Opening Tip
St. Bonaventure begins to position itself for an Atlantic 10 Championship defense as it opens league play at George Washington Wednesday. The Bonnies commence conference action on a three-game losing streak, and have not lost four in a row since the 2009-10 season. It will mark the third time in the last four seasons that SBU and GW begin A-10 play against each other, with the two teams splitting the last two matchups. Bonaventure has opened its A-10 schedule against George Washington 10 times in its 33 years as a member institution – six times more than any other opponent (Rhode Island, 4). In its previous three times tipping off the league docket at Foggy Bottom, SBU is 0-3.
Last Time Out
St. Bonaventure's tough close to its non-conference schedule came to an end with a disappointing 85-64 loss at Colorado State Saturday. It marked the third straight foe for the Bonnies which went to the NCAA Tournament last year. Matthew Wright scored a team-high 12 points – just the second time the junior has led the club in scoring in his career – and Chris Johnson and Charlon Kloof both reach double-figure scoring for the first time in three and four games, respectively.
The Second Season
Despite not finishing its 2012-13 non-conference slate the way it wanted to, St. Bonaventure is nearly in the exact same position as it was last year at this time. The Bonnies went 7-5 in the non-league docket last year and were 7-6 this year. In fact, the SBU offense this year is more prolific than last year's through the non-conference schedule (73.5 points per game compared with 67.3), but the defense has not been as stingy (70.3 points compared with 62.1).
Last year, Bonaventure started to gel during Atlantic 10 Conference play, playing its best ball at the end of February and into March. That translated into the program's first A-10 Championship title, a trophy the Bonnies will begin defending Wednesday at George Washington.
Conger Nearing Rarified Air
Demitrius Conger is closing in on 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists for his career. The senior enters the game against George Washington with 972 points, 533 rebounds and 197 assists. Conger's career high for points is 27, which he did at Niagara in a game last year.
The only other St. Bonaventure players to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists are Ahmad Smith, who registered 1,261 points, 536 rebounds and 245 assists from 2002-2006, and David Vanterpool, who posted 1,474 points, 630 rebounds and 401 assists from 1991-95. Additionally, Conger needs just 30 more steals to reach 100 thefts in his career. If the Brooklyn native were to get to that milestone, he would join Vanterpool as the only two players in St. Bonaventure history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.
Scouting George Washington
^ GW starts three freshmen to go along with a pair of seniors
^ Senior forward David Pellom (10.4 points, 6.1 rebounds last year) is doubtful as he returns from his second wrist surgery in a span of five months
^ George Washington was picked to finish 13th in the A-10 Preseason Poll
^ The Colonials are second in the A-10 in rebound margin at +5.5 and are led by senior Isaiah Armwood, who pulls down 8.3 caroms per game – second-best in the league
^ Armwood also leads the Colonials in scoring at 12.8 per game – the lone GW player in double figures – and blocks at 3.0 per outing, an average which is 11th-best in the nation
^ Five of GW's first six losses were by single digits, including three in a row by a combined 10 points; by comparison, SBU's first three losses were also by a combined 10 points
^ Six of GW's seven losses have come when opponents have scored more than 60 points; SBU has scored at least 60 in all but one game, and that was a 58-43 win over Siena
^ The Colonials boast five players from countries other than the United States (Dwayne Smith, Canada; Patricio Garino, Argentina; Kevin Larsen, Denmark; Nemanja Mikic, Serbia; Paris Maragkos, Greece)
SBU In A-10 Openers
St. Bonaventure is 18-15 all-time in Atlantic 10 Conference season openers (17-16 when factoring in a 2002-03 victory which was later vacated). The Bonnies are 13-2 (12-3) in A-10 openers at the Reilly Center, but are just 5-13 in conference lid-lifters of the road. SBU is 5-5 in its previous 10 conference openers against George Washington. In its first 10 years in the A-10 (1979-80-1989-90), Bona's was 8-2 in league openers. Under now sixth-year head coach Mark Schmidt, the Brown and White is 3-2 in A-10 openers, including last year's 66-56 win over GW at the RC.
Arc De Triomphe?
The 3-point arc could be the key to triumph for these two teams. St. Bonaventure enters as the second-worst 3-point defending team in the Atlantic 10, allowing opponents to connect at a 38-percent clip. However, George Washington comes into the game as the A-10's worst 3-point shooting team at 27 percent. On the year, GW has made just 36 3-pointers as a team; SBU senior Eric Mosley has made 33 on his own.
Contrast In Styles
In addition to the matchup at the 3-point line, the game will be a contrast of styles in terms of offense and defense. St. Bona ranks as the Atlantic 10's third-best offense, averaging nearly 74 points per game. Meanwhile, GW checks in with the A-10's third-best defense, holding opponents to just more than 61 points per outing.
Uncharacteristic Defensive Effort
The Bonnies have allowed their last three opponents to each score 85 or more points for the first time in the Schmidt era. In fact, this is the first time in more than 20 years that SBU has allowed three teams in a row to score 85 or more points. The last time that occurred was during the 1990-91 season as four straight opponents scored 85 or more against the Brown and White.
Many of those 85+ points can be directly contributed to the Bona field-goal percentage defense, which has also allowed each of those three teams to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor. Prior to those games, no one had shot better than 47 percent from the floor against the Bonnies, and SBU had held four teams under 37-percent shooting.
Change Of Pace
After using just two different starting lineups through the first 11 games of the year, head coach Mark Schmidt – due to injuries and his decisions – has started a different lineup in each of the last two games.
Next Up
St. Bonaventure plays host to RV/24 VCU for its first road game as a member of the Atlantic 10 on Saturday at 4 p.m.
