SEASON STATS (PDF) | FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
GAME DAY CENTRAL
St. Bonaventure (11-0) vs. Michigan State (8-3)
DATE: Monday, December 21, 2009
SITE: Breslin Center (14,759)
LOCATION: East Lansing, Mich.
TIP-OFF: 6:00 p.m. ET
WEB AUDIO: www.MSUSpartans.com
LIVE STATS: www.MSUSpartans.com
TV: The Big Ten Network
Talent: Lisa Byington (Play-by-Play) and Vera
Jones (Analyst)
SERIES: St. Bonaventure leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: December 7, 2008
St. Bonaventure 63, Fairleigh Dickinson 52
UP NEXT: vs. IUPUI (Christmas City Classic hosted
by Lehigh)
Tuesday, Dec. 28 @ 3:00 p.m.
AT A GLANCE
St. Bonaventure (11-0) enters today's contest after a 4-0
home stand that saw victories against Marist and Bowling Green. The
meeting at Michigan State (8-3) is one of four away match ups left
for the Bonnies in the non-conference schedule. St. Bonaventure
travels to Lehigh before the new year to participate in the
Christmas City classic before traveling to Virginia before the
start of conference play.
SERIES HISTORY
Today's matchup will be the second meeting between these two
schools in as many years. The Bonnies hold a 5-2 all-time record
against the Big Ten Conference. The Bonnies upset the Spartans last
season at the Reilly Center 63-52 after a career-high 25 points
from then-senior Katelyn Murray. Senior Dana Mitchell pitched in 15
points and grabbed five rebounds.
Head Coach Match Up
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Jim Crowley
@ St. Bonaventure: 121-152 (10th)
Overall: 160-200 (13th)
vs. Michigan State: 1-0
MICHIGAN STATE HEAD COACH
Suzy Merchant
@ Michigan State: 52-28 (Third year)
Overall: 253-148 (14th)
vs. St. Bonaventure: 0-1
Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State enters today's contest having just under 48
hours of recovery time off their 69-52 victory against Washington.
Senior Allyssa DaHaan leads MSU in scoring with 12.5 ppg and is 44
blocks away from surpassing Sandora Irvin (480) for the most blocks
in NCAA history. The Spartans have held four opponents to under 55
points and have not lost by more than five points.
Happy Holidays
St. Bonaventure is 40-31 under head coach Jim Crowley in December.
With six games in the first month of the season, The Bonnies set a
program record of six wins in November and look to do the same in
December. Below is a look at how the current Bonnies have fared in
the second month of the season.
FOUR-tunately
The Bonnies are ranked fourth in the nation in three different
catagories: scoring defense (47.7 ppg), free-throw percentage
(80.7) and 3-point field-goal percentage (45.4). St. Bonaventure is
also one of four teams that has won every game by 10 or more points
(Kentucky, UConn and Stanford).
UNDER PRESSURE
The undefeated Bonnies continue to limit their competitors to
under 45 percent shooting per game (36.7) and holding opponents to
an average 47.8 points per contest --both league bests.
National RECOGNITION
The Bonnies garnered votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and
USA Today/ESPN Polls on Monday, December 14 after beating Bowling
Green 70-54. It marks the fourth time in the 37-year history that
Bona has been recognized.
FAR and AWAY
St. Bonaventure is pretty comfortable on hostile opponent courts
going 13-7 in its last 20 away games.
On this DAY
The Bonnies are 2-7 on December 21 dating back to 1986. The last
time they played on the 21st they lost to Marquette 78-49.
STARTING off STRONG
St. Bonaventure's 11-game winning streak is a program best.
The Bonnies are the last unbeaten team in the Atlantic 10 and one
of 13 remaining in Division I.
SIX Minutes left to Go
The team explodes in the second half, outscoring opponents
384-257. With six minutes left in the second half, the Bonnies have
held a double-digit lead in all but one game. The biggest lead (27)
with six minutes left was against Akron.
