St. Bonaventure Basketball: Bonnies showing why they deserve top 25 ranking

St. Bonaventure Basketball had some slow starts in the first half at the beginning of the year but has since rebounded in a strong way to remain unbeaten.

After all five starters from last year’s Atlantic 10 Championship team elected to return for the 2021-22 season, the Associated Press took it upon themselves to give St. Bonaventure Basketball a Top 25 ranking before the year got underway (#23). When November finally arrived, the Bonnies wasted no time dominating their competition, as they steamrolled Siena by 28 points to begin the season with a 1-0 record.

Their next game against Canisius at home was far from a cakewalk though, as the Bonnies trailed the Griffins for a good portion of the second half before taking a one-point lead with 5:15 remaining and finishing on an 11-3 run. With that being said, the Bonnies were expected to knock off their first two opponents of the year, so it was fairly difficult to determine if they truly deserved to be ranked at all (they moved up a spot after defeating Canisius).

After St. Bonaventure’s impressive overall performance at the Charleston Classic, however, I think it’s safe to say that Bonnies showed why they should have a number next to their name moving forward. Following their 67-61 victory over Boise State in the Quarterfinal, the Bonnies proceeded to take down Clemson in the Semifinal and annihilate Marquette in the Championship to remain undefeated.

So, what has impressed me the most about the Bonnies so far this season? Well, I think it has to be their ability to figure things out offensively against Clemson. The Bonnies played relatively well on the offensive end of the floor against Boise State, but they struggled to put up points in the early going against the Tigers, which resulted in a 36-26 halftime deficit.

Anyone who watches St. Bonaventure knows that they are a team that loves to slow games down and execute their half-court offense. In the first half of last Friday’s game against Clemson, the Bonnies made life difficult for themselves by launching countless off-balance fadeaway jumpers and ill-advised pull-ups that had less than a 50% chance or falling.

What was the key to their success in the second half? Well, the Bonnies finally realized that if you’re a team that doesn’t score the ball in transition on a regular basis, you have to make sure that your half-court offense is highly effective. When Osun Osunniyi and Jalen Adaway started setting hard off-ball screens for Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes, the Bonnies’ top 2 scorers were able to get open looks from deep and heat up quickly.

Additionally, because the two guards waited until Osunniyi and Adaway arrived at their location before utilizing those screens, they made it tougher for their defenders to stick with them stride for stride. Oh, and I should add that every pass was crisp/on time so that you can clearly comprehend why the Bonnies were able to shoot 10-12 (83.3%) from deep in the second half and secure a 68-65 victory over the Tigers.

Now, St. Bonaventure did struggle mightily from three against Marquette (2-17, 11.8%), but their commitment to running their sets to perfection and taking high percentage shots in the paint helped them pick up a quality 70-54 win over the Golden Eagles despite their abysmal three-point shooting.

Defensively, the Bonnies weren’t perfect in the tournament, but when they were locked in and determined to make timely defensive rotations, they were able to force turnovers and smother their opponents at the rim (Osun Osunniyi’s shot-blocking ability had a lot to do with that as well).

Obviously, Mark Schmidt and the Bonnies (who recently moved up six spots in the rankings) still have a lot of work to do, but there is no doubt that they turned a lot of heads this past week and demonstrated that they are capable of beating solid high-major squads.