Saint Bonaventure is riding a two-game losing streak. St. Bona fell to Arkansas State, Thursday night and Virginia Tech last week. Andrew Nicholson, an A-10 potential player of the year, has been slowed of late by bronchitis. Least season he drove the final nail in UB's coffin during the 76-74 loss at the Reilly Center last year.
The Bonnies are also without Redshirt junior forward Marquise Simmons who suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in against Cornell.
After a huge win on the road against Dayton the Buffalo Bulls return to the friendly confines of Alumni Arena for a against Big-4 foe Saint Bonaventure. The Bulls have bounced back nicely after laying an egg against Princeton first by destroying a sagging Canisius team at home and then by going on the road and crushing 5-1 Dayton.
So whats changed over the past two games?
For starters Zach Filzen has had his best two games of the season. Against Dayton and the Griffs he has shot 10 of 21 three-pointers (48%) over the last two games. He now leads the MAC in three-pointers made per game – averaging 3.6 per contest. This after getting just 2.5 and shooting 33% during the seasons first three games.
This is a very winnable game for the Bulls. With a level playing field the Bulls can run with Saint Bonaventure. Maybe not beat them but at least make a game of it. Now take that playing field and slant it about 45 degrees with injuries, illness, and home court advantage. Suddenly, as dangerous as the Bonnie's are, UB has a chance for a quality win and a run in the big four.