Game of the Night:
St. Bonaventure Bonnies vs Dayton Flyers – 7:00 pm ET (A10 Network)
The Essentials:
| Category | Dayton | St. Bona |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 14-3 | 12-4 |
| Conference Record | 4-1 | 4-1 |
| Home Record | – | 8-1 |
| Away Record | 4-2 | – |
| Kenpom Ranking | 46 | 83 |
| RPI Ranking | 10 | 54 |
| Points Leader | Cooke 15.7 | Posley 17.7 |
| Rebounds Leader | McElvene 7.1 | Wright 8.7 |
| Assists Leader | Smith 4.6 | Adams 4.9 |
| Spread | +1 | -1 |
Both Dayton and St. Bonaventure come into this high powered Tuesday night matchup with similar records but different trajectories of momentum. Dayton is riding high, coming off of back-to-back home wins against Davidson and George Washington. St. Bonaventure on the other hand, is looking to get back up off the mat after dropping their most recent game to Duquesne.
Both teams are 4-1 in Atlantic Ten play, but both sit at different points in their season’s trajectory. Dayton, as of right now, is firmly inside the bubble for the tournament, with most services projecting them as a 6-seed. They have marquee wins already this year, defeating Iowa and Vanderbilt. The win against Iowa, which was on a neutral court, might be the best win so far in the A10. Iowa is now clearly the best team in the Big Ten, boasting a 5-0 conference record with two wins over Michigan State, and other wins against Purdue and Michigan. Add all of that up, and you get a Dayton team who proved themselves in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and are beginning to peak at the correct time in the season to do so, having battled some injury problems the past few games.
St. Bonaventure on the other hand, is outside of the bubble looking in. Having no signature win yet, the next four games will be gigantic for deciding the fate of their season. The Bonnies play Dayton, VCU, Richmond, and Saint Joseph’s for their next four – a crucial stretch that will surely decide their chances at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
However, the conference title is still up for grabs, and both of these teams have a chance to make a statement win in that regard. Sitting at 4-1, a game behind leaders VCU, the winner of this game will be able to stay within an arms reach of the league leading Rams. Senior guard Marcus Posley will attempt to lead his Bonnies against the balanced Dayton attack – ultimately, the team who is able to get hot from three will be the one who prevails. Regardless of outcome, the stars are aligning for an absolute classic tonight.
