By Joe Ceraulo
Men’s Basketball Beat Writer
DALLAS – While sitting at gate T6 in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, there was an unusual site for the airport employees and others passing by.
A sea of brown and white.
The advantage in Dayton was somewhat expected for St. Bonaventure. The school doesn’t make the tournament as often as UCLA, sparking more interest among its ever loyal fanbase, and it is also a six-hour drive from Tuesday’s First Four site as opposed to a six-hour flight.
While University of Dayton Arena felt more like the Reilly Center a few nights ago, Dallas is a much further destination for the Bonnies faithful.
But that doesn’t matter.
With one win already under their belt in this year’s NCAA tournament, the Bonnies are ready to cap off Thursday’s 16 first-round games with a rematch against the Florida Gators.
These schools faced off last season, as the Gators walked away with a 73-66 victory. The game featured a late 21-6 run by the Bonnies, who evened the score at 66 before Florida answered with seven straight points to seal the deal.
St. Bonaventure guards Matt Mobley and Jaylen Adams combined for 48 points in the loss, far outperforming any duo of the Gators.
Having lost Devin Robinson to the NBA, Florida doesn’t have a strong scoring option at the forward position this season, and with a smaller Gators team, the Bonnies should have the advantage in this year’s matchup.
Bonaventure’s backcourt of Adams, Mobley and fellow senior Idris Taqqee possesses the quickness, explosivity and range that makes them capable of beating teams from deep or taking the ball to the rim.
As versatile as that group of guards is, junior forward Courtney Stockard has put the team on his back frequently throughout their stretch of 14 wins in 15 games.
After missing the Atlantic 10 conference tournament semifinal game against Davidson, Stockard returned Tuesday night in Dayton and wreaked absolute havoc on a Bruins team who couldn’t figure out how to guard him, despite shutting down Mobley and Adams for most of the night.
With a hamstring that isn’t quite 100 percent, he’ll need some help to get St. Bonaventure past the Gators. Plain and simple, Adams and Mobley can’t make six of 28 shots and expect to win again in March.
The Gators are 6-6 in their last 12 games and have impressive wins against Auburn and Kentucky mixed with bad losses against Georgia (twice) and Vanderbilt.
Those last 12 games are a perfect indication of how inconsistent this 20-12 team, once ranked as high as seventh in the country, is.
After forcing a season-high 20 turnovers against UCLA Tuesday, expect the Bonnies defense to be just as active against a team who may not quite understand the Cinderella story they’re about to become a chapter of.
Follow @thebvnewspaper on Snapchat and @BV_Sports on Twitter for updates and live tweets during the team’s time in Texas!
cerauljg16@bonaventure.edu
