ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The distinction has become apparent, if predictably so.
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team is just 1-3 away from the Reilly Center, including an overtime loss to now-2-6 Canisius and, most recently, an 83-66 setback at Buffalo, where all of its weaknesses in the early going seemed to be on display. Bona, however, is 4-0 at home and noticeably better on Bob Lanier Court, averaging 76 points (compared to 67 in road and neural contests) while holding a plus-12 scoring margin.
The natural remedy to the ills of UB would seem to be another home game.
After all, the Bonnies are 25-3 in their own confines since the 2020-21 season, the second-best mark of all Atlantic 10 teams, behind only league newcomer Loyola-Chicago, which is 27-3 in that span. That figures to be the best way for a young team to build back up its confidence and momentum.
To coach Mark Schmidt, however, it goes beyond being home or away: Bona (5-3) simply needs to start demonstrating more improvement. And that’s the mindset it will bring into tonight’s matchup with streaking Cleveland State (7 o’clock, WPIG-FM, ESPN+-live stream) inside the RC.
“It doesn’t matter (where) you’re playing, it’s like, you gotta play well,” Schmidt said. “It’s not like we’ve played great at home either. … No matter where you are, you gotta play well, and we haven’t done that consistently. It is what it is. No matter if you have a young team, old team, whatever; you gotta win your home games and try to steal some on the road, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
THE SOBERING UB loss, which Schmidt described as a “step back,” shined a light on some of what Bona has struggled with, even in wins: Dry spells on offense, getting beat on the glass, too many turnovers — the small things. But mostly it magnified an increasingly concerning trend: the fouling/free throw situation.
Typically one of the A-10’s best free throw shooting teams, Bona sits a solid 79th nationally in attempts (20.2 per game), but is only 206th in percentage (69.1 percent). Against the Bulls, it went an anemic 9-of-19 at the stripe. Conversely, it ranks tied for 270th in fouls committed (18.5 per game), and on Saturday, it cost them the presence of center Chad Venning, who had no points in just 13 minutes.
Those components need to be better, Schmidt agreed, as Bona is allowing foes too many opportunities and not cashing in enough on its own. But again, it goes beyond spotty free throw shooting.
“Every component needs to be … (improved upon),” the 16th-year coach said. “I’ve said it over and over again, we’re not nearly where we need to be in all areas: defense, offense, foul shooting, rebounding, whatever it is. We’ve got a young team and that’s gonna be a problem throughout. We’re going to have some growing pains, and whatever area it is, they’re all concerns.”
Of the need to reestablish Venning inside, he added: “He needs to stay out of foul trouble. He can’t get cheap ones. We’re a better team when he’s in the game and it’s hard to win when your 5-man doesn’t score a bucket. Just try to be smart, pick your spots when you can go block a shot and play more intelligently.”
BACK HOME, Bona has an opportunity to get better before facing a major challenge in Iona on Sunday in the Barclays Center. But again, even in the RC, this one almost certainly won’t be easy.
Cleveland State (6-3) has won six-straight following an 0-3 start, taking the last four by an average of 17 points, most recently in a 92-77 triumph over Detroit. For context, the Vikings also went to overtime on the road at Canisius (back on Nov. 16) and pulled out a 58-57 triumph.
CSU, a year after going 20-11, winning the Horizon League regular season title and advancing to the NIT, is mature, physically imposing and tough. It’s similar in those ways to Middle Tennessee, whom Bona had a tough time with in last week’s 71-64 victory. And that’s the kind of stern test Schmidt’s group figures to see again tonight.
“They’re defending really well, they play aggressive, they deny stuff,” Schmidt said. “They’re really aggressive offensively, they attack the paint. They’re just … a good team. They’re hard, tough kids and they compete, and that’s why they’ve won six in a row. They’ve dominated some teams physically; they play harder than the opponent from what I’ve seen in the last 5-6 games. They’ve really competed.”
The Vikings have done this under first-year coach Daniyal Robinson, the replacement for Dennis Gates, who was hired by Missouri after guiding Cleveland State to marks of 20-11 and 19-8 over the last two years. And though they suffered some key personnel losses as a result (and were chosen to finish seventh of 11 teams in this year’s preseason Horizon poll), their talent remains apparent.
THIS GROUP is led by 6-foot-8 Kansas and Iowa State transfer Tristan Enaruna, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game. It also includes fellow double-digit scorers in guards Tae Williams (11 points) and Deshon Parker (11 points, 6 assists), plus senior forward Deante Johnson, the latter two of which were starters on last year’s NIT team.
Statistically, these teams are similar — both are averaging a shade over 71 points, allowing between 66-67, close to even on the boards and shooting 45 percent from the field. And so for Schmidt, the key is “to just play our game.”
“They do the same thing,” he added. “They get a lot of stuff off their defense, steals, deflections and so forth. And when they have those, they’ll push it, and when they don’t, they run effective half-court offense. That’s why they’ve been so good, they’re really executing on both ends of the court.”
