Graphic: ANDREW HALE
BY: ANDREW HALE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
After declining a National Invitation Tournament bid a year ago, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team returns to the NIT for the first time since 2022, hosting Kent State Tuesday.
Bonaventure (22-11, 9-9 A-10) hosts its third-ever NIT game, with the previous two in 1995 and 2016.
“[It’s] really exciting [to host an NIT game],” Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “Now have an opportunity to play in the NIT, especially at home, that’s a tribute to the season that we had and a tribute to our players. We’re really looking forward to playing in the NIT against a good Kent State team.”
This season’s bid marks the Bonnies’ 18th NIT appearance in school history. In 2022, Bonaventure advanced all the way to the semifinals, where it fell to Xavier. Bonaventure’s lone NIT championship victory came in 1977.
“The NIT has a great history,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had a lot of success in the NIT back in 1977, and [we] went to the final four a couple of years ago. So [accepting a bid] really is a reward for the season that we had and for the seniors.”
While falling to VCU in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament, Bonaventure finished the season with 22 wins, good for the 19th 20-win season in school history. The Bonnies enter NIT as one of six A-10 teams in the field.
“There are six Atlantic 10 teams that got into the tournament, and three have home games, so it just speaks to the numbers that we had, the metrics and it speaks to the season that we had,” Schmidt said. “It’s a great thing that our team did and we’re proud of it.”
Kent State (22-11, 11-7 MAC) also enters the first-round matchup with a 22-win season of its own. The Golden Flashes advanced to the Mid-American Conference semifinals where they fell to Miami (OH) 72-64 last week.
The Golden Flashes are led by senior guards Jalen Sullinger and VonCameron Davis. Sullinger and Davis both averaged 15 points during the regular season and shot over 35% from three.
“They’re really good and they’ve had a lot of success,” Schmidt said. “One of the reasons why [Kent State] have had success is because of those two guys and what they can bring from an offensive standpoint.”
While the Bonnies have not played a regular season or postseason game against Kent State since 2003, the two teams have competed in a preseason “secret scrimmage” game every year since 2010. The Bonnies have defeated the Golden Flashes in 14 of their 22 previous regular season matchups.
While hosting a NIT game this season will provide a slight advantage in terms of preparation compared to 2022, it’s business as usual coming off a short turnaround from the conference tournament, said Schmidt.
“It’s better than when we went out to Colorado,” Schmidt said. “We have some experience in [preparing on short turnarounds].
In Bonaventure’s two A-10 tournament games, senior guard Melvin Council Jr. scored a total of 37 points. Council Jr. led the Bonnies in points per game, steals per game and assists per game during the regular season.
“You play [in the postseason] for your seniors,” Schmidt said. “Melvin [Council Jr.], Chance [Moore] and Noel [Brown] wanted to play. If you have a chance to play postseason play, and you have enough guys, it’s almost like a present, a reward for the season that we’ve had.”
The Bonnies enter the first round of the NIT with a stockpile of injuries, having only played seven available players in their quarterfinal loss to VCU three days ago.
“It’s the next man up, and you only need five guys to play,” Schmidt said. “We’ll have a team, and we’re going to go out there and play our best. We’ve been shorthanded most of the season and you can’t complain about it. We’ve won 22 games with it, and hopefully, we can get another one tomorrow night.”
Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU. Radio listeners can tune into the game via the Bonnies Online Network.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
