BY WILL POLADIAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
St. Bonaventure ended its conference season with a 9-9 record, granting the Bonnies the seventh seed entering the conference tournament.
La Salle beat George Washington in the first round, setting up the Bonnies against the Explorers in the second round.
After a 75-73 victory, second seeded Loyola Chicago had its matchup after its double bye.
But on a day of all upsets, Bonaventure did its part to secure a double overtime victory 75-74, while Duquesne beat Dayton solidifying the second semifinal matchup.
“The depth of our league, anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” said Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. “It’s not four to seven. It’s one game and the team that plays the best is going to win.”
Earlier in the day though, ninth seeded Saint Joseph’s pulled the upset over top seeded Richmond and VCU took down fourth seeded UMass setting up the first semifinal matchup.
Bonaventure is facing Duquesne for the third time this season, losing both regular season contests.
“We got to defend better,” said Schmidt. “We got to rebound better, we got to execute our offense better. We didn’t play our best in both games so hopefully we can play better.”
The Dukes are the only team left in the field that Bonaventure hasn’t beaten this season. They are 2-0 against the Rams and 1-0 against the Hawks.
With a win tomorrow, Bonaventure would be in their third Atlantic 10 Championship game in 12 years, winning 2-of-3 and the last resulting in a championship in 2021. The Bonnies lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to LSU.
“We’re competitors,” said redshirt senior guard Daryl Banks III. “So the fact that we lost twice already, we want to get the win cause it’s the most meaningful one because [if we don’t] it’ll end the season. So we are coming in with a chip on our shoulder.”
Duquesne hasn’t made the championship since 2008, losing to Temple. The Dukes haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 1977 after winning their only conference tournament title.
On the other side of the bracket, VCU won last year’s championship, while making the championship game six times in the past 12 years.
St. Joesph’s has beaten VCU twice for its two A-10 Championships in the past 12 years, first in 2014 and in 2016.
If Bonaventure wins, it would be the first time since 2021 that they would potentially face VCU in the championship, in a game that the Bonnies won 74-65. Meanwhile it would be the first championship matchup ever between St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph’s in tournament history if the Hawks win.
“There’s more good teams in the country than 68,” said Schmidt. “I think there’s more deserving teams than 68 [for the NCAA tournament].”
The Bonnies are set to face the Dukes in the second semifinal matchup tomorrow with tipoff set for 3:30 p.m. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
“It’s truly grateful to be in a spot right now,” said graduate guard Mika Adams-Woods. “But the job is not finished. Obviously, we came here to win the whole thing so [we need to] keep going and [if] we get the win on Saturday and then bring back home a championship.”
poladiwj20@bonaventure.edu
