SBU Last Time Out
St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson became the 38th player in school history to score 1,000 career points but Niagara's Anthony Nelson poured in a game-high 24 to lead the Purple Eagles (3-7) to a 69-61 win over the Bonnies (5-3) Dec. 11 at the Reilly Center. Da'Quan Cook tallied his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards, Ogo Adegboye finished with 12 points and Mike Davenport 11. After traditional 3-point plays from Cook and Demitrius Conger powered a 13-4 run to tie the game at 42 at the 12:30 mark of the final stanza, Niagara responded with nine unanswered to stay in front and help snap its five-game losing streak.
Next Game
The Bonnies travel to Rochester, N.Y. to take on ACC foe Virginia Tech at Blue Cross Arena Dec. 23. The two teams have not met on the hardwood since Nov. 22, 2002 and the Hokies, a member of the Atlantic 10 from 1995-2000, own a 9-5 edge in 14 previous meetings. VT is currently 5-3 and plays Mississippi State on Saturday in Paradise Island, Bahamas before returning to the states to square off against St. Bonaventure.
The Matchup
Defending MAC tournament champion Ohio visits the Reilly Center on Saturday in head coach Mark Schmidt's 100th game on the Bona bench. The Bobcats earned the No. 14 seed into last season's NCAA Championship and bounced No. 3 Georgetown in the opening round before falling to Tennessee. Picked for first in the MAC's East division ahead of Kent State, the Bobcats are also picked to repeat as tournament champion.
About the Bobcats
Ohio enters the game with a 6-4 record that includes alternating wins and losses in each of its last four games. The Bobcats defeated Saint Francis (Pa.) 87-58 on Wednesday night and return three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad. 2010 MAC Rookie of the Year D.J. Cooper (18.1 pts) ranks ninth nationally in assists per game (6.5) and tenth in steals (2.7), and DeVaughn Washington (9.9 pts, 5.8 rebs) pace the Bobcats' offense. Ivo Baltic grabs an average 6.0 rebounds, while 3-point threat Tommy Freeman (23-of-55) has stretched the defense from the perimeter.
How They Got Here
The team played its first four at home and got off to a 3-1 start, before posting a 3-3 record over the next six games. Ohio has played nearly as many games at home (7) as St. Bonaventure has overall (8), but the Bobcats are just 1-2 in games away from Athens, including a loss to No. 6 Kansas in Las Vegas, Nev.
Head Coach: Joe Groce
Last year, in just his third season at OU, Groce became the fifth coach to lead Ohio to the NCAA Tournament in it's 103-year history. A stirring run through the MAC featured an overtime win on the road in the first round, a toppling of regular-season champion Kent State in the quarterfinals, a victory over archrival Miami in the semifinals and capped with another overtime victory against the defending conference champs, Akron. Ohio advanced the to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 and third time in the last 20 years. The 13-seeded Bobcats faced 4-seed Georgetown and knocked off the Hoyas, 97-83. It was Ohio's first win against a nationally-ranked program since 1998 and advanced them into the NCAA Second Round for the first time since 1983. Groce is 43-36 in his three years at Ohio.
Bonnies vs. the MAC
St. Bonaventure is 33-22 against current members of the MAC: Akron (0-1), Bowling Green (2-3), Buffalo (3-1), Eastern Michigan (1-2), Kent State (14-7), Northern Illinois (1-1), Ohio (5-3) and Toledo (7-4). St. Bonaventure has not won a game against a MAC opponent since Dec. 31, 2002, when the Bonnies defeated visiting Toledo 94-68.
Series Snapshot
The Bonnies own a 5-3 advantage in eight previous meetings with the Bobcats. St. Bonaventure won the first five meetings interspersed between 1962-63 and 2001 and has fallen in each of the last three. The Bonnies are 4-1 at home all-time versus the Bobcats.
#100 for Schmidt
Now entering his fourth season at St. Bonaventure, head coach Mark Schmidt will coach his 100th game at SBU against the Bobcats. Schmidt's .430 (43-56) win percentage at SBU is the highest by a Bonnies' mentor since current Rhode Island coach Jim Baron's .502 (132-131) mark compiled from 1992-01. Schmidt and Baron are the only two coaches to post a win-loss percentage over .400 since the start of the 1987 season.
1,000 for #44
St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson became the 38th player in school history to score 1,000 career points in the loss to Niagara. After missing his first attempt and being held scoreless over the first 11:56, the junior Mississauga native drained a foul-line jumper to move past the barrier in just his 66th game. Nicholson was a shoe size away from recording his 1,000th career point in comeback fashion in his previous outing against St. John's, as his stepback jumper was originally thought to be a 3-pointer.
Double Down
RS-Junior Da'Quan Cook – who wore #21 last season – posted his second double-double of the year last Saturday against the Purple Eagles. Cook hauled in 10 boards and scored 11 points in that game after a 21-point, 13-rebound effort helped the Bonnies cruise past Binghamton Nov. 21. So far this season, the Bonnies have 10 double doubles from four different players: Nicholson (5), Conger (2), Cook (2), Adegboye (1). Nicholson's streak of four straight double doubles is curently tied for second in the country.
Climbing the Charts
Nicholson is climbing the St. Bonaventure career records list in his third season. The Mississauga, Ont. native is the school's career leader in FG% (.576 – tied with Bob Lanier), ranks third in blocks (149), and now sits in 38th on the all-time scoring list with 1,016 points. With 27 more rebounds, he will become the 22nd player in school annals to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. His next rejection will make him the third player ever at St. Bonaventure with at least 150 blocks.
Deja 'Drew
Nicholson hit game-winning jumpers from nearly the same spot on the floor in the Bonnies' wins against UB and St. John's. The Buffalo game winner came with 6.8 seconds left to lift SBU to a 76-74 win, while the jab-step, stepback shot against the Red Storm gave 67-66 edge with 5.2 left.
13 Straight For Nicholson
Andrew Nicholson has scored in double figures in 13 straight games dating back to Feb. 27, 2010 against Rhode Island. Over that span, he is averaging 18.6 points and 8.1 boards and has not scored fewer than 14 points. He also has four straight double-doubles and six in his last eight games.
The Great Equalizer
Nicholson entered this season atop the career FG% list (.580), but has fallen into a first place tie with Bob Lanier (.576) because his game has expanded to include the 3-pointer. Nicholson is shooting .553 from the field this season – the lowest of his three-year career. Taking into account his 2-for-11 clip from beyond the arc, Nicholson is converting from inside the arc at a .602 percentage, which would tie for the highest of his career and also tie the single-season FG% record he set as a freshman.
Home Sweet Home
The loss to Niagara last weekend marked the Bonnies first home loss since Temple (Feb. 17) last season. St. Bonaventure plays four of its next six at home, and only one game (Arkansas-Little Rock) is a true road contest. Through 44 years as the home court, St. Bonaventure is 392-181 (.684) all-time in the venerable RC. In 15 games at Bob Lanier Court last year, St. Bonaventure earned a 10-5 record - the most since the 2002-03 season (9-3).
Out of Our League
All but four of the 12 teams on the Bonnies' non-conference docket ended last season with winning records. In total, the Bonnies' non-league opponents racked up a 232-163 record in 2009-10 for a .587 win percentage. That number includes 20-game winners Cornell (29-5), Siena (27-7), Virginia Tech. (25-9), Marshall (24-10) and Ohio (22-15). This season, the Bonnies non-conference opponents to date have amassed a 36-34 mark.
Canadian Money
A Mississauga, Ont. native, Nicholson has been "money" in the last five minutes of games this season, shooting 81.8 from the floor (9-11) and 8-11 from the charity stripe in the waning minutes. Fellow countryman Wright is 3-5 from the floor with a 5:2 assist/turnover ratio.
Stepping Up
Entering the season, coach Mark Schmidt commented that players other than Andrew Nicholson would have to step up for the Bonnies to find success. True to form, each of the other four starters have netted career highs through the team's 5-3 start to the year in Michael Davenport (19 pts vs. Canisius, 22 pts vs. St. John's), Ogo Adegboye (17 vs. Ark.-Little Rock, 24 pts vs. Buffalo), Demitrius Conger (22 pts. 14 rebs. vs. Cornell) and Da'Quan Cook (21 pts. 13 rebs. vs. Binghamton).
Stealing Minutes
In the win over St. John's, Schmidt effectively deployed just two bench players to keep his lead cast in the game. In a combined 13 minutes the bench was 0-2 from the floor with two rebounds, three fouls and one turnover.
And Boom Goes the Dynamite
Adegboye made seven 3-pointers – one shy of the school record – in last Saturday's effort to hold off Buffalo, 76-74. He tied his previous career high 17 points and set personal high-water marks for 3-point makes and attempts in the first half alone in helping Bona's to an 11-point lead at the break. Adegboye ended the game with new career-highs of 24 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double. The outburst also raised his then-season 3FG% from 31.6 to a blistering 46.4.
Peaks and Valleys
With a new career-high 22 points versus St. John's, 13 points on 5-of-9 from the floor opposite UB and 11 against Niagara most recently, Davenport was once again a noteworthy contributor on the offensive end. Davenport recorded a career outing in the opener against Canisius (19 points) before posting another strong performance (17) against Ark.-Little Rock in his next outing. Over the next three games however, Davenport shot 5-for-25 from the field and 0-for-6 from deep and failed to crack double digits (9-4-4).
Stat Stuffer
Conger has already posted the first two double-doubles of his career and was riding a three-game double-digit scoring streak prior to the Buffalo game. The sophomore Brooklyn native finished with nine points, eight boards and six assists to go with a block and a steal on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in 38 minutes of work against the Bulls.
Count Your FOUR-tunes
Jim Baron, the last coach to lead the Bonnies to a postseason tournament (NIT, 2001), posted 48 wins in his first four campaigns. Beginning his fourth season on the Bona sidelines, Schmidt and his staff (all of whom worked under Schmidt at Robert Morris) have collected 43 wins…and counting. By number of victories in their first four seasons, here's how it breaks down:
75 Ed Melvin (1948-52)
72 Jim Satalin (1973-77)
67 Jim O'Brien (1982-86)
58 Larry Weise (1961-65)
53 Eddie Donovan (1953-57)
48 Jim Baron (1992-96)
Mike Reilly (1928-32)
43+ Mark Schmidt (2007-Pres.)
24 Anthony Solomon (2003-07)
Riding the Pine
The Bonnies are on the short side of the bench scoring matchup by a wide margin despite their favorable record. Through six games SBU has yet to post a deficit of better than three points in bench scoring.
Canisius 23-6
Ark. Little Rock 19-9
Cornell 10-0
Binghamton 22-5
Cleveland State 12-9
Buffalo 11-2
St. John's 31-0
Niagara 17-2
Nostradamus on Nicholson
Should he record two more seasons similar to those already in the books, Nicholson will notch: 1,849 points (would rank sixth at SBU), 819 rebounds (fifth) and 272 blocks (second). It is also likely that he will become the 22nd player in school history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds (needs one point and 52 rebounds).
NLI Signees
SBU added a pair of guards in the early signing period. Schenectady native Derrick Millinghaus, who currently attends Queen City Prep in Marshville, N.C., is a 1-2 combo guard with an open-court style. Millinghaus will have four years of eligibility, while fellow signee Eric Mosely will have two years remaining. Mosely currently attends Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and spent his freshman season at Austin Peay in 2008-09.
APR Improvement
Mark Schmidt ranks 13th in the nation in NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) improvement, as calculated by Fox Sports. Schmidt is among the top coaches nationally in cumulative improvement of his team APR, a metric used by NCAA officials to track the academic achievement of Division I teams during each academic term. Each student-athlete earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible. A team's total points are divided by points possible and multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team's APR score. As calculated by Fox Sports, Schmidt has increased the Bonnies' team APR by a combined 126 points over the last three academic years for which data are available (2006-2009).
Ahead of Schedule?
Now in his fourth season at the helm of the Bonnies, head coach Mark Schmidt is ahead of schedule with respect to his previous head coaching stint at Robert Morris. During his third and fourth season at RMU, Schmidt posted back-to-back seasons with the same number of wins (14) before guiding the team to a record over .500 (15-14). At St. Bonaventure, Schmidt has guided the team to 15 wins in each of the last two campaigns in his second and third seasons with the program. St. Bonaventure has not finished a season over .500 since 2001-02 (17-13).
A Look Back: 2009-10
The St. Bonaventure University men's basketball team ended the 2009-10 season with a 15-16 overall mark that included a 7-9 record in Atlantic 10 conference play. Third-year head coach Mark Schmidt guided the Bonnies to a No. 8 seed in the A-10 Championship. The Bonnies earned its first postseason win since 2002 by eliminating No. 9 Duquesne, 83-71, in an opening-round game on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. The Bonnies have now won 15 games in consecutive seasons after an 8-22 (2-14) showing in Schmidt's first season.
Chasing .500
After recording a 15-15 mark in 2008-09, SBU fell one game short of .500 last season by booking a 15-16 record. St. Bonaventure enjoyed a streak of 28 consecutive seasons of .500-or-better basketball from 1956-57 to 1983-84, but has just eight such seasons in the last 25. SBU has 63 seasons at or above .500 in 89 years.
International Men of Mystery
Four players on the 2010-11 roster hail from outside of the United States. Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga) and freshman Matt Wright (Toronto) both came to St. Bonaventure from Ontario, Canada, while Ogo Adegboye (London, England) and Sam de Haas (Den Bosch, Netherlands) have European roots.
Ogo in the Olympics?
Senior G Ogo Adegboye spent his summer playing for Great Britain in the Eurobasket qualifying tournament. In contrast with other sports which receive an automatic Olympics berth as host nation, GB basketball must qualify for the London 2012 games and took a big step toward that goal by advancing to its fourth-straight Eurobasket championship that will take place in Lithuania in 2011. Adegboye was playing on the U23 team but received a call-up to the senior men's team after injuries to several players, including Chicago Bulls' star Luol Deng, short changed GB head coach Chris Finch's options. Adegboye earned the starting point guard spot in all eight games and averaged 4.8 points and 21.1 minutes per contest with a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio.
