Back in the fall, lots of teams seemed like they might contend for this season’s Atlantic 10 title. With quality returnees and having added some big-time talent, squads like Dayton, Saint Louis, Saint Joseph’s, and VCU all got plenty of preseason publicity.
At the time, St. Bonaventure wasn’t generally included in that company. In fact, the A10’s own preseason poll had the Bonnies finishing 10th in the league. The rankings put together by A10 Talk and Mid-Major Madness had Bona in the same exact spot. We had them #8, but that’s not much better – the consensus was that, in a strong A10, the Bonnies would really have to battle to earn a place in the top half of the conference standings. Well, so far, St. Bonaventure is far exceeding those expectations.
The Bonnies are one of a few teams at the mid-major level that’s looking strong and ready to make a statement come tourney time. Given the unique circumstances which surround each group, though, questions will follow them into March. We’re taking a look at just what makes these contenders tick, and why they may or may not be poised for great things to come.
One reason that Bona wasn’t considered a challenger for this year’s A10 crown from the start is that there’s been nearly wholesale change from last season’s lineup. Center Noel Brown is the only guy who played significant minutes and came back from last year’s team. In general, nine players were a part of St. Bonaventure’s every-game rotation last season, which was quite a departure from usual procedure. These days, 18th-year head coach Mark Schmidt is back to his usual standard of using a tight rotation – and he’s put together yet another contender in Olean, NY.
The headliners of this new crew – along with Brown – have been Melvin Council, Jr, and Chance Moore. A couple of highly versatile veterans, Council and Moore fit Schmidt’s preference for relying in the extreme upon his starters because each is capable of doing a variety of important things all over the floor. Moore spent the past two seasons at Missouri State, averaging 24.4 minutes and 10.7 points while establishing himself as a play-making defender. Now that he’s a Bonnie, Moore’s game has reached new heights. The long, bouncy wing has become a featured scorer with his length and ability to elevate near the rim, and his defensive skills are making Moore one of the A10’s most disruptive players. Council – a former JuCo star – made a big splash in his one season at Wagner. While Moore had previously played a complementary role to some high-scoring guards for the Bears, Council quickly became the most indispensable Seahawk. He averaged the most minutes in the Northeast Conference last year as Wagner’s star, and showed off an all-around game plus creativity off the bounce as both a scorer and playmaker. What’s more, Council led his squad to both an NEC tournament title and a victory over Howard in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. After entering the transfer portal this spring with that experience on his résumé, Council found a comfortable fit with Schmidt’s team.
“When I came to visit, a couple guys was here, and I asked them, what’s their goal? And all of them said March Madness,” Council said recently during an interview with The Field of 68. “That’s when I knew St. Bonnie was for me, because I wanted to go to March Madness. And it started in the summertime with 10 new guys. It felt like we’d all been playing with each other all year. And then when the first game happened, we talked about it, and we knew what we could do.” Recently, Council’s ability to wear lots of different hats has become increasingly important. With the team’s point guard, Dasonte Bowen, currently sidelined with a foot injury, Council has leaned into his talent for manufacturing opportunities, and it’s kept the Bona offense flowing.
“He’s running the team. He’s getting guys involved. At the same time he’s scoring the basketball. He’s defending his position,” Schmidt told the Olean Times Herald when discussing Council. “He’s the leader of the team, and usually when your point guard is the leader, that’s a positive. Both him and Dasonte. Before Dasonte got hurt, he was doing a really good job as well. I think the more (Council) practices (at point guard), the better he’ll become and hopefully it’s not too long where he can get him back to his natural position.”
Adding a further dimension, Brown has become a key cog by reliably converting good looks near the basket. Rangy freshman Lajae Jones has quickly proven to be a solid rebounder who can shoot the three, and especially since Bowen has been out, Jonah Hinton has provided the Bonnies with another threat from downtown. With Moore and Council playing the best ball of their careers at the head of that crew, Bona has a group that can compete at a high level against the A10’s best. Now comes the proving.
Despite their 15-3 record, St. Bonaventure is still searching for its first Quad-1 win. The Bonnies recovered from a two-game skid (with the losses coming by a combined six points) by knocking off Richmond on Wednesday, and they’ll need to be consistent as the whacky maelstrom of league play gathers momentum. This team knows that bigger hurdles lie in the near future, and that clearing them to boost their NET rating (74th currently) and other metrics will be vital. The next couple of weeks will have a lot to say about how high the Bonnies’ ceiling is. Over their next four games, St. Bonaventure will travel to suddenly-spooky Duquesne, host red-hot George Mason, head to Broad Street to take on the Rams in a grudge match, and then face a Dayton team that may recapture its Maui mojo at any time. If they could rack up three wins among that group, it would go a long way towards solidifying Schmidt’s guys as one of the best teams in the A10. Having proven that they’re plenty dangerous and that the locker room is focused on making an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Bonnies will be a team to watch as March approaches.
New Mexico
Coming off of a ‘prove something’ type of year, can the Lobos do it again? Last March was lots of fun for New Mexico. As part of a big year for the Mountain West as a whole, the Lobos played their best ball all season late. They won four straight games in Las Vegas to capture the Mountain West Conference tournament championship. Based upon the seed they were given following their incendiary finish, though, the Lobos would have likely been left out in the cold had they not won the MWC tourney.
The Mountain West isn’t quite as strong this time around, but UNM is looking to make their second straight run to the Big Dance. In order to do so, the Lobos will need to avoid too many slip-ups like their defeat at San José State (#181 on KenPom) on Tuesday night.
Working hugely in New Mexico’s favor is that their defense – which had been pretty much a disaster just a couple years back – has become a genuine strength. Two years ago the Lobos won 22 games, but fell apart down the stretch due in large part to an inability to get stops. Over their final ten contests that season, UNM’s defensive efficiency dropped to 245th in the country, per Bart Torvik. These days, the Lobos are sitting at 35th nationally. They play fast, but New Mexico has become far more abrasive in guarding people, and head coach Richard Pitino’s crew can turn their opponents over and block shot attempts with the best of ’em. UNM ranks tenth nationally in blocks per game, 19th in steals, and 23rd in total turnovers forced per contest. The Lobos still need to improve their perimeter defense, as they’re giving up a ghastly 37.5% rate to their foes. Still, with their activity level and propensity for big plays, UNM defends well enough to play in the NCAA Tournament.
They’ve also got a young fella named Donovan Dent who’s emerging as one of America’s most dynamic point guards. Dent has already proven that in close games, he can make the difference. He won three games before the buzzer a year ago. This season, his heroics have included a 40-piece (23 in the second half) in a 78-71 win over VCU. Dent’s counterpart in the post, Nelly Junior Joseph, is the MWC’s leading rebounder. In addition to posting eight double-doubles already, ‘NJJ’ has cashed in consistently near the rim and manufactured extra opportunities for himself and others to keep the Lobo offense rolling. The ascension of Mustapha Amzil to the role of every-game scoring option has also gone a long way towards New Mexico’s MWC-best start. A shooting forward who provides contrast alongside Joseph, Amzil will be a key to UNM’s potential.
Staying steady in conference play is always a challenge, but the Lobos have given themselves a quality foundation so far. New Mexico is 6-2 combined against Quads 1 and 2, but their wins over teams like UCLA and Southern Cal haven’t yet aged as nicely as the Lobos had hoped they would. Thus, Pitino’s team will want to produce a league résumé devoid of bad losses as they cash in the opportunities they’re given. Speaking of, Boise State (#37 per Bart Torvik) will travel to The Pit this Friday for a huge showdown. The Lobos have been passing the eye test, fared well in non-conference play, and are charting a path to an NCAA Tournament invitation. And this time, it’s looking like they should snag an at-large bid.
UC Irvine & UC San Diego
What about the Big West’s top dogs? Both Irvine – an old warhorse of a program under 15th-year head coach Russ Turner – and UCSD – new kids on the block – are putting together the type of season which could land them in the NCAA Tournament. It’s even possible that both could get in. Should all go according to plan in league play, the excitement on California’s coast is going to become very real.
UCI is looking for their third regular season conference crown in a row. The Anteaters are a veteran crew led by guys who know all about winning big, but their core hasn’t yet made it to the promised land in March. In the final year of eligibility for Bent Leuchten, Devin Tillis, Justin Hohn, and Andre Henry, the Eaters are out to prove themselves like never before.
While Henry has missed the past month due to injury, Leuchten, Tillis, and Hohn are driving Irvine. The most intimidating post scorer in the Big West, Leuchten has been healthy (a huge factor) and better than ever this season. He provides an anchor for the Eaters at both ends of the floor; not only does Leuchten lead the team in scoring, he’s third in blocks per game and leads the league in rebounding and Player Efficiency Rating, per College Basketball Reference. The big German also feasts at the charity stripe – Leuchten is shooting 82.9% on his nearly seven free throw attempts per game. A versatile forward, Tillis has grown into a star in his own right beside Leuchten. He’s a keen and clever offensive player who can really pass the ball and works for high-percentage looks – Tillis shoots 57.0% from the floor. Tillis will also range outside to drop triples, and his savvy in keeping defenders from collapsing on Leuchten is invaluable. Showing growth of his own, Hohn has stepped up as this team’s primary ballhandler following the departure of outstanding playmaker Pierre Cockrell II, who graduated last year. Myles Che is just a sophomore, but the Chattanooga transfer has hit the ground running back in his home state as a co-lead guard beside Hohn.
With Turner, a four-time Big West Coach of the Year, at the helm, the Eaters play a deep rotation and play hard every night. Their defense travels, and UCI makes a habit of not letting the other team get off the shots they’d prefer…or, really, many shots overall. They rank eighth nationally in opponent shooting efficiency, and the Anteaters guard without fouling – they’re only allowing opponents to attempt 12.4 foul shots per game (third in the country). In a particularly impressive showing, Irvine held MAC contender Kent State to just 39 points in a win at the end of November. They also own a win in La Jolla already, and thus currently hold the Big West’s top spot over UCSD.
Having made the jump from Division II just five years ago, the Tritons only took for years to post their first 21-win season. That was last winter. This time around, head coach Eric Olen’s team has set their sights even higher.
Leading the charge are a pair of aces: crafty paint scorer Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and sharpshooter Tyler McGhie. Like so many impact players that Olen has brought in since transitioning to the highest level of competition, Tait-Jones and McGhie are former Division II stars who have grown considerably since joining the Tritons. A Kiwi wing whose passing skills open up UCSD’s offense, Tait-Jones draws defenders like moths to a candle and makes them pay with slick feet, innovative post-up’s, and a relentless stream of made freebies. Along with leading the Big West in both categories, Tait-Jones ranks fifth in the country with more than 8.4 free throw attempts per game and fourth by making 6.7 of them. Since first hitting the floor as a Triton in mid-December last year, McGhie has done nothing but scorch the nets. In his 40 games for UCSD, McGhie has splashed 135 triples at a 41.9% rate – and his 65 makes so far this season are the highest tally in the Big West. Overall, Tait-Jones and McGhie rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the league in scoring average. As the top scorers for an offense which can struggle around them, the consistency and versatility which McGhie and Tait-Jones offer should take their team far once March arrives.
On the other end, the Tritons have a different sort of star on Hayden Gray. Another former Division II guy, Gray causes as much chaos defensively as any player in America. In fact, he leads the country with 63 steals through 17 games played, and Gray’s combination of height, length, smarts, and sheer audacity create a bunch of live-ball opportunities for his buddies every game. He keys a Triton defense which forces 10.1 steals and 16.5 overall turnovers per contest. They also allow the 13th-fewest shot attempts to their opponents of any team in the country.
By both slowing the pace and harrying the other team to no end, the Tritons have been tremendous at limiting the effectiveness of what their foes usually do best. Meanwhile, UCSD only gives away 9.7 turnovers per game, which also ranks 13th-best nationally. By keeping their turnovers low, forcing a ton of them, and scoring points on plays which put the opposition into foul trouble, the Tritons cause all sorts of frustration as a general rule.
“We certainly felt like we had a good team, and you know, guys have played good basketball,” Olen explained his feelings about this group to CBS8 Sports last week. “So it’s not a surprise, but we certainly feel like we’re in a good place…We knew this year we were going to be eligible, and we put a lot of thought into that, in terms of decision making and roster building and all of those things.” This March, due to the NCAA’S ‘reclassification period’, the Tritons will be eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. With the way they’ve played thus far, it’s a distinct possibility that they will make it in their inaugural attempt.
Nothing is guaranteed, and both the Tritons and Anteaters will need to bring a tremendous effort each night in order to finish strong. Both teams rank in the top 60 of the NET rankings right now, but they won’t be capable of moving back up very quickly should they falter. Without any more opportunities to pick up statement wins out of conference, each will need to steer clear of damaging (read: virtually any) losses in league play. UCSD will be huge Utah State fans the rest of the way, as they beat the MWC contenders in Logan a few weeks ago. Irvine will be rooting hard for Belmont, Loyola Marymount, and Northern Iowa to keep on piling up wins of their own after falling to the Eaters earlier this winter.
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