ST. BONAVENTURE (11-1) vs. NIAGARA (5-6, 1-1 MAAC)
Saturday, Dec. 21 – 1:00 p.m.
Reilly Center
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Bonnies Online Network / 100.1 The Hero

OPENING TIP
The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team closes its non-conference schedule with a second consecutive rivalry game as the Bonnies welcome Niagara to the Reilly Center.

A win Saturday would match the best start for the program in the past 55 years at 12-1 just as the 1969-70 Final Four squad led by Bob Lanier was. That team opened 12-0 before losing their 13th game at Villanova, 64-62. Those teams would square off again in the Regional Final that year where the Bonnies won, 97-74, to advance to the Final Four.

Speaking of the 1969-70 team, Saturday's game is the 55th anniversary of the largest crowd in Reilly Center history - a 77-58 Bona win over Duquesne in front of a reported 6,291 fans on Dec. 21, 1969 as part of the Bonnies' 12-game win streak to begin that memorable campaign.

The hot start for the Bonnies this season has put this year's team in the conversation with some of the best in program history. Bona has a 11-1 record through 12 games for the fourth time - in the previous three instances, SBU made a national postseason tournament: 1960-61 (opened 21-1, reached the first NCAA Tournament in school history); 1958-59 (opened 15-1, finished 20-3 and reached NIT); 1950-51 (opened 12-1, finished 19-6 and reached NIT). Bona has only had three better starts through 12 games all-time: '69-70 (12-0, reached Final Four); '67-68 (23-0, NCAA); '51-52 (16-0, NIT).

THROWBACK THREADS
St. Bonaventure will turn back the clock on Saturday by wearing throwback jerseys representing the 1969-70 Final Four squad.

When many people think of St. Bonaventure basketball, it is the 1969-70 jersey that comes to mind - and for good reason. The Bob Lanier-led Bonnies employed this brown, white and gold look through a dream season that led to the program's only Final Four appearance. When the calendar turned to 1970, Bona jumped to No. 5 in the national polls and never fell out of the top five the rest of the season, climbing to No. 3. Wins over Davidson, N.C. State and Villanova captured the nation's attention, but left Bona fans with unfinished dreams following an injury to Lanier. Still, the 1969-70 team gave a generation of Bonnies fans a season that will never be forgotten. A season later, following Lanier's move to the NBA, SBU used a similar style jersey to return to the NIT with another 20-win season when once again Bona rose to No. 10 in the national rankings. Ultimately, the Bonnies finished at 21-6 in 1970-71 including NIT wins over Purdue and Hawaii. 

The St. Bonaventure Athletics Department partnered with adidas on recreating the look of the Final Four team. The Bonnies last wore a similar uniform during the Final Four 50^th anniversary season five years ago.

STARTING FIVE

• If the Bonnies win Saturday to improve to 12-1, the program would have had only two better starts in program history through 12 games: 1967-68 (13-0 on the way to 23-0) and 1951-52 (13-0 on the way to 16-0).
• A win on Saturday would also ensure the Bonnies finish with their best non-conference record during the program's Atlantic 10 era dating to 1979-80.
• By winning 11 of 12 games to begin the year, the Bonnies have had their best stretch of a dozen games since 2018 when the team went on a 13-game winning streak on the way to a 26-win season and NCAA First Four win over UCLA that year.
• Melvin Council Jr. swiped a career-high seven steals in Tuesday's win at Siena. That represents the most steals in a game by a Bonnies player since Marques Green also had seven at Saint Joseph's on March 2, 2004. Council was just one off the Bona single-game record of eight steals posted by David Vanterpool at Duquesne Jan. 13, 1995.
• Chance Moore has back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his collegiate career. The senior guard recorded 12 points and 10 boards in last Saturday's win over Providence, including six offensive rebounds, then went off for 23 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's win at Siena.

RECEIVING VOTES
St. Bonaventure was named in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday, receiving votes for the first time this season after being voted No. 24 by a pollster this week.

It is the first time that the Bonnies have garnered AP Top 25 votes since November 2021. St. Bonaventure was last ranked in the AP Top 25 during the 2021-22 season as well, opening the year ranked No. 23 before rising as high as No. 16 in the national poll following a title victory in the 2021 Charleston Classic.

TRENDING NUMBERS
7 - St. Bonaventure is one of seven teams nationally in Division I to have scored 11 victories as of Friday.
10 – The Bonnies have had 10 or more steals in six games this year. Their average of 9.1 steals per game is 45^th in the nation this season.
35 – St. Bonaventure has dominated for much of the non-conference slate. Bona has held the lead in at least 35 minutes nine times this year including four straight games.
42% - Lajae Jones is the Bonnies' best shooter beyond the arc so far this season, hitting nearly 42 percent of his attempts from long range (13-31).
91.7% - St. Bonaventure owns a winning percentage of 91.7%. Only four undefeated teams remaining in Division I (Drake, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida) have a higher win percentage.

DEFENSE ON LOCK
One of the keys to Bona's great start has been the strong play on the defensive end. By nearly all metrics, the Bonnies have ranked as one of the nation's top defenses thus far. Entering this weekend, the Bonnies stand 12th in the country in scoring defense by allowing 60.3 points per game to opponents. In the Dec. 4 win at Bucknell, Bona held the Bison to 47 points on their home court. It was the lowest scoring output by a Bonnies opponent since SBU limited Cleveland State to 42 points in a win at home Dec. 7, 2022. It was the first time that the Bonnies have held an opponent under 50 points on the road since holding George Mason to 49 in a win on the Patriots home court Jan. 8, 2020. St. Bonaventure would quickly hold another team under 50 on its home floor as the Bonnies locked Siena down to 48 points in their home arena Dec. 17.

How SBU ranks defensively among all Division I teams (as of Dec. 19):

Scoring defense – 12th (60.3 ppg)
Field goal percentage defense – 32nd (39.0%)
Steals per game – 45th (9.1)
Turnover margin: 60th (+2.8)
Turnovers forced per game: 87th (14.3)
Blocks per game – 100th (4.1)
Rebound margin: 101st (+4.7)

The Bonnies have been strong defensively without fouling – Bona is committing only 13 fouls per game, ranking 11th nationally in fewest fouls per contest. 

SERIES HISTORY
St. Bonaventure leads, 90-71

The Bonnies' history has been intertwined with Niagara throughout over a century of basketball in Western New York. SBU first played Niagara during the 1920-21 season, Bona's second as anintercollegiate program, and has built an 90-71 advantage over the years.

Prior to last year when the Bonnies scored a dominating 94-60 win on the doorstep to Canada, the programs had gone nearly four calendar years between games. That was the longest gap between contests ever for the two squads.

Recent history has seen dominant stretches by both teams: St. Bonaventure won six straight between 2011-16, following an eight-game win streak by Niagara from 2003-10. Prior to that, Bona's won 11 in a row from 1993-2001.

The longest winning streak in the series: 16 straight Bonnies triumphs between 1962-71.

When the Bonnies put up 94 in last year's win, it marked the most points for the program in a game against Niagara since a 95-63 win at The RC Jan. 16, 1995.

St. Bonaventure will wear their 1969-70 throwback uniforms in Saturday's game. During the 1969-70 season, the Bonnies swept a pair of games from Niagara with wins of 89-81 and 104-68.

ABOUT NIAGARA

• Niagara enters the weekend at 5-6 overall and has been idle since winning over Saint Francis (PA) at home last Saturday, 69-66. The weekend prior to that, the Purple Eagles split their first weekend of MAAC competition by beating Siena at home, 69-68, and losing to Merrimack on home floor, 80-62.
• The Purple Eagles are still seeking their first road win (0-5).
• Niagara ranks 311^th in the nation in offense at 68.3 ppg and has struggled mightily on the boards with a -3.3 rebounding margin that stands 314^th in the country.
• Two NU players average in double figures – Jahari Williamson (11.5 ppg) and Olumide Adelodun (10.9 ppg).
• Head coach Greg Paulus is in his sixth season and leads a group that was one of six programs in the country to have zero returning minutes from last year, taking on 13 newcomers including 10 transfers and three freshmen. NU was selected eighth in the MAAC Preseason Poll out of 13 squads.
• Paulus put together a storied collegiate career as a player at Duke. After receiving scholarship offers to play football at Miami and Notre Dame, he opted to play basketball at Duke where he scored 1,193 career points and ranks among the program's top 10 in assists with 468. He finished his college career in football, playing quarterback for Syracuse in 2009. In high school, he was New York State's Mr. Basketball following his senior season at Christian Brothers Academy outside Syracuse.