By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Editor
Spend enough time around St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt and there are a few theories, sayings and statistics you’ll notice he often repeats.
One such Schmidt staple is “home teams win 75 percent of the time in Division I basketball.”
While this isn’t 100-percent accurate, it gets the point across: it’s really hard to win on the road, so you better win your home games.
This would make Saturday’s matchup against the Rhode Island Rams (2-10 in conference) seem quite important. The Rams are tied for last in the conference and have yet to win a road game.
With a win Saturday, the Bonnies could extend their winning streak to four games, move to above .500 in conference play and potentially position themselves for a favorable seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
As if all this wasn’t enough incentive for the Bonnies, the athletic department added a wrinkle when it announced former basketball star Andrew Nicholson’s jersey would be retired.
Nicholson played for St. Bonaventure from 2008 to 2012 and led the Bonnies to the Atlantic 10 championship while earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors.
“It’s going to be a big game, there’s going to be a lot of people there,” senior guard Matthew Wright said. “We’re retiring Drew’s number, so obviously, it has a lot of sentimental value. Every A-10 game is important at this point. We have to take care of home games especially.”
The Rams are tied with George Mason for last in the Atlantic 10. They score the least points per game in the conference and are 10th in rebounding and 12th in turnover margin.
However, the team isn’t totally devoid of talent. Senior guard Xavier Munford is one of the most talented offensive players in the A-10. He’s among the conference leaders at 16.4 points per game. Freshman guard E.C. Matthews is second among freshman in the conference with 13.4 points per game.
Wright believes that while the Rhode Island guards are talented, the Bonnies are more than capable of handling them.
“They’re good players, and we have to respect their games, especially Munford,” Wright said. “And Matthews is a freshman playing with a lot of confidence. We can’t take those guys for granted, but they have to guard us too.”
“We have really good guards with (senior guard Charlon Kloof), (junior guard) Jordan Gathers and (junior guard Andell Cumberbatch). Arguably, we have one of the best back courts in the conference.”
Wright, as a fellow member of that back court, has played as well, if not better, than the players he mentioned of late. The Atlantic 10 named Wright co-conference player of the week. Wright has averaged nearly 22 points per game in the past three games but his best work has come late in games.
He scored 19 points in the second half in a win over George Mason before dropping 16 in the latter half against Duquesne Wednesday.
While Wright often receives notoriety for his scoring ability, his coach said he’s more than just a scorer.
“He’s done a very good job of leading us,” Schmidt said. “I say it all the time – scoring isn’t the most important thing. It’s being able to rebound, defend, take care of the ball and to be a calming influence. That’s what Matt has done.”
Wright and the Bonnies will tip off against Rhode Island at 4 p.m.
