PHILADELPHIA – The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team will face Saint Joseph's in its first of two games in the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday (Jan. 14) at Michael J. Hagan Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
Quite Frankly
St. Bonaventure forward Frank Mitchell has been one of the most productive players in the country this season. 
 
With 10 double-doubles on the season, Mitchell is tied for sixth most in the country and leads the Atlantic 10 as of Monday (Jan. 12). 
 
Mitchell is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game, which leads all players in the Atlantic 10 conference and ranks eighth nationally. He is tied for sixth in the nation with 172 total rebounds.
 
A remarkable number of Mitchell's rebounds have come on the offensive end. His 78 total offensive rebounds (4.88 per game) lead all of Division I.
 
Most Offensive Rebounds Per Game in NCAA Division I
Rank                          Name                                          School                       #  
1                                  Frank Mitchell                         St. Bonaventure   4.88 
2                                  JT Toppin                                   Texas Tech               4.67
3                                  Duke Brennan                          Villanova                  4.60
4                                  Giovanni Emejuru                  East Carolina          4.44
5                                  Brandon Benjamin                 Fairfield                    4.38
 
Mitchell has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds two games this season, with a season-best 11 against Colgate (Dec. 10) and 10 vs. Ohio (Dec. 13).
 
Mitchell's total rebounding percentage of 19.5 and offensive rebounding percentage of 17.4 would both be school records if the season ended today, with the latter being the highest in school history by 4.4 percentage points. 
 
Mitchell is no stranger to the top of the national rebounding leaderboards. In 2023-24 with Canisius, he averaged 11.6 rebounds per game, the fourth-most in Division I.
 
In the scoring column, Mitchell has scored in double figures in 15 of 16 games this season.
 
Buddy Ball
Buddy Simmons II returned to early-season form with three exceptional performances to begin conference play. 
 
On Saturday against Fordham (Jan. 10), Simmons II scored a season-best-tying 24 points while shooting 8-for-14 from the field. Simmons II made a season-best six three-pointers.
 
Against Richmond (Jan. 7), Simmons II had a team-best 18 points, also shooting 8-for-14 from the field. 
 
In the game prior, the junior posted 22 points and a career-best seven assists while shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point range.
 
In three Atlantic 10 games this season, Simmons II is averaging team-bests in points (21.3) and assists (3.7) while shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 66.7 percent (12-for-18) from beyond the arc.
 
Simmons II has played all 40 minutes in each of St. Bonaventure's three Atlantic 10 games. 
 
The guard ranks second in points per game in Atlantic 10 play, trailing only Duquesne's Tarence Guinyard (22 points per game). He's tied for first with 4.0 three-pointers made per game (GW's Tre Dinkins). He also leads the conference in three-point percentage among players who have 10-or-more attempts in conference play.
 
Simmons II has made nearly twice as many three-pointers (42) as the next closest St. Bonaventure player (Daniel Egbuniwe, 22) while shooting 44.8 percent (42-for-97) from long range over the course of the season. 
 
The Detroit native also leads the Bonnies in free throw percentage, shooting 91.2 percent (31-for-34).
 
Dasonte Delivers
Dasonte Bowen has been an extremely effective playmaker this season, averaging 4.1 assists per game. The mark ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10. He has recorded three-or-more assists in 14-of-16 games this season.
 
Bowen leads the Atlantic 10 conference in Assist-to-turnover ratio with 65 assists to 24 turnovers (2.71 A/TO). 
 
The Boston native has undergone a significant uptick in offensive efficiency over the course of the season. After shooting just 27.1 percent from the field in his first six games, Bowen is 38-for-77 (49.4 percent) in his last 10 games, reaching double figures in eight games over that span.
 
Lonati Lights It Up
Freshman Achille Lonati had a strong performance off the bench in St. Bonaventure's most recent game against Fordham. The 6-5 guard scored 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
 
Late in the first half, Lonati drilled a three-pointer and threw down a fastbreak dunk to provide the Bonnies with a spark before the break. Then, in the second half, he made a three-pointer and an and-one layup as part of a 25-4 St. Bonaventure run.
 
The Pavia, Italy native has reached double figures in four games this season. He is averaging 12.0 points in games in which he plays 15-or-more minutes.
 
In The Rankings
In the latest NET rankings published by the NCAA on Thursday (Jan. 7), the Bonnies ranked 128th. In TeamRankings.com's RPI rankings, St. Bonaventure was ranked 75th in the country.
 
The Bonnies ranked 72nd in FaktorSports' KPI rating, a metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
 
Saint Joseph's Notes:

• Saint Joseph's enters Wednesday's matchup at 10-7 with a 2-2 record in Atlantic 10 play.
• The Hawks dropped their first two A-10 games to Saint Louis (Dec. 31) and Davidson (Jan. 3) before picking up back-to-back wins vs. Duquesne (OT, Jan. 7) and at Richmond (Jan. 11).
• The Hawks are led by Derek Simpson, who averages 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Simpson was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 12).
• SJU freshman Austin Williford was named Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Week on Monday.
• Saint Joseph's leads the series between the two schools, 52-34.
• The Bonnies have won 15 of their last 17 matchups with the Hawks, holding a 15-2 record against Saint Joseph's since 2015.
• The Hawks won the last matchup between St. Bonaventure and Saint Joseph's, 75-64 on Feb. 26, 2025 at Hagan Arena. Xzayvier Brown scored a game-high 22 points while eventual first-round NBA draft pick Rasheer Fleming had 19 points and six rebounds. Melvin Council Jr. led the way for the Bonnies with 18 points.