Busting Brackets
Fansided

Dayton vs St. Bonaventure: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Dave Ascoli

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 16: Osun Osunniyi (21) of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies celebrates a 68-51 win against Rhode Island Rams during their Atlantic 10 basketball tournament Semi Final game at Barclays Center on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 16: Osun Osunniyi (21) of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies celebrates a 68-51 win against Rhode Island Rams during their Atlantic 10 basketball tournament Semi Final game at Barclays Center on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

St. Bonaventure has already clinched the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, and they’ll try to improve their resume against Dayton on Monday.

Game time: Monday, March 1, 5:00 p.m. ET

TV schedule: ESPNU

Location: Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure, New York

More than half of the Atlantic 10 is already prepping for travel to Richmond, Virginia for the 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Tournament. But six squads are planning for their final regular-season contests on Monday. And there’s a lot that hangs in the balance in terms of seeding for the tourney. That said, there’s one thing we know for sure: the St. Bonaventure Bonnies are the regular-season A-10 champions and they’ll be the one seed when the tourney kicks off on Wednesday.

There’s still plenty to play for if you’re Bona, however. The Bonnies are right on the cusp of an at-large bid — probably on the right side of the bubble for now. But they’re going to need to keep stacking wins if they want to lock in a bid. They’ll have a chance to keep things rolling on Monday evening when they host Dayton to close out their 2020-21 campaign.

Bonaventure will come into this one with an impressive 13-3 (11-3) record on the season, with their only losses coming at the hands of VCU, Saint Louis, and Rhode Island. SBU is also riding a mini-three game win streak, and they’re a perfect 8-0 (7-0) at home. They’ve knocked off Richmond, VCU, and Davidson (x2) as part of their impressive run through the A-10. But they have yet to face Dayton this year, so college hoops fans could be in for a fun one on Monday.

The Bonnies boast one of the tougher starting fives in the Atlantic 10, led by Kyle Lofton and his 14.8 points per game. The junior guard is a workhorse, averaging 38.1 minutes per game, good for second in the nation in minutes percentage. Fellow guard Jaren Holmes checks in with 14.6 points per game, and Dominick Welch rounds out the three-guard lineup with 11.6 per contest.

Miami (OH) transfer Jalen Adaway chips in with 11.8 points per game, and big man Osun Osunniyi averages 10.0 points and 8.9 rebounds. The downside for Bona is that they don’t go that deep — guard Alejandro Vasquez (4.5 points per game) is the only player contributing more than three points per night on average.

Shifting to Dayton, they’re losers of three of their last four and 12-8 (8-7) on the year. And some of the Flyers’ losses (La Salle, Fordham, and most recently Saint Joseph’s) have been head-scratching. UD does have a pair of wins over Saint Louis and another over Davidson under their belt, but inconsistency has been the theme for last year’s A-10 champions this time around.

Next. Predicting winners of all 31 conference tournaments. dark

Like Bonaventure, Dayton also rolls with a guard-heavy attack led by Jalen Crutcher. The senior checks in with 18.8 points and 4.9 assists per game this year. Ibi Watson – also a senior guard – tallies 15.7 points per game, and true freshman Mustapha Amzil has dropped 10.1 points per game in just 15 contests. The 6’10” wing could pose some match-up problems for the Bonnies, but this year’s A-10 best should still be able to prevail over last year’s A-10 best.

Prediction: St. Bonaventure 76 – Dayton 67

Home/Atlantic 10