FAU Takes On St. Bonaventure in Hall of Fame Classic What : #15 FAU (8-2) vs St. Bonaventure (7-2) When : Sat. Dec. 16th, @ 4:00 PM Where : MassMutual Center Series : Second matchup. St. Bonaventure beat FAU 71-64 in the first encounter back in December 2019. TV : ESPNU Radio : FoxSports 640 Live Stats : Here Line : FAU -7.5 FAU at a Glance Offense – 85 PPG, 52% FG, 40% 3PT Defense – 70 PPGA, 42% FGA, 33% 3PTA Rebounding – 38 RPG Owls, 32 RPG Opponents Owl Notables It was light work for the Owls during their 34-point blowout victory over in-state rival FIU on Wednesday, an excellent refresher following the tough defeat to Illinois at Madison Square Garden the prior week. Dropping 94 points on the Panthers, it was the fifth time this season that FAU reached the 90-point mark, one game away from tying the prior campaign’s. Their potent scoring has displayed itself in the national rankings, putting the Owls at 23rd among the best offenses in the country. FAU was excellent in showing their aggressiveness inside the paint, outscoring FIU 48-20 in that area. With their ability to feed bigs Vlad Goldin and Giancarlo Rosado inside while having guards such as Alijah Martin, Johnell Davis, and Bryan Greenlee slashing their way inside to get efficient shots would be worth keeping an eye on against the Bonnies. The Owls enjoyed resounding performances from Brandon Weatherspoon (pictured above via Bob Markey II) and Bryan Greenlee, who both put up 12 points each after struggling against Illinois. Their ability to be assertive on a consistent basis offensively would be beneficial for the Owls, especially entering Saturday’s matchup. After this contest, FAU will have several days of rest before heading to Las Vegas for arguably their biggest game of the season against top-ranked Arizona on December 23rd at 3:00 PM. The matchup will be broadcast on FOX. St. Bonaventure Team Site : Here St. Bonaventure at a Glance Offense – 76 PPG, 48% FG, 36% 3PT Defense – 65 PPGA, 42% FGA, 31% 3PTA Rebounding – 33 RPG, 29 RPG Opponents Bonnie Notables The Bonnies are looking for their sixth straight victory when they take on FAU during Saturday afternoon. They are also seeking what would be their 31st win over a Top 25 opponent all-time and first since defeating No. 14/16 Rhode Island on home court in February 2018. While the Bonnies racked up five straight wins over Top 25 Atlantic 10 foes from 2014 to 2018, Bona’s last non-conference win over a Top 25 opponent came on March 1978 at home vs. No. 17 Syracuse. Their last Top 25 win on a neutral court was back in March 2014 against No. 18/17 Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. St. Bonaventure’s offense has been efficient throughout the five-game winning streak. They are averaging 84 points per game and shooting better than 53% from the floor with a 44% clip from long range. This pace would place them in the top 40 of the country in terms of scoring the ball at a high rate. Graduate guard Mika Adams-Woods is the player the Owls have to keep tabs on at all times throughout the game, being the hottest of the Bonnies’ offensive spark plugs recently and the current Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. He enters this weekend having connected on 19 consecutive field goal attempts over the last two games as well as 10 straight makes from downtown dating back to the win at Buffalo on December 2nd. Last week, he averaged 24.0 points in two wins, going 19-for-20 from the floor; he missed his first attempt in the win at Niagara on December 6th before hitting his next 19 shot attempts in the wins over NU and Siena. Keeping the Bonnies away from the charity stripe could play a factor for the Owls in this game. They rank 24th nationally so far this year in free-throw percentage at 77.0%. Daryl Banks III has been the most accurate on the team, sinking 91% of his tries at the line (21-23). The Panthers will return home to New York to host Binghamton on December 22nd at 7:00 PM. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
