Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
Eleven nationally-televised games, an all-time high for the program, highlight St. Bonaventure’s 2017-18 Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball schedule, which the conference announced Wednesday.
As the A-10 previously announced, the 18-game schedule pits St. Bonaventure against Davidson, Duquesne, Rhode Island, Saint Louis and Saint Joseph’s twice, with single games against Dayton, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Richmond and VCU.
In total, 11 of those games will be televised by either ESPN2 (two appearances), ESPNU (2), NBC Sports Network (3) or CBS Sports Network (4). The Bonnies also will have three non-conference games on national TV: Maryland (CBSSN), the second game of the Emerald Coast Classic against either New Mexico or TCU (CBSSN) and Yale (ESPNU), bringing the total number of national TV appearances this season to 14, a program record.
The A-10 schedule opens on Saturday, Dec. 30, when St. Bonaventure hosts Massachusetts at the Reilly Center. The matinee will tip-off at 2:30 and air on NBCSN.
After the calendar flips to 2018, coach Mark Schmidt’s team will leave home for a two-game road trip at Dayton on Jan. 3 and at Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 6. CBSSN will carry the Dayton game and the game against the Hawks will air on ESPNU.
The Bonnies’ second A-10 home game is on Jan. 10 when Fordham visits the Reilly Center for the only meeting of the year between the teams. After that contest, St. Bonaventure will embark on another challenging two-game road swing beginning Jan. 13 at Rhode Island. That contest will be a rare morning start time, 11 a.m., on ESPNU. The Bonnies will then head to the state of North Carolina to face Davidson on Jan. 19 in the first of two Fridaynight A-10 matchup games carried by ESPN2.
The latter part of January includes two straight nationally-televised home games, Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 24 on CBSSN and George Washington Jan. 28 on NBCSN. The month concludes with a visit to George Mason Jan. 31.
February starts with a short road trip to Pittsburgh to face longstanding rival Duquesne Feb. 3 on NBCSN. The Bonnies then return home for two straight, Saint Louis on Feb. 7 and Richmond Feb. 10. Both the Billikens and Spiders are expected to be improved teams this season, in particular Saint Louis in its second season under coach Travis Ford.
After a visit to La Salle Feb. 13, the Bonnies return home for a marquee Friday night matchup against Rhode Island. Not only will it be the second meeting of the year between these established programs, it will be the first ESPN2 game at the Reilly Center since 2003.
The final four games of the season alternate home and away, with the Bonnies hosting Duquesne on Feb. 21. A trip to Virginia to face defending A-10 Tournament champion VCU on Feb. 24 will be followed by the Bonnies’ final home game of the year Feb. 27 against Davidson. The regular season ends with a trip to Saint Louis on March 3.
The season will culminate with the A-10 Championship March 7-11 at another new venue, Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Including the three A-10 schools that reached the NCAA Tournament last season — Dayton, Rhode Island and VCU — the Bonnies will face a total of five teams that earned NCAA Tournament bids last year. The non-conference slate includes 2017 NCAA participants Maryland and Vermont.
Last season, St. Bonaventure finished 20-12, its second year in a row of 20 or more wins. Two-time All-Atlantic 10 Conference senior point guard Jaylen Adams will lead the Bonnies. Last season, Adams averaged 20.6 points per game – second-best in the A-10 – and finished seventh nationally in assists (6.5 per game). Adams is joined by senior guards Matt Mobley and Idris Taqqee. Mobley was a third team All-Conference selection last season, when he averaged 18.5 points per game. Sophomore Josh Ayeni returns as the starter at power forward.
For information on purchasing season tickets, contact the SBU Ticket Office at (716) 375-2500 or visit GoBonnies.com/tickets. Single game tickets go on sale October 20.
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