St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Saint Louis
Opponent: Saint Louis Billikens
Date: Wednesday, January 15
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Chaifetz Arena – St. Louis, Mo.
St. Bonaventure Record: 11-5 (1-1) | Saint Louis Record: 15-2 (2-0)
Bonnies Statistics | Saint Louis Statistics
Complete Game Notes Pack
TV: Fox Sports Midwest
Listen (WPIG 95.7 FM, Olean, NY)
Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Opening Tip: Wednesday night, St. Bonaventure plays its second straight road game against one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10, traveling west to face Saint Louis. The Billikens, winners of nine straight, entered the national rankings this week at No. 24 in the Associated Press poll. St. Bonaventure has not lost back-to-back games this season.
The Series: Saint Louis leads, 9-4, although since SLU joined the A-10, the series is tied 4-4.
The Last Meeting: Jan. 26, 2013 at the Reilly Center: Saint Louis 67, St. Bonaventure 57
Coaches Comparison:
St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt
At SBU: 99-100 (7th season)
Overall: 181-190 (13th season)
Vs. Saint Louis: 3-3
Saint Louis Head Coach Jim Crews
At SLU: 43-9 (2nd season)
Overall: 397-357 (26th season)
Saint Louis Scouting Report:
• Saint Louis is ranked 24th in the AP poll this week, its first ranking of the season. The Billikens ended last season ranked 13th nationally.
• Last week, the Billikens won twice on the road, defeating Rhode Island 59-58 behind 31 points from Jordair Jett, then knocking off Dayton 67-59. Jett was named the A-10 Player of the Week.
• Long known for its defense, this season is no different for Saint Louis. The Billikens lead the A-10 in scoring defense (57.6 points per game), field goal percentage defense (.386) and three-point defense (.249).
• Senior forward Dwayne Evans leads SLU in scoring at 15.1 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding (6.2). Jett averages 11.8 points and has 82 assists (4.8/game) against only 37 turnovers. The rest of the SLU rotation is Rob Loe (9.5 ppg), Austin McBroom (9.1), Mike McCall Jr. (8.5), Jake Barnett (5.1) and Grandy Glaze (5.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
Quick Hitters on The Bonnies:
- Seven Bonnies average at least eight points per game.
- St. Bonaventure is an improved defensive team, ranking second in the A-10 in rebounding margin (+5.7), fifth in field goal % defense (.427) and eighth in scoring defense (68.1 ppg).
- Charlon Kloof has increased his scoring average 7.4 points per game over last season (5.3 to 12.7).
- Matthew Wright ranks 6th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (15.9); he has increased his scoring average by 9.0 ppg from last season.
- The Bonnies' five losses were by an average of 6.2 points.
- Mark Schmidt, now in his seventh year as head coach, leads a program that is consistently competitive; he is one win away from 100 for his SBU tenure (99-100). In 2012, Schmidt led St. Bonaventure to the A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament.
- Only 16% (72) of SBU's 436 field goals are 3-pointers, but the Bonnies shot 37% from long range over the last seven games.
Last Time Out: Upset Bid Falls Short: Last Saturday afternoon in Amherst, Mass., a superb effort by St. Bonaventure came up just short and the Bonnies lost to #19 Massachusetts, 73-68. St. Bonaventure led for the majority of the game, holding its largest advantage at 54-41 with 16:33 remaining. The Bonnies led by six at 67-61 with 2:56 left but only managed one free throw the rest of the way as UMass rallied. The Brown and White shot 50 percent from the field but committed 20 turnovers. Charlon Kloof led the Bonnies with 15 points and seven assists; Youssou Ndoye continued his strong play of late with 11 points, five rebounds and five blocks.
St. Bonaventure vs. Ranked Teams: This is St. Bonaventure's second straight game, and second this season, against a ranked opponent. The Bonnies have lost 23 consecutive games to ranked teams, most recently last Saturday at UMass. St. Bonaventure's last win over a ranked opponent came on Jan. 15, 2000, when the Bonnies knocked off #20 Temple at the Reilly Center, 57-56. All-time, St. Bonaventure is 9-59 against ranked teams. The last time St. Bonaventure played ranked opponents in back-to-back games was Jan. 22 and 27, 1996 (losses to #8 Virginia Tech & #1 UMass).
Close Losses: Even including a 15-point loss at Wake Forest, the Bonnies' five losses came by an average of just 6.2 points. In three of those losses, St. Bonaventure could have come away with wins if it had made more free throws. The Bonnies missed 12 free throws in a 72-70 decision at Siena, 11 in a 76-72 loss to Louisiana Tech, and 14 in a 78-73 final at Buffalo.
Kloof Leads The Pack: To say that senior point guard Charlon Kloof's role has increased this season is a vast understatement. He is a leader on and off the court, and the Bonnies rely heavily on his production. Start with playing time: he's on the court 33.6 minutes per game and really only sits when he's had foul trouble, playing 36 minutes or more nine times with three games playing all 40 minutes. His offensive production is up this season by almost eight points and two assists per game; 11 of his 24 career games scoring in double figures have been this season. Kloof also helps key the Bonnies' improved defense, averaging 1.4 steals. He also has proven to be a clutch player, scoring the winning basket on a buzzer-beating, length of the court drive at Niagara Dec. 21.
The Wright Way: Consistency from Matthew Wright has been pointed to as a key to the Bonnies' success this season, and so far the senior shooting guard has delivered. He leads the Bonnies in scoring at 15.9 points per game, which ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Toronto native suffered a sprained ankle at Buffalo which forced him to miss half that game as well as the Iona game, and really only returned to form after Christmas, when he scored a game-high 23 points in the win over Delaware. In all, Wright has scored in double figures 10 times topped by a 32-point outburst against S. Illinois. He opened A-10 play by scoring 20 points in the win over Richmond and averaged 16.7 points over the last four games.
Scoring Options Increase: With the emergence of Dion Wright, Marquise Simmons and Jordan Gathers as capable scorers, St. Bonaventure has more offensive options than it did last year, when Demitrius Conger, Chris Johnson and Eric Mosely accounted for nearly half of the team's scoring. The Bonnies now have seven players averaging more than 8.0 points: Matthew Wright (15.9), Charlon Kloof (12.7), Andell Cumberbatch (11.1), Gathers (9.1), Youssou Ndoye (9.1), Dion Wright (8.9) and Simmons (8.4). Every one of those players except Dion Wright have led the Bonnies in scoring at least once. The Bonnies rank fifth in the A-10 in scoring at 75.9 ppg.
The "Other Wright": After a year spent in a role typical for most freshmen, Dion Wright has emerged as a key player for the Bonnies as a sophomore. The 6'7" swingman from Carson, Calif., played in only 13 games last year, but this season he has become the Bonnies' most reliable player off the bench. He has played in every game and is averaging 8.9 points per game. Wright, who is not related to teammate Matthew Wright, has six games of 12 points or more capped by a career-high 22 in the win at Iona. He keyed the win at Niagara with first double-double of his career, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Known for his ability to rebound and score in traffic, Wright also averages 4.8 rebounds, which ranks fourth on the team.
