ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure Men's basketball team will face Rhode Island on Wednesday night (Feb. 25) at the Reilly Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. The YES Network will also provide tape delayed coverage of the game.
 
SWAT TEAM
Freshman Andrew Osasuyi leads the nation with an incredibly efficient 5.8 blocks per 40 minutes. His 2.15 blocks per game in conference play are tied for third in the Atlantic 10. 
 
Osasuyi has 23 blocks in his last eight games, which comes out to an average of 2.9 blocks per game.
 
He posted eight points for the second straight game on Saturday at Richmond (Feb. 21) with a career-best-tying eight rebounds.
 
The Magenta, Italy native had a remarkable defensive performance last Wednesday night against Saint Joseph's (Feb. 18), recording eight points, four rebounds and a career-best eight blocks.
 
His block total was the highest for any player in the Atlantic 10 this season, and the most by any St. Bonaventure player since 2012. His performance tied the second-highest block total in school history, and he became just the third Bonnie ever to tally at least eight blocks in a game.
 
In addition, Osasuyi became just the sixth Division I player in the last 25 years to have at least eight points and eight blocks in under 20 minutes of playing time.
 
Eleven days prior, Osasuyi had a career day against Fordham (Feb. 7). He posted career-bests in minutes (29), points (12) and steals (4) while tallying five blocks.
 
He became the first Atlantic 10 player in nearly 17 years to record at least 10 points, five blocks and four steals in a conference game. He was just the fourth player to do so in the last 30 years, joining UMass' Tony Gaffney (Feb. 18, 2009) as well as David West (Jan. 9, 2002) and James Posey (Feb. 14, 1999) of Xavier. Coach Mark Schmidt was on staff at Xavier as an assistant coach during both Posey and West's careers.
 
Osasuyi and Joe Grahovac, each with 43 blocks on the season, are the only pair of St. Bonaventure teammates to post 30-or-more blocks in the same season during Mark Schmidt's tenure (2007-present).
 
BUDDY BUCKETS
Buddy Simmons II has emerged as an elite scoring option in Atlantic 10 play, averaging 18.7 points through 14 conference games while shooting 47.3 percent (96-for-203) from the floor and 46.4 percent (45-for-97) from beyond the arc.
 
Simmons II has scored at least 14 points in 10-of-14 of his A-10 matchups, with 20-or-more points in six of those games and two 30-plus point performances.
 
The Detroit native ranks second in the conference with 75 three-pointers made on the season. He has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last nine games, and in 22 of the Bonnies' 27 total games.
 
In conference play, Simmons II has made 45 triples, the most in the A-10. His 38.0 minutes per game lead the league, and he has played a full 40 minutes in seven of SBU's 14 conference game so far.
 
Simmons II surpassed 1,000 career points in the Bonnies' win at Fordham (Feb. 7). He reached the millennium mark with five points in the first half before surging for 18 in the second half to lead the Bonnies to the win.
 
Simmons II scored 628 points over two years at Gardner-Webb before posting a team-best 449 through 27 games this season. He tallied 539 of his 628 points with the Runnin' Bulldogs during his sophomore season (2024-25).
 
TO BE FRANK
St. Bonaventure forward Frank Mitchell has been one of the most productive players on the boards in the country this season. 
 
Mitchell is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, which leads all players in the Atlantic 10 conference. As of Monday (Feb. 23), he is tied for 14th in Division I with 267 total rebounds. He is one of just two St. Bonaventure players in the last four years to surpass 200 total rebounds in a season (Chance Moore, 207; 2024-25).
 
A remarkable number of Mitchell's rebounds have come on the offensive end. His 4.30 offensive rebounds per game (116 total) leads the nation.
 
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 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 23 of 27 games this season, with 20-or-more points in eight of those games.
 
Mitchell has posted three straight double-doubles entering Wednesday's game. He posted 20 points and 13 rebounds against Duquesne (Feb. 14) as well as 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. Saint Joseph's (Feb. 18). Against Richmond (Feb. 21), Mitchell had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Toronto native now more than twice as many double-doubles (15) as the next leading players in the Atlantic 10 (Rafael Castro, GW & Rikus Schulte, Fordham; 7).
 
COUNT ON CAYDEN
Cayden Charles has been pivotal to the Bonnies' offense in conference play. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in St. Bonaventure's 14 Atlantic 10 games.
 
The senior has scored at least nine points in 18 straight games, grabbing at least five rebounds in 15 games during that span.
 
RHODE ISLAND NOTES:

• The Rams enter Wednesday night's game at 15-12, with a 6-8 record in Atlantic 10 play.
• After an upset win over Saint Louis on Feb. 17, Rhode Island dropped its last game against La Salle on Saturday (Feb. 21).
• Former Bonnie Jonah Hinton stars for the Rams, averaging 13.9 points and 3.0 three-point field goals per game.
• St. Bonaventure is 32-44 against Rhode Island.
• Mark Schmidt is 10-13 against the Rams in his St. Bonaventure tenure (2007-present)
• The Bonnies have won each of the last two matchups between the two schools in the Reilly Center.