7 reasons to like the Bonnies chances vs. Davidson

Tweet

The Bonnies have been playing must-win games since they lost to La Salle almost a month ago. All they have done is go 5-0 with victories at Dayton and against Saint Joseph’s in Rochester since.

That stretch has put the Bonnies in the position they stand today: in the NCAA tournament.

The Bonnies are a 10 seed according to Bracket Matrix’s collection of all projected brackets. Joe Lunardi has moved them out of the last four in. Dance Card has them as a 100 percent lock.

Of course, those projections can – and probably will – change after tonight’s matchup against Davidson in an Atlantic 10 quarterfinal in Brooklyn.

The Bonnies might not need to win to secure an NCAA bid, but a victory would go a long way in helping them avoid a first four play-in game in Dayton.

We at the Bona Blog – or me, at least – are feeling good about tonight’s game. Here are 7 reasons to be optimistic about a Bonnies’ win:

1. The Bonnies have already beaten Davidson, 97-85, in the Reilly Center on Jan. 2. Jay Adams (30) and Marcus Posley (19) combined for 49 points that night.
2. The Bonnies have had success in the A-10 tourney under Mark Schmidt. They have won at least one game in five of their six tournament appearances under the coach. They are 6-2 in their last tournament games.
3. The Bonnies should be fresh. They have been off the last six days – the most consecutively since late January. That can only help stalwarts Adams, Posley and Wright.
4. Davidson shouldn’t be nearly as fresh. The Wildcats played Thursday night – a 78-63 victory over La Salle. Much like the Bonnies, Davidson doesn’t have a ton of depth. And like the Bonnies trio of Adams, Posley and Wright, Davidson’s Jack Gibbs, Brian Sullivan and Peyton Aldridge all play more than 34 minutes a game. Coach Jack McKillop has been especially concerned with his team’s depth of late.
5. The Wildcats aren’t very good away from their home arena. They earned just their fourth road/neutral victory of the season last night – compared to 10 losses.
6. Davidson isn’t strong in the post. This is good for the Bonnies, who have struggled rebounding and defending big-bodied forwards and centers. Derrick Woods, if you recall, had his best game of the year against Davidson in January, totaling 11 points on 5-6 shooting.
7. The Bonnies did a tremendous job defending Gibbs in the first game. The A-10’s leading scorer was limited to 18 points on 7-27 shooting thanks to efforts of Adams, Posley and Idris Taqqee. The one caveat: the Wildcats were without Sullivan that day.