St. Bonaventure looks to extend its hot start Wednesday night when the surging Bonnies host Colgate at the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies (9-1) enter the matchup coming off a 77-69 victory over previously undefeated Buffalo, led by Daniel Egbuniwe’s 15 points. Colgate (6-4) is coming off a 94-50 blowout win against Division III St. John Fisher, paced by 23 points from Ben Tweedy.
With Saturday’s win, St. Bonaventure moved up to No. 72 in the NCAA men’s basketball NET rankings, fifth among Atlantic 10 teams behind Saint Louis (29), George Washington (47), VCU (48) and George Mason (58).
Frank Mitchell leads the Bonnies in scoring and rebounding at 15.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. His seven double-doubles tie Andrew Nicholson for the most before conference play under head coach Mark Schmidt. Buddy Simmons II is averaging 14.7 points while shooting 40.7% from 3-point range. Cayden Charles adds 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, providing steady two-way production.
Depth has been a key early-season strength for St. Bonaventure. Six players scored in double figures in the win over Buffalo, and the Bonnies are averaging 15.4 assists per game.
“We’re sharing it. We don’t have selfish guys … we’re doing a good job once we get into the offense,” Schmidt said of the team’s ball movement.
Colgate is led by guard Jalen Cox, who is averaging 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 41.2% from deep and collecting 2.1 steals per game. Kyle Carlesimo has also been a perimeter threat, shooting 46.2% from 3.
As a team, however, the Raiders are shooting 33.5% from beyond the arc. To come away with a win, the Bonnies will need to limit Cox and Carlesimo while carrying over their recent shooting, defense, rebounding and ball movement.
In their last home game before students head out for Christmas break, the Bonnies will likely play in front of a lively, full Reilly Center on Wednesday night.