St. Bonaventure Basketball: 3 takeaways from setback at Saint Louis

2. The Bonnies own an elite defense – but their offense leaves much to be desired

It is no mystery that St. Bonaventure’s defense is that of elite caliber.  They are holding teams to 62.1 points per game and 0.81 points per possession, rank in the top 70 in both 3P% (30.2%) and 2P% (46.6%) defensively, and maintain the 43rd-best defensive efficiency in the nation.

To put into context just how good the Bonnies’ defense has been: their game against Saint Louis is just the second time this season where the opposing team has scored 70 points or more and is the first time since their season-opener against Akron on December 15th.  They own one of the slowest tempos in college basketball, as well, allowing for just 66.5 possessions per game.

Where St. Bonaventure’s issues arise on the offensive end – particularly when they face teams who they struggle to defend.  The Bonnies are by no means efficiently challenge on the offensive end, where they rank 61st nationally – but they struggle mightily with shooting the ball, maintaining clips of 30.6% (3PT, 285th) and 49.2% (2PT, 204th).

Those woes presented themselves against Saint Louis, where the Bonnies shot just 38.9% (14-36) on two-pointers – with a slightly better-than-average mark from beyond the arc at 31.6%.  The Bonnies averaged just 0.92 points per possession – while allowing the Billikens to score a whopping 1.09 points per possession.

The Bonnies average just over 70 points a game – an 8-plus margin – which is obviously enough that it has led them to a 9-2 record.  But when they face a team like Saint Louis – who rank in the top 50 nationally in both 2P% and 3P% and have scored below 70 points on just one occasion this year – the Bonnies will run into issues, given their woes in scoring.  If they hope to be taken legitimately as a threat in the A-10 and, potentially, NCAA Tournament, then they will need to bring up their offensive production.