Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
Six home games, a neutral site contest against Florida and the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas, highlight St. Bonaventure’s 2016-17 non-conference men’s basketball team.
The Bonnies will play 12 non-conference games in all – six at the Reilly Center, two at true road sites and four on neutral courts. Of the nine known opponents, two reached the NCAA Tournament last season, Buffalo and UNC-Wilmington, with two more, Florida and Hofstra, reaching the NIT. In addition to those four teams, Siena also won 20 games last season.
The schedule includes the tradition of the Big 4 rivalry games and the Franciscan Cup contest against Siena, as well as new opponents like UNC-Wilmington and Army.
St. Bonaventure’s three opponents in the Lone Star Showcase as well as the tournament’s format will be announced later this summer.
“Overall, this is a strong schedule,” said St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. “We will need to play well right from the start, and that will be a challenge with so many new guys in our rotation. But I think from just about any standpoint, this is a schedule that is exciting.”
St. Bonaventure will open the season Nov. 12 in the Reilly Center, where the Bonnies were 13-3 last season, against St. Francis (Pa.). It will be the first meeting since 2011 between the Franciscan institutions.
After the opener, the Bonnies will travel to Lakeland, Fla., to face the University of Florida Gators on Thursday, Nov. 17 at Lakeland Center. Florida’s home court, the O’Connell Center, is being renovated this year and so the Gators are playing all of their home games at arenas around the state. St. Bonaventure and Florida met just once before, in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 27, 1977.
The Bonnies will then travel to Austin, Texas, for the Lone Star Showcase Nov. 21-23. That event will be held at Cedar Park Center, which is home to the NBA Developmental League’s Austin Spurs.
St. Bonaventure returns home to host Siena Nov. 30 in the annual Franciscan Cup game. The game against the Saints starts a challenging stretch of four games for the Bonnies, although three of the four are at home.
Defending Mid-American Conference champion and Big 4 rival Buffalo visits the Reilly Center Dec. 3 for a 4:00 Saturday matinee. The Bonnies took a last-second, 60-58 win over the Bulls last year in Alumni Arena. Last March, coach Nate Oats’ team won the MAC tournament to earn its second straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Dec. 6, the Bonnies will travel to Long Island to face Hofstra. It will be St. Bonaventure’s only game in the New York metro region this season. Last season, the Pride knocked off the Bonnies 89-83 in the Reilly Center.
St. Bonaventure will then remain in western New York for its last four games of the non-conference slate starting Dec. 10 when UNC-Wilmington comes to the RC. The Seahawks return the majority of their team which won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and lost a close decision to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After a break for final exams, the Bonnies will face Niagara in the Big 4 Classic at First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo. That matchup was announced Tuesday.
The following week, the Bonnies close out non-conference play with a pair of games at the Reilly Center. Dec. 19, St. Bonaventure hosts Army West Point at 7 p.m. in the third meeting between the Bonnies and the iconic United States service academy. Three days later (Dec. 22), the Bonnies host Canisius at 7 p.m. It will be the 165th meeting between the Little 3 rivals.
The Atlantic 10 Conference schedule will be announced in early September. It is anticipated that A-10 play will begin on or around Dec. 29.
Last season, St. Bonaventure finished 22-9 and shared the Atlantic 10 regular season title with a mark of 14-4. The Bonnies advanced to the NIT under A-10 Coach of the Year Mark Schmidt. Two starters return: all-conference junior point guard Jaylen Adams and junior guard Idris Taqqee. Senior forward Denzel Gregg, the co-Sixth Man of the Year in the Atlantic 10 a year ago, is a potential starter. Sophomore guard Nelson Kaputo and sophomore forward LaDarien Griffin also return. Schmidt welcomes six new players to the roster: senior forwards David Andoh and Chinonso Obokoh, junior small forward Courtney Stockard, junior guard Matt Mobley, freshman guard Tareq Coburn and freshman center Amadi Ikpeze.
For information on purchasing season tickets, contact the SBU ticket office at (716) 375-2500 or visit GoBonnies.com/tickets. Single game tickets will go on sale in October.
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