By Paul Casey Gotham
Setting: Mark Schmidt’s St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2-3) travel north 77 miles for a Big 4 clash at Alumni Area with Reggie Witherspoon’s Buffalo Bulls (4-1).
Plot: The Bonnies lug with them a two-game losing streak while the Bulls have triumphed in their recent two outings. St. Bona fell to Arkansas State, Thursday night and Virginia Tech last week. The Bulls charged past Canisius two days before Thanksgiving and took a road-win at another A-10 foe, Dayton.
Sub-plot: Pre-season player-of-the-year candidate, Andrew Nicholson has been slowed of late by bronchitis. Nicholson’s nine points in SBU’s loss to Virginia Tech broke a string of 18 straight double-digit scoring performances.
UB beat a Dayton Flyer club that reeled off three consecutive to take the 2011 Old Spice Classic.
This is only SBU’s second trip to Alumni Arena and first since 1999.
Since 2004-05, UB is 33-8 at home against non-conference opponents.
Flashback: Nicholson’s late jumper delivered a 76-74 Bona triumph at the Reilly Center last year. The Bulls trailed by 19 earlier in the second half before mounting a rally.
SBU leads the series 4-2.
From the game notes:
Dropping Dimes
Sophomore G Matthew Wright averages a team best 3.2 assists per game and has an A/TO ratio of 4:1 this season. Wright has combined to dish out 10 assists and has not turned the ball over in his last three outings: Siena (4 assists), Virginia Tech (3) and Arkansas State (3).
Dangerous Demitrius
Conger averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds and went 9-of-9 from the line while shooting 65 percent from the field as the Bonnies split a pair of games last week. He nearly recorded a double-double with 15 points and eight boards to help SBU retain the Franciscan Cup against Siena, before matching his career-high 23 points, while hauling in six boards in a loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday. The Brooklyn native’s 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season are both second on the team to Andrew Nicholson.
The Kloof is on Fire
Sophomore G Charlon Kloof recorded a career high 11 points on 3-of-7 from 3-point range in the Bonnies’ loss to Arkansas State. Kloof hit all of his triples in the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers at the break.
Four Horsemen
Starters Michael Davenport (G), Demitrius Conger (F), Da’Quan Cook (F) and Andrew Nicholson (F) have started each of the last 36 games together. Nicholson has 67 consecutive starts overall.
The Bulls have defeated their last two opponents (Canisius & Dayton) by an average of 32 points.
UB has held all but one opponent (Canisius) to under 40% shooting from the field this season.
The Bulls rank second in the MAC in both scoring defense (59.8) and field goal percentage defense (.366).
Buffalo has pulled down 40 or more rebounds in four straight games, including a season-best 51 at Dayton, and leads the MAC in rebounding (42.6).
Sizzling in the Second Half
The Bulls have shot 50 percent or better in each of the last two games, but they have been especially effective in the second half. Buffalo has shot better than 60 percent in the second half of each of the last two games (63% vs. Canisius and 62% at Dayton). The Bulls have bounced back nicely from shooting a season-low 33 percent at Princeton on Nov. 19.
Crashing the Boards
Buffalo leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the nation in rebounding, averaging 42.6 rebounds per game. The Bulls have pulled down 40 or more rebounds in four straight games, including a season-high 51 at Dayton. In their last two games, the Bulls have outrebounded Canisius by 18 and Dayton by 21. For the season, the Bulls are a MAC-best +9.4 in rebounding margin.
A Double Double-Double
Against Dayton, both Javon McCrea and Mitchell Watt recorded double-doubles. McCrea had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Watt had 16 points and 11 rebounds. It marked the first time two players accomplished the feat in the same game since McCrea (14 pts., 10 rebs.) and Byron Mulkey (16 pts., 10 assts.) did it against Navy in last season’s opener. The last time two UB players pulled down 10 or more rebounds in the same game was Calvin Betts (12) and Andrew Atman (10) at UNC Asheville on Dec. 29, 2007.
Filzen Heating Up From Downtown
Zach Filzen is heating up from beyond the arc. He has made 10 of 21 three-pointers (48%) over the last two games. He leads the MAC in three-pointers made per game – averaging 3.6 per contest. Filzen is coming off a season in which he made 110 three-pointers to become just the fifth player in MAC history to make 100 three-pointers in a season. He broke the school record of 94 set by Mike Martinho in 1996. He ranked second in MAC history for a single season. He ranked sixth in the nation in three-pointers made per game (3.2). Filzen has moved into third place in school history with 143 career three-pointers in just 59 career games.
UB…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..SBU
74.2________________________ Points Per Game______________________ 64.6
59.8___________________ Opponents Points Per Game_________________ 62.8
+14.4_______________________Point Differential_ _____________________ +1.8
124_ _______________________Field Goals Made_ ______________________ 119
277_ ____________________ Field Goals Attempted_____________________ 269
.448______________________Field Goal Percentage_ ___________________ .442
.366_________________Opponents Field Goal Percentage_ ______________ .441
28_ ____________________ 3-Point Field Goals Made_____________________ 29
86_ __________________ 3-Point Field Goals Attempted___________________ 87
.326___________________3-Point Field Goal Percentage_________________ .333
95_ _______________________ Free Throws Made________________________ 56
135_ ____________________ Free Throws Attempted_____________________ 82
.704_____________________ Free Throw Percentage____________________ .683
64_ ______________________ Offensive Rebounds_______________________ 54
149_ _____________________ Defensive Rebounds______________________ 108
213_ _______________________ Total Rebounds________________________ 162
42.6______________________ Rebounding Average_ ___________________ 32.4
33.2_________________ Opponents Rebounding Average_______________ 30.6
79_ ____________________________ Assists____________________________ 70
79_ ___________________________Turnovers___________________________ 72
26_ ____________________________ Blocks_____________________________ 22
43_ ____________________________ Steals_____________________________ 30
Conflict: Can the Bulls maintain their scoring pace against the veteran Bonnies. UB put 94 on the board against a Canisius club that graduated five of its top six players. The Bulls scored 84 against a seasoned Dayton team, but the Flyers played three games in four days before traveling home from Florida and hosting UB less than 72 hours later.
Can the Bonnies keep up with UB’s front court? Bona will have to show that they have overcome the early-season loss of Marquise Simmons.
Both Nicholson and Watt can step away from the basket and hit. Nicholson’s back-to-the-basket game shows more polish, and the contact created by small spaces could create foul trouble for the Bulls.
Filzen has found a rhythm from the perimeter early this season, but Conger and Davneport present as strong of perimeter defenders that Filzen has faced.
The game could be decided by the inexperienced point guards. Jarod Oldham played in 33 games a year ago for Buffalo but saw limited minutes behind Byron Mulkey.
Eric Mosley and Charlon Kloof share the ball-handling responsibilities for the Brown and White. Kloof’s defense provides a spark to the Bonnies. Staying between Oldham and the basket will slow the Bulls’ offense and disrupt the Buffalo flow.
Resolution: Davenport is due for a breakout game. The senior guard, who has averaged better than 42 percent from the field his first three years, is hitting just 38 percent from the floor. Wright will make it difficult for Buffalo. The sophomore guard hit a pair of threes each against Siena, Virginia Tech and Cleveland State. Wright connecting from long range creates space for Nicholson around the paint.
The Bulls are catching Bona at the wrong time: coming off a pair of setbacks. The Bonnies win a game that will be decided in the final minute.
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