Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure looks for its fourth straight win when it hosts Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center. In addition to it being another key game to the Bonnies' postseason aspirations, former Bonnies great Andrew Nicholson's #44 will be retired in a pre-game ceremony. A sellout crowd is expected.

The Series: This will be the 63rd meeting in a series that dates to 1961.  Rhode Island leads the series, 36-26 but the Bonnies have won the last four meetings, including three in a row at the Reilly Center.

The Last Meeting: Feb. 9, 2013 at the Ryan Center (URI) - St. Bonaventure defeated the Rams 67-61 behind 21 points from Eric Mosley. 

Rhode Island Scouting Report:
• The young Rams, who start two freshmen, have lost six straight games and are tied for last in the Atlantic 10 standings. Wednesday in Rhode Island, the Rams led for much of the game but fell 57-54 to Saint Joseph's. URI is 0-6 on the road in A-10 games.
• Guard Xavier Munford leads Rhode Island in scoring at 16 points per game, good for seventh in the A-10. He also has team-highs in assists (67), steals (29) and three-pointers made (50 of 160/31 percent). Freshman guard E.C. Matthews, who has won the A-10 Rookie of the Week award the past three weeks in a row, is averaging 13.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Junior forward Gilvydas Biruta, a bruiser at 245 pounds, leads the Rams in rebounding at nearly seven per game and averages 10.7 points.
• URI is coached by Dan Hurley, who is in his second season. Previously, he had a successful stint as the head coach at Wagner. His brother Bobby is the head coach at Buffalo.

Last Time Out: Bonnies Top Dukes For Third Straight Win
Wednesday at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure made critical plays in the last three minutes and came away with a 71-67 victory over Duquesne. It was the Bonnies' third straight win and improved their home record to 10-2. St. Bonaventure went ahead 69-67 on a layup by Youssou Ndoye with 33 seconds remaining, then made a key defensive stop and got two free throws from Matthew Wright to seal the win. Wright led all scorers with 22 points, while Jordan Gathers scored 18 points and Dion Wright added 16 points and seven rebounds.   

Reilly Center Advantage: Under head coach Mark Schmidt, the Reilly Center is again a superb home court advantage. This season at the RC, the Bonnies:
• Have a record of 10-2 with a win over #21 UMass and the only losses to Dayton and George Washington
• Have been at their best defensively, holding seven of their 12 opponents under 67 points and under 45 percent shooting.
• Have limited their opponents to a combined 39 percent shooting from the field.

Matthew Wright A-10 Player of Week: After outstanding games in the Bonnies' wins at Fordham and George Mason last week, senior shooting guard Matthew Wright was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week (with Richmond's Kendall Anthony). Wright averaged 21 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the two games, leading the Bonnies in scoring in both road victories with 18 at Fordham and 24 at George Mason. Wright played the majority of the George Mason game after sustaining a cut below his right eye that later required two stitches. He is the first Bonnies player to win a weekly A-10 award this season.

RPI Watch: St. Bonaventure stands 73rd in the NCAA's RPI rankings this week. The RPI is a measurement of all 349 Division I teams that factors in home and away records as well as strength of schedule. The Bonnies are one of eight A-10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI. 

The Wright Way: Senior Matthew Wright has been a key to the Bonnies' success all season but even moreso over the past month. Over the last eight games, Wright averaged 17 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 42 percent from the field and 91 percent (40-44) at the free throw line. For the year, the senior shooting guard ranks seventh in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 15.9 points per game. He also leads the A-10 in free throw shooting percentage at .875. Wright has scored in double figures 18 times. He also has been an effective distributor, handing out 82 assists (3.3 per game, 11th in the A-10). Best known for his three-point shooting, Wright has made 48 threes (48-141/.340), which is the eighth-best total among A-10 players. In A-10 play, Wright is shooting 38 percent from long range.

Ndoye's Progression: While he is in just his fifth season playing the game, junior center Youssou Ndoye has shown growth in all facets. His freshman season, playing behind A10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson, Ndoye averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. Last season, the 7-footer improved to 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. This season, he's up to 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, with three of his four career double-doubles. In A-10 games, he has been even better, averaging 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. His 56 blocks rank fifth in Bona's single-season records; Ndoye stands fourth on Bona's career blocks list with 114. Ndoye came to St. Bonaventure weighing about 200 pounds and now is at 240.

Kloof Leads The Pack: Senior point guard Charlon Kloof certainly has to be in the conversation about the most improved players in the Atlantic 10 Conference. After losing his starting spot last year, Kloof's playing time and production dropped, but this season he has been a completely different player. Kloof's production has more than doubled from last season (5.3 to 11.8 points per game). Kloof averages 4.8 assists per game average (third best in the A-10) compared to 2.0 per game last season, and he has 126 assists against 60 turnovers -- the third-best assist-to-TO ratio in the A-10. Kloof also helps key the Bonnies' improved defense, regularly taking on the defensive assignment against other top guards. 

Dion Wright - Sixth Man Extraordinaire: After a year spent in a role typical for most freshmen, Dion Wright has emerged as a candidate for the Atlantic 10's Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards. The 6'7" swingman from Carson, Calif., played in only 13 games and averaged 2.3 ppg last year, but this season he has played in every game and is averaging 9.7 points per game. Wright, who is not related to teammate Matthew Wright, ranks third on the team in rebounding at 5.4 per game. In Atlantic 10 games, he is averaging 10 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Gathers Another Super-Sub: Like Dion Wright, junior guard Jordan Gathers has also been a super-sub this year. While he started six times early in the season, he's played even better in his role coming off the bench and filling in at either guard position. He broke out of a scoring slump with 18 points at George Mason, and followed that up with another 18 point game in the win over Duquense. Gathers shot 7-12 from three-point range over those two wins. 

Bench Press: St. Bonaventure's bench has outscored opponents in 19 of 26 games this season, including 10 out of 12 conference games. The Bonnies' four main players coming off the bench contribute 21 points per game: Dion Wright (9.7), Jordan Gathers (8.9), Chris Dees (1.9) and Denzel Gregg (1.7). 

Free Throw Leaders:  After struggling at the free throw line earlier this season, St. Bonaventure has turned what was a weakness into a strength. The Bonnies shot only 65 percent at the line over their 14 non-conference games, missing 10 or more free throws in losses to Siena, Louisiana Tech and Buffalo. In Atlantic 10 games, the Bonnies are shooting .761 at the free throw line -- which is the best in the conference.