ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Mark Schmidt was ready to answer the question before it had even been asked.
And when he did, his response was all of 14 words.
In one sense, his St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has no reason for its confidence to be shaken; the Bonnies have lost back-to-back games, yes, but those came against two outstanding teams, including the No. 7 squad in the country, on the road, without their most important player.
Bona, though, wasn’t particularly competitive, losing those contests by 28 and 26 points, respectively. It was the first time in the Schmidt era that a Bona team lost consecutive games by at least 20 points.
Can that have a lasting negative effect on a team still tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 standings one-third of the way through the conference campaign? The 13th-year coach shook his head at the idea.
The Bonnies (12-7, 4-2) simply need to move on, he said.
And that’s what it’ll do when, playing at home for just the second time since Dec. 18, Bona will face the third and final test of a three-game gauntlet: today’s meeting with Rhode Island (3 o’clock, WPIG-FM, WHDL-AM, Stadium-TV) inside the Reilly Center.
“You learn from your mistakes,” Schmidt allowed, when reflecting on the last week. “You move on and you prepare for the next game.”
For the third-straight game, Bona might be without Osun Osunniyi, who remains a question mark while still in concussion protocol. The sophomore center was described by one team source as “doubtful” for today’s contest; further, he again wasn’t present for the start of practice on Friday.
And while his absence would continue to be a blow as Bona faces its toughest stretch of the season, there’s one key difference between this and the two games that came before it: today’s contest will be played in front of a near-capacity home crowd, with the students in full force for the first time since early December.
Following a league-opening home loss to Richmond, the Rams (13-5, 5-1), have been on a roll, winning five-straight, including a 65-56 triumph at VCU and a 77-55 drubbing Wednesday of a Duquesne team that had been been receiving Top 25 votes, a game in which they outscored the Dukes 47-17 in the second half.
They now sit in a three-way tie for second in the A-10 standings, a game behind Dayton and one up on Bona and VCU.
URI, though, currently ranks No. 58 in the KenPom, third in the league behind the Flyers (No. 4) and VCU (No. 50). That means that Bona, based on this projection, will have played the A-10’s three best teams in succession.
Once again, the Bonnies will almost certainly have their hands full.
But given how the last week has gone, and the fact that this one is at home, is there an added emphasis on getting back into the win column this afternoon?
“It’s not an added emphasis (specifically),” Schmidt maintained. “We prepare for this one just like we prepared for the first 19 games that we played. We know you have to protect your home court if you’re going to be competitive in the Atlantic 10, and it’s a home game …
“But they’re all important. It’s not like we go into one game thinking we’re going to prepare better for this one because we’re playing at home. It’s the same mentality, be it home or away.”
Like much of the league, the Rams returned most of their key pieces from a team that went 18-15 and fell to Bona in the A-10 Tournament semifinals last year, and have only gotten better as a result.
And in Year 2 under David Cox, they’ve again taken on the look of one of the league’s premier teams.
Rhode Island boasts a dynamic backcourt in senior point guard Jeff Dowtin (14 points, 4 rebounds) and Fatts Russell (19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds). It has back all-conference big man and double-double machine Cyril Langevine (10 points, 10 rebounds), No. 3 in the A-10 in rebounding. Russell, the 5-foot-10 spitfire, has been among the league’s top storylines this season, improving from a complementary piece to a potential First Team All-Conference selection.
“He’s a talented guy,” Schmidt said of Russell, who ranks third in the A-10 in scoring. “He had a good year last year; they’ve let him play. When he shoots the ball from beyond the arc, he’s a guy that’s really hard to guard. The hope is that you play him, try to keep him out of the paint and hope he misses. But he’s quick, he’s experienced. He just has a scorer’s mentality, that’s why he’s so good.”
The Rams, who have a third double-digit scorer in guard Tyrese Martin (12 points), rank third in the conference in scoring (73.6 points), though they’re near the bottom in both 3-point field goal percentage and makes. They’re still characterized by their physical, aggressive approach.
For the third-straight game, Bona will have to deal with one of the league’s top big men, going from VCU’s Marcus Santos-Silva, to Dayton’s Obi Toppin, to URI’s Langevine … most likely without shot-blocking center Osunniyi. But even after being handled by the former two, its approach this afternoon will remain the same.
“It’s going to be the same if ‘Shoon plays or not,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to play the post exactly the same way — try to keep the ball out of the post, and if they get it in, we try to get it out there. It doesn’t change our game plan with who’s playing and who’s not playing …
“They’ve got good players (all around), they’re a year older, they’re well-coached. It’s going to be a test.”
