Spiders Tonight

[wgt]

I see lots of optimism in the “Points Game” predictions. I suspect more are forecasting with their heart. At 9-7 (1-0) the Spiders will present enormous challenges to us. They have single digit loses to strong teams & their tough D kept Rice to only 43 & GW to 48 points. Allowed GW to only 14 points in the first half. Their match up zone D has gotten better over the last 5 contests.

They have no dominant rebounder, due to the loss of Geriot. They make up for it by all crashing the boards with decent results. They do have two starters at 6'10" & 6'9" in Harper & Giddings but Gonzalvez has the most boards at 6'4"
If we body up on everyone I expect us to out rebound them. However I was wrong in predicting that against a poorer rebounding team in St Joes. We know they killed us on the glass, producing lots of 2nd chance points after our initial stop.

Our only common opponent was Bucknell who they cruised through with a 22 pt win, We of course required OT for our win. Gonzalvez & Anderson are their tandem guards who are arguably the best in the A10. They shoot extremely well as does the entire team being #2 in the A10 in FG% (.481). I don't expect them to repeat their terrible shooting last game. They enjoy a good A/TO margin due, in part, to being #2 in the conference in steals. They had only 7 TOs in their last two games.

If we don’t stay out of foul trouble and rebound the ball like I feel we can & don’t miss the slew of chippies in the Hawk game, this will be a tough game to watch in person for 457Dev & other Bona faithful in attendance. Look forward to their first hand observations. Go Bonnies!

[Copenhagen]

this is the 4th straight A10 game the Sports Network has predicted victory for the Bonnies!

-----


St Bonaventure (10-6) at Richmond (9-7)



The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 17th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Robins Center (12,989) -- Richmond, Virginia. Television: None. Home Record: St. Bonnies 4-4, Richmond 5-2. Away Record: St. Bonnies 6-0, Richmond 3-4. Neutral Record: St. Bonnies 0-2, Richmond 1-1. Conference Record: St. Bonnies 1-2, Richmond 1-0. Series Record: Richmond leads, 9-2.

GAME NOTES: The St. Bonaventure Bonnies will try to remain perfect on the road when they battle the Richmond Spiders in an Atlantic-10 tussle at the Robins Center. The Bonnies enter this matchup on a low note, losing back-to-back games to Duquesne and Saint Joseph's. The small slide has dropped the Bonnies to just 1-2 in league action. Surprisingly St. Bonaventure has played extremely well on the road, winning all six of its games as the visitor. As for the Spiders, they saw their two-game winning streak come to an end with a rough, 62-48 setback to Virginia Tech. This will be just the second league matchup for the Spiders, who opened conference play with a 60-48 decision over George Washington. This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. Richmond has dominated the series for the most part, winning nine of the 11 contests.

The Bonnies have been mediocre at the offensive end of the floor this season, as the team is netting 72.3 ppg, while shooting 44.5 percent. Jonathan Hall is one of four players netting double figures for St. Bonaventure, as the guard is posting 13.8 ppg, while grabbing 5.9 rpg. Andrew Nicholson has dominated the paint thus far, contributing 12.7 ppg, to go along with 6.0 and 53 blocks. Chris Matthews is only shooting 39.4 percent from the field, but is still registering 11.4 ppg. Running the show on the floor has been Ray Blackburn, who is chipping in 10.2 ppg, to go along with 52 assists. Unfortunately the team put forth a lackluster effort at the offensive end of the floor in its recent setback to Saint Joseph's. St. Bonnies shot just 36.1 percent from the floor and made just 3-of-13 three-point attempts. Nicholson led the way with 12 points, while Hall added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Spiders were atrocious the last time they were on the court as the team shot a woeful 31.1 percent from the field, and made just 3-of-22 attempts from long range. It was a shocking performance by Richmond, which is currently averaging 71.9 ppg on the year, while shooting a healthy 48.1 percent. Kevin Anderson led the way in the loss, registering 11 points. However, no other player tallied double-figures, as David Gonzalvez and Josh Duinker tallied nine points apiece. Gonzalvez has been the top option on the year for Richmond, as the guard is netting 16.0 ppg, while shooting an impressive 41.1 percent from behind the arc. As for Anderson, he comes into this game averaging 15.4 ppg, and has also dished out 44 assists.

The Bonnies have struggled over the years against Richmond, but the team has played extremely well on the road thus far, and should continue to do so this evening.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: St. Bonaventure 69, Richmond 66

01/17 10:22:10 ET
powered by www.sportsnetwork.com

[West End Stench]

I'm convinced we have a bona grad working for sportsnetwork.com. It seems like they've picked us in every contest in the last 4 years.

[njbonnie08]

With Blackburn out, I don't foresee an easy game tonight. Blackburn would have been a huge key in trying to slow down Kevin Anderson, who might be the quickest guard in the entire league. Eleby is big, but he is no match for Anderson's quickness. Bona might have to play very good zone defense, stop penetration and hope for contested shots on kickouts and ball reversals.

[wgt]

Oh, Oh. No Blackburn, this game just became far tougher than it already was. Looks like Michael may get the increased mins all have been asking for & will draw Anderson to guard. Good luck Mike!

[Copenhagen]

Blackburn's misfortune is another opportunity .... will Eleby and/or Davenport seize the moment?

For the Bonnies to win someone will need to!

Go Bonnies!

[B02]

Eleby, Matthews, Davenport will be the key to tonight's game. If they can score from the perimeter and play d on the perimeter we will be in the game. If not...