The Matchup
St. Bonaventure hits the road for the first time in A-10 conference play when No. 19/23 Temple hosts the Bonnies Jan. 12 at the Liacouras Center.
Last Time Out
Andrew Nicholson scored 34 points and St. Bonaventure outlasted Charlotte, 92-88, in three overtimes in the Bonnies' conference opener Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center. The 49ers overcame 10- and 11-point deficits in the second half to send it to overtime, but the Bonnies hit 9 of 10 free throws in the third OT and 31 of 42 for the game to defeat the 49ers for the second time since Charlotte joined the A-10 in 2005.
Next Game
Rhode Island hosts St. Bonaventure in SBU's second straight road contest of the A-10 slate. The Bonnies return home to the Reilly Center Jan. 19 to play Xavier.
Scouting the Owls
No. 19/23 Temple enters Wednesday's game having won eight of its last nine games overall, nine straight Atlantic 10 contests and 14 consecutive at the Liacouras Center.
Junior Ramone Moore continues to lead the Owls with a 15.0 scoring average. Sophomore Khalif Wyatt (5.7 ppg.) made his first start in place of Juan Fernandez Sunday and scored seven points. Senior Lavoy Allen leads the Owls in rebounding (6.4 rpg.) whole ranking third in scoring (10.7 ppg.). Junior Scootie Randall (8.5 ppg.) has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games while junior forward Micheal Eric (7.1 ppg,, 5.9 rpg.) tops the team and ranks sixth in the A-10 in blocked shots per game (1.8 bpg). Temple's defense continues to power the Owls to success. The Cherry and White leads the league in scoring defense (58.6 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (.386), ranking 15th and 22nd nationally in the respective categories.
Last Meeting
Behind the inside play of junior Lavoy Allen and the outside shooting of guard Juan Fernandez, No. 17 and top-seeded Temple defeated eighth-seeded St. Bonaventure 69-51 Mar. 12, 2010 in the first A-10 Quarterfinal game of the day at Boardwalk Hall. The A-10 quarterfinal appearance was St. Bonaventure's first since 2002, as it finishes the season with a 15-16 overall mark. Temple (27-5) had won eight straight games and seven straight in the A-10 postseason tournament.
Head Coach: Fran Dunphy
Dunphy is in his fifth season at Temple and has guided the Owls to each of the last three Atlantic 10 Championships. After taking over the reins from Hall of Fame coach John Chaney on April 10, 2006, Dunphy brought the Owls back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 in just his second season when he guided his charges to the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship. The following year, he again led Temple to the A-10 title, becoming the first conference team to win consecutive championships since 2001. In 2009-10, he became just the second A-10 coach to guide a team to three straight league championships while leading Temple to a #12 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.
Series Snapshot
Temple owns a commanding 51-6 lead in the all-time series and has not lost to St. Bonaventure since Jan. 16, 2002, a span of 13 games. All of St. Bonaventure's wins in the series have come at home; the Owls are a perfect 30-0 at home dating back to the beginning of the series in 1928-29.
Against Ranked Teams
The meeting between St. Bonaventure and Temple marks the first time this season that the Bonnies have faced a ranked opponent. SBU is 9-48 against ranked teams and has not beaten a top-25 foe since a 57-56 defeat of No. 20 Temple at the Reilly Center Jan. 15, 2000 (0-17 since).
14 in the Books, 15 Played
After completing 14 games, the Bonnies have actually played the equivalent of 15 games when accounting for overtime periods. By point differential (+5 Ohio 4OT, -8 VT OT, +4 Charlotte 3OT), the Bonnies would pull out a one-point victory in that extra game, led by 22 points and six rebounds from Andrew Nicholson and 14 points and six boards from Ogo Adegboye.
Razor's Edge
The Bonnies' 92-88 triple overtime win against Charlotte marked SBU's sixth victory by five or fewer points (6-0). When allowing just one more point (games decided by 6-10) St. Bonaventure is a paltry 0-4.
Gotta Have the Free Ones
The Bonnies sank a season-high 31 free throws in the 3OT win over Charlotte, including 9 of 10 in the third and final overtime period.
Leaders of the A-10 Pack
As league play begins, several Bonnies rank at or near the top of the A-10's statistical heap: scoring (Nicholson 22.4 ppg, 1st); minutes played (Adegboye 41.5/gm, 1st); FG% (Nicholson .564, 2nd); 3FG made (Adegboye 2.4/gm, 3rd); minutes played (Conger 38.6/gm, 3rd) rebounding (Nicholson 8.6, 4th); assists (Adegboye 4.1/gm, 4th). As a team, SBU ranks second in rebounding margin (+5.6).
Aren't You Guys Tired?
Coach Schmidt has deployed the same starting five all season long, and those five players have had the opportunity to play…a lot. Through 14 games, four of the five starters average more than 37 minutes per game and Da'Quan Cook – who leads the team in fouls (46) – averages 28.9. Ogo Adegboye leads the nation in minutes per game (41.5) and has played at least 36 minutes in each outing, including complete-game efforts against Buffalo, St. John's, Niagara, Ark.-Little Rock and Charlotte. Demitrius Conger has played 249 of the last 250 minutes and is tied for second nationally (38.6) with Xavier's Tu Holloway. Andrew Nicholson was in for the duration against Ohio (60 min, 4OT) and Charlotte (55 min, 3OT) and ranks 14th in the country (37.3).
Helping Hand
Senior G Ogo Adegboye dished out seven assists and had only three turnovers as the primary ball handler in 45 minutes against Charlotte. It marked the fifth time this season the London native has recorded an A:TO ratio of 2:1 or better. Over his last four games, he has 25 assists and just seven turnovers.
Scoring the Rock
Andrew Nicholson ranks 10th nationally in scoring at 22.4 points per game and recorded the NCAA's highest scoring output this season with 44 points (on 14-of-19 FGs and 16-19 FTs) in the 4OT win versus Ohio. The junior has raised his scoring average every season in the Brown and White (12.5--16.4--22.4) and his current scoring clip would be the highest for a season since J.R. Bremer averaged 24.6 in 2001-02.
19 and Counting
Junior Andrew Nicholson has scored in double figures in 19 straight contests – the most by a current A-10 player - dating back to Feb. 27, 2010 against Rhode Island. Over the 19-game span, which includes seven double-doubles, Nicholson is averaging 21.1 points and 7.6 caroms per game.
Demitrius Goes Double
Demitrius Conger booked his fourth career double-double with a 21-point 10-rebound effort against the Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock. A rising sophomore who showed flashes of talent last season, Conger has been one of the more consistent performers this season, recording at least eight points and five boards in every game since Nov. 19 at Cornell - where he notched his first career double-double (22 pts, 14 reb).
Going the Distance
St. Bonaventure played the longest game in its 91-year history Dec. 18 versus Ohio, as the Bonnies and Bearcats went to four overtimes (a full 1.5 games). The Bonnies had four players log more than 53 minutes (Adegboye, Conger, Davenport, Nicholson) and redshirt F/C Jake Houseknecht booked 36 minutes for a new career-high. Nicholson played the full 60 minutes – the second game in a row he was not subbed for – and Adegboye (59 mins) played all but one.
Return to Sender
Nicholson's rejection at the 6:31 mark of the second period against Ohio made him just the third player in school history to block 150 or more shots in a career. He owns the single-game record (9 vs. Bucknell) for the Bonnies and currently sits third on the SBU career blocks list (153).
#100 for Schmidt
Now in his fourth season at St. Bonaventure, head coach Mark Schmidt coached his 100th game at SBU against Ohio Dec. 18, 2010. Schmidt's .430 (43-56) win percentage entering the game was the highest by a Bonnies' mentor since 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.
Seeing Double-Double
The Ohio game marked the fourth time this season that two players have recorded a double-double in the same contest (Cornell, Cleveland State, Niagara). In a counterintuitive twist, the Bonnies are 2-2 in those games. When just one player accomplishes the feat (both Ark.-Little Rock games, Binghamton, Buffalo, St. John's, VT), the team is 5-1.
Double Down
RS-Junior Da'Quan Cook – who wore #21 last season – posted his second double-double of the year against Niagara. 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 15 double doubles from four different players: Nicholson (7), Conger (4), Cook (2), Adegboye (1) and Davenport (1). Nicholson's streak of five straight double doubles tied for the second-longest in the country earlier this season.
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 (153), and now sits in 27th on the all-time scoring list with 1,181 points. He is the 22nd player in school annals to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
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 a 67-66 edge with 5.2 left.
Home Sweet Home
With a 5-2 mark in the venerable Reilly Center so far in 2010-11, SBU improves to 395-182 (.686) in 44 seasons with the RC as the home floor.
Stepping Up
Entering the season, coach Mark Schmidt commented that players other than 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 including: Michael Davenport (22 pts vs. St. John's), Ogo Adegboye (17 vs. Ark.-Little Rock, 24 vs. Buffalo), Demitrius Conger (22 pts. 14 rebs. vs. Cornell) and Da'Quan Cook (21 pts. 13 rebs. vs. Binghamton).
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 47 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)
47+ 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 14 games SBU has yet to post a deficit of better than three points in bench scoring: Canisius (-17); Ark.-Little Rock (-10); Cornell (-10); Binghamton (-17); Cleveland State (-3); Buffalo (-9); St. John's (-31); Niagara (-15); Ohio (-18); Va. Tech (-10); Siena (-11); Marshall (-24); Ark.-Little Rock (-15); Charlotte (-10).
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.
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).
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.
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.
