical and athletic teams that Bona will see in conference play, a group that’s become more competitive in Year 3 under Matt McCall.
UMass hung with Virginia (58-46) in the non-league, but was also handled by common foe Rutgers, 82-57. It took Saint Louis to overtime on the road before falling, 83-80, in its league opener and beat La Salle, 77-69, in the Mullins Center.
The Minutemen have a solid veteran in junior guard Carl Pierre (14.3 points), but their future is tied to two stud freshmen at important positions: point guard Sean East II, who averages 12 points and five assists, and 6-foot-9 forward Tre Mitchell, a top-100 recruit who’s averaging a team-best 15 points and six rebounds.
“They’re athletic, they play aggressive, they press, they push the ball in transition,” Schmidt assessed of UMass. “East is a very good, aggressive freshman point guard. Mitchell is one of the best, if not the best, freshmen in the league. Pierre is one of the best shooters in the league, so they’ve got a lot of weapons.
“The way they play is difficult to play against, so it’s going to be a difficult, hard-fought game.”
Osunniyi is looking forward to matching up with the highly touted Mitchell, a four-star recruit and last year’s Connecticut Player of the Year. His Putnam team got the best of Mitchell’s Woodstock Academy squad in 2018, beating it in the national prep tournament semifinals, 82-70.
The 6-foot-10 center is savoring this opportunity after his showdown with former Putnam teammate and current Buffalo freshman center Josh Mballa was soured due to early foul trouble.
“I played against him a few times in prep school,” Osunniyi, who was named MVP of that tournament after guiding Putnam to the title one game later against Northfield Mount Hermon, said of Mitchell. “He’s really, really talented, he’s been putting up good numbers, so it’s going to be a good challenge for me to stay out of foul trouble and keep myself in the game and give my team the best opportunity to win.”
The Minutemen have been solid offensively, ranking in the top half of the league in scoring (6th, 71 points), field goal percentage (7th, .431) and 3-point percentage (3rd, .366). That should present a legitimate challenge to a Bona defense that sits among the A-10’s best.
McCall’s team, minus another first-year standout in TJ Weeks (15 points), son of former UMass star Tyrone Weeks, who underwent season-ending abdominal surgery in early December, has struggled defensively and on the boards, though, where it ranks last in rebounding margin (minus-5.1).
And those are areas the Bonnies will try to exploit.
“Our main thing is, when we rebound, we win games a lot,” Osunniyi said. “It’s kind of been like the main formula, and also limiting teams in transition. They’re a good transition team — they’re fast, they’re really athletic, so we’re going to do what we’ve been doing: having good floor spacing, keep them contained and rebound the ball.”
