The St. Bonaventure Bonnies will host the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday in a battle between two of the better schools in the region.
Game time: Saturday, December 4, 4:00 p.m. ET
TV schedule: NBC Sports Digital
Location: Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure, NY
If you’re a big fan of Western New York State basketball (and who isn’t, really?), then your calendar is probably already cleared for Saturday evening. But if not, there’s a good one on top. The 6-1 St. Bonaventure Bonnies will welcome the 4-2 Buffalo Bulls to the Reilly Center for their annual match-up (last year notwithstanding due to COVID). Buffalo has won the last two contests, which snapped a four-game Bonnies win streak. And the teams look to be pretty evenly matched once again. Here’s what to expect in the showdown.
Bona will come into Saturday hungry, but a little banged up. They slipped out of the AP Top 25 this week after their first loss of the season, a 90-80 defeat at the hands of Northern Iowa. They bounced back on Wednesday with a closer-than-it-should-have-been 93-81 win over Coppin State. Unfortunately for Mark Schmidt and Co, they lost star point guard Kyle Lofton in the process.
Can confirm @JPButler10’s report in today’s Olean Times Herald that Kyle Lofton suffered a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss multiple weeks.
— Chuckie Maggio (@chuckiemaggio) December 3, 2021
That’s a big blow, especially considering Bona was able to take down Boise State, Clemson, and Marquette with Lofton running the show. Their depth will be on display without their second-leading scorer and top assist man. Look for fellow senior guard Jaren Holmes to help pick up the slack. He’s leading the team with 17.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. It’s hard to expect more than that, but he’ll lead the way regardless without Lofton.
The Bonnies are anchored in the middle by stud big man Osun Osunniyi. He’s averaging 10 and 7.3 to go along with 3.3 blocks per game. Jalen Adaway and Dominick Welch are also both averaging double-digit points, so St. Bonaventure will have plenty of scoring options even without Lofton. Still, they’re likely miss their floor general’s leadership quite a bit.
As for Buffalo, their 4-2 record is boosted by a nice road win at North Texas, with their only losses coming at the hands of Michigan and Stephen F. Austin. And like Bona, they have plenty of ways to score the ball. Senior wing Jeenathan Williams leads the way with 18.8 points per game, one of four Bulls averaging in double-figures.
The Bonnies may be familiar with one of the other scorers in Maceo Jack. The George Washington transfer is averaging 11.2 points per game, and Saturday will mark his fifth career game against Bonaventure. He’ll look to replicate his 2019 performance when he dropped 28 (including 5-of-8 from distance) against his then-conference foe.
If there’s one thing to watch in this one, it’s pace. Buffalo loves to speed teams up (17th fastest in the country in tempo, per KenPom). If the Bonnies can succeed in slowing them down and keeping them out of transition, bank on them ending their two-game slide against their rivals.
Prediction: St. Bonaventure 74 – Buffalo 68