Bonnies looking to extend three-game win streak Saturday in Kingston
Mark Schmidt described it as a ?game for men.? It wasn?t an Xs and Os game, but rather a ?mental and physical battle.?
Last January, his St. Bonaventure basketball team won that battle, beating talented, hard-nosed Rhode Island 69-64 in the Reilly Center to move to 4-0 in league play. It was the first real indication that something special might be unfolding.
A year later, the stage is set in largely the same fashion.
Saturday afternoon in the Ryan Center, the Bonnies will meet a similarly tough URI team, the league?s most talented group on paper, but one that has been a slight underachiever this season.
If Bona wins ? as with last year ? it might well be onto something moving forward. As such, the Bonnies expect the same kind of battle in this one.
?YEAH, I hope so, because we?re going to bring it,? said junior guard Idris Taqqee, whose team has won three in a row, including Tuesday?s unbelievable come-from-behind victory over Saint Joe?s.
?I feel like right now all we can do is use the momentum from last game and just keep it pushing. I know it?s going to be a challenge. They have a lot of good players, a lot of talent over there, but I?m looking forward to it.?
While every game is important to the Bonnies (13-6, 5-2), Saturday's contest with the Rams is even more so.
Bona, in a three-way tie for third, is currently a game up on Rhody (12-7, 4-3) in the Atlantic 10 standings; this is a team it might be battling with at the end for positioning in the top half of the conference.
Then, too, it?s another chance to prove itself against one of the elite teams on its schedule: URI currently ranks No. 51 in the KenPom ratings, third in the league behind Dayton and VCU (Bona, at No. 87, is fourth). Despite a 2-3 record in their last five games, the Rams are considered an NCAA ?bubble? team, listed among the first four out in ESPN?s latest projected bracket.
Bona, at the moment, is 0-4 against teams that rank No. 110 or better in the KenPom. So, yes, there?s an added layer of meaning Saturday.
?IT?S SOMETHING that we look forward to though,? Taqqee said. ?It?s the hype we look forward to. We can only be happy for it, because I feel like it?s going to be a good game on the road for us. The hype that it is, I feel like we?re prepared for it.?
Bona has been strong on the road this season, boasting a 7-3 record away from the Reilly Center, including a 2-1 mark in league play. That?s a tick better than what it?s been at home ? 6-3.
Saturday's about as tough as it gets on the road, however.
The Rams are skilled across the board, highlighted by guards E.C. Matthews (16 points) and Jared Terrell (13 points) on the perimeter and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Hassan Martin (13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Kuran Iverson (10 points, 8 rebounds) inside.
Coach Dan Hurley?s team has suffered a handful of injuries, one of the reasons it has so far failed to live up to the preseason hype as a Tournament ?lock? this season (it was predicted to finish second behind Dayton in the October poll). Indeed, Martin has been banged up all year (he?s averaged just 19 minutes over the last six games); fellow starter Jarvis Garrett has missed the last three games with an illness and is a question mark Saturday.
Mark Schmidt described it as a ?game for men.? It wasn?t an Xs and Os game, but rather a ?mental and physical battle.?
Last January, his St. Bonaventure basketball team won that battle, beating talented, hard-nosed Rhode Island 69-64 in the Reilly Center to move to 4-0 in league play. It was the first real indication that something special might be unfolding.
A year later, the stage is set in largely the same fashion.
Saturday afternoon in the Ryan Center, the Bonnies will meet a similarly tough URI team, the league?s most talented group on paper, but one that has been a slight underachiever this season.
If Bona wins ? as with last year ? it might well be onto something moving forward. As such, the Bonnies expect the same kind of battle in this one.
?YEAH, I hope so, because we?re going to bring it,? said junior guard Idris Taqqee, whose team has won three in a row, including Tuesday?s unbelievable come-from-behind victory over Saint Joe?s.
?I feel like right now all we can do is use the momentum from last game and just keep it pushing. I know it?s going to be a challenge. They have a lot of good players, a lot of talent over there, but I?m looking forward to it.?
While every game is important to the Bonnies (13-6, 5-2), Saturday's contest with the Rams is even more so.
Bona, in a three-way tie for third, is currently a game up on Rhody (12-7, 4-3) in the Atlantic 10 standings; this is a team it might be battling with at the end for positioning in the top half of the conference.
Then, too, it?s another chance to prove itself against one of the elite teams on its schedule: URI currently ranks No. 51 in the KenPom ratings, third in the league behind Dayton and VCU (Bona, at No. 87, is fourth). Despite a 2-3 record in their last five games, the Rams are considered an NCAA ?bubble? team, listed among the first four out in ESPN?s latest projected bracket.
Bona, at the moment, is 0-4 against teams that rank No. 110 or better in the KenPom. So, yes, there?s an added layer of meaning Saturday.
?IT?S SOMETHING that we look forward to though,? Taqqee said. ?It?s the hype we look forward to. We can only be happy for it, because I feel like it?s going to be a good game on the road for us. The hype that it is, I feel like we?re prepared for it.?
Bona has been strong on the road this season, boasting a 7-3 record away from the Reilly Center, including a 2-1 mark in league play. That?s a tick better than what it?s been at home ? 6-3.
Saturday's about as tough as it gets on the road, however.
The Rams are skilled across the board, highlighted by guards E.C. Matthews (16 points) and Jared Terrell (13 points) on the perimeter and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Hassan Martin (13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Kuran Iverson (10 points, 8 rebounds) inside.
Coach Dan Hurley?s team has suffered a handful of injuries, one of the reasons it has so far failed to live up to the preseason hype as a Tournament ?lock? this season (it was predicted to finish second behind Dayton in the October poll). Indeed, Martin has been banged up all year (he?s averaged just 19 minutes over the last six games); fellow starter Jarvis Garrett has missed the last three games with an illness and is a question mark Saturday.
