SLU travels to upstate New York to once again take on St. Bonaventure in a Matinee Nowhere Near Manhattan on Monday, Valentine’s Day 2022. SLU is still smarting from the SBU-administered beating on Friday night at Chaifetz Arena. The final was 68-61 but it did not seem that close, as the Bonnies dominated the second half at both ends of the floor.
This prediction from Friday aged badly:
Prediction: Yuri Collins controls the game with 11 assists and 1 turnover, and Okoro and Linssen wrestle big double O to a draw down low. SLU wins 78-72.
Instead, Yuri Collins offset 7 assists with 8(!) turnovers, and Osun Osunniyi shrugged off foul trouble to contribute 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6(!) blocks in only 26 minutes. While OO sat, big Bonnie backup Abdoul Karim Coulibaly held the Billikens in check, chipping in 3 steals in a conference-season-high 14 minutes. Kyle Lofton overcame some early shooting woes to garner KenPom game MVP honors with 16 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals playing all 40 minutes.
At times, Collins looked like the only offense the Billikens had, as they were mystified by the SBU zone looks. Jordan Nesbitt tossed up a doughnut — his first scoreless outing of the season — and Gibson Jimerson hit two threes early and the broad sides of barns thereafter. Fred Thatch Jr. had one of his worst games as well, and may have cost himself a starting spot on Monday.
The Bonnies that showed up at Chaifetz on Friday night looked like the SBU clubs from the past couple of years: patient, experienced, long, and defiantly not deep. If Friday marked a beginning of a return to form for SBU, they will torpedo SLUs at-large tournament ambitions in the process and likely render the A-10 a one-bid league. KenPom has SBU by a single point 71-70. Hold your loved ones close and enjoy the show.
References
Data from Basketball Reference and Ken Pomeroy and SLUBillikens.com and the NCAA
Game Score metric created by John Hollinger detailed here
Plot format by Aaron Baggett
Inspiration from Ken Pomeroy
Inspiration from Rock M Nation
Team colors courtesy:
Benjamin S. Baumer and Gregory J. Matthews (2020). teamcolors: Color Palettes for Pro Sports Teams. R package version 0.0.4.