St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: UNC Wilmington Seahawks
Date: Saturday, Dec. 10
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center
Records:
St. Bonaventure 6-2 | UNC Wilmington 7-1
Bonnies Statistics | UNC Wilmington Statistics
TV: American Sports Network & SNY
Details: The game will be available live to approximately 62 million households across 30 states and 84 markets, the largest of which include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Cleveland, Sacramento and Pittsburgh. The game will also be carried live by SNY (New York and available nationwide on DIRECTV), TCN Philadelphia, CSN Chicago Plus, Cox Sports Television (16 states) and ASN's 24/7 channels in 33 different markets.
ASN Channel finder
Where to Watch
Free streaming (click here)
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM with Gary Nease and Don Scholla
Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Complete St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)
The Starting Five Notes
1. Winner of five straight, St. Bonaventure hosts a 7-1 UNC Wilmington team that received a top 25 vote this week and was the preseason pick to win the CAA. Both teams average better than 83 points per game and feature dynamic guards. The Bonnies bring an eight-game home win streak into their last home game prior to the students' Christmas break.
2. The backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley is the highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 44.4 points per game. One of the top 50 candidates for the John Wooden Award, Adams averaged 29 points per game over the last three games, increasing his season average to 23.4 points per game, which ranks seventh nationally. He tied his career high with 31 points at Hofstra, a day after being named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. Mobley ranks third in the A-10 and 36th nationally at 21.0 points per game. He is also the Bonnies' top rebounder at 7.3 per contest. Mobley had 23 points and 12 rebounds at Hofstra Tuesday.
3. Senior Denzel Gregg has been the leader most people assumed he would be as a senior. Gregg is averaging 11.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game with three double-doubles. Gregg ranks third in the A-10 in blocked shots.
4. Senior forward David Andoh was slowed by a foot injury in the summer, but has come on strong the past two weeks. Over the last five games, Andoh averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds. He scored a season-high 13 points against Siena, 12 against Buffalo and 11 at Hofstra.
5. St. Bonaventure's five-game winning streak ties its longest of last season. The program's last six-game win streak was in the 1999-00 season (Dec. 30 - Jan. 15).
Series Notes:
This is the first meeting between the schools.
UNC Wilmington Notes:
• UNC-Wilmington won the Colonial Athletic Association championship last year and is the favorite to repeat. The Seahawks picked up one vote in this week's AP Top 25 poll.
• The high-scoring, veteran team is off to a 7-1 start with the only setback to Middle Tennessee. The Seahawks have won their last four games. They beat D-II Pfeiffer 123-113 last week and were idle during the mid-week.
• A guard-oriented team, UNC-Wilmington averages 88.6 points per game, good for 11th nationally. The Seahawks have topped the 100-point mark three times already.
• Senior guard Chris Flemmings tops the team at 19.8 points per game and is one of five players averaging in double figures. He was the CAA Tournament MVP last year and scored 18 points against Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Flemmings also leads UNCW in three-pointers with 19.
• Power forward Devontae Cacock had 34 points and 19 rebounds against Pfeiffer and is averaging 14 points and 10.1 rebounds on the year.
• Guard C.J. Brice averages 16.9 points per game, Jordon Talley is at 12.3 and Denzel Ingram 11.6. Ingram, who started his career at UNC-Charlotte and played against the Bonnies when he was there, leads the Seahawks with 52 assists.
Top Scoring Tandem
The backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley is the highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 44.4 points per game:
1. St. Bonaventure 44.4
Jaylen Adams 23.4
Matt Mobley 21.0
2. Davidson 44.3
Jack Gibbs 24.3
Peyton Aldridge 20.0
3. Rice 42.2
Marcus Evans 23.1
Egor Koulechov 19.1
4. Pittsburgh 41.6
Michael Young 22.3
Jamel Artis 19.3
Adams, Gregg Nearing Career Milestones
Jaylen Adams is 55 points away from becoming the 43rd player in St. Bonaventure men's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Adams stands 51st on the Bonnies' all-time scoring list with 945 points. Denzel Gregg ranks sixth on St. Bonaventure's career blocks list with 96. He is three behind Jerome Spellman for fifth place and will become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 career blocked shots. See complete charts on both categories on page 6.
Mobley Sprints Out Of Gate
By any measure, Matt Mobley is off to a fantastic start to his debut season at St. Bonaventure. The 6-3 junior guard has shown no signs of rust after he sat out last year as a transfer from Central Connecticut State. Mobley is third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (21.0 points per game) and leads the A-10 in three-point field goals (3.1 per game). After opening the year with 21 points against St. Francis, he turned heads when he scored 28 points against Florida. He added two more 20-plus point games at the Lone Star Showcase, including his first career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Pepperdine. Mobley is doing much more than just scoring -- he is also averaging 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He is the seventh-leading rebounder in the A-10, and the second-leading rebounder among A-10 guards. Mobley's production is not a surprise. He practiced with the Bonnies last season after transferring from Central Connecticut, where he averaged 17 points per game as a sophomore and was named the Northeast Conference's most improved player. Mobley had four games of 30-plus points that season.
Offense Stays Hot
The Bonnies averaged 77.9 points per game last season, the best average during coach Mark Schmidt's tenure and the third-highest scoring average in the A-10. Before that, Schmidt's highest-scoring team was in 2013-14 when the Bonnies averaged 73.4 points per game. Early this season, the Bonnies have clicked on offense despite having so many new players. Led by guards Jay Adams and Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure leads the A-10 and ranks 38th nationally in scoring at 83.2 points per game. The Bonnies have reached the 90-point mark three times including a 102-point showing in the win over Central Michigan.
Getting On The Glass
Not being the tallest team, nor the most experienced on its front line, has not meant that St. Bonaventure is not an effective rebounding team. In fact, the Bonnies lead the A-10 and rank 27th nationally in offensive rebounds at 14.0 per game. They are also are third in the conference in rebounding margin (+3.0 per game). St. Bonaventure has won the rebounding battle in five of its eight games and is 4-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
Three-Point Production
With two high-scoring guards leading its offense, it is not surprising that St. Bonaventure is a strong three-point shooting team. Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley are tied for the Atlantic 10 lead in three-pointers per game (3.1) and as a team, the Bonnies are third in the A-10 with a .372 three-point field goal percentage. The past two games, St. Bonaventure was a combined 16-33 (.484) from long range.
Schmidt Reaches 150 Wins, Nears Satalin For Second Place
Now in his 10th season as head coach at St. Bonaventure, Mark Schmidt ranks third on the program's all-time coaching wins list with 152. He is only four wins behind Jim Satalin (156) for second place. The Nov. 30 win over Siena was Schmidt's 150th at St. Bonaventure.
