ST. BONAVENTURE — It’s sneakily one of the most challenging non-conference schedules of the Mark Schmidt era.
This winter, Bona will play as many as three Power 5/Big East opponents (Syracuse and potentially both Creighton and either Georgia or Clemson in the Cayman Islands Classic), three mid-majors powers in Buffalo, Vermont and Northeastern and open the season against defending Patriot League champion Bucknell.
It’s up there with 2011-12 and last season as the most difficult out-of-conference collections in Schmidt’s now 12 campaigns. Add the fact Bona is as young as it’s been in four years, and the degree of difficulty is magnified.
The Bonnies, again, are challenging themselves in a year where they’ll attempt to remain near the top of the Atlantic 10. Here’s a capsule look at each of the their 11 established non-league opponents, with last year’s RPI in parentheses:
BUCKNELL (80)
League: Patriot League
Record/postseason: 25-10, won Patriot League title, lost to Michigan State in NCAA Tournament first round
Returning starters: 2
Game notes: A year ago, Bona dropped a home opener for the first time since 2004 and just the third time in the Reilly Center’s 51-year history. It’ll look to get back on track against the Bison.
Bucknell loses its three best players, including the last two league Players of the Year in big men Zach Thomas and Nana Foulland, but returns everybody else from last year’s Tournament team.
The matchup will be the first between the teams since 2008-09, when Bona, which owns a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series, beat the Bison in overtime. It will also serve as a kind of homecoming for Bucknell senior forward Nate Sestina, the 2015 Big 30 POY with Cameron County.
JACKSON STATE (330)
League: Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record/postseason: 12-20; none
Returning starters: 3
Game notes: Jackson State has become a bit of a regular visitor to the RC, making trips in 2014 and last season, both double-digit Bona victories.
A year ago, the Bonnies topped the Tigers, 72-58, behind 27 points and five 3-pointers from senior guard Matt Mobley in a home Emerald Coast Classic game for Bona. This year, the contest serves as the Bonnies’ home affair in the Cayman Islands Classic.
Jackson State, the second-lowest ranked opponent from last season on Bona’s schedule, returns three starters, including leading scorer, 6-foot-6 forward Maurice Rivers (13 points).
NIAGARA (163)
League: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record/postseason: 19-14; lost to Eastern Michigan in CIT first round
Returning starters: 3
Game notes: Bona will have revenge on the mind when it meets the Purple Eagles on Nov. 12. Last year, Niagara stunned the Bonnies (minus star guard Jaylen Adams), 77-75, in their season-opener, snapping a six-game Bona win streak in the series.
The Purple Eagles graduated star guards Khalil Dukes (21 points) and Matt Scott (19 points) — one of the highest scoring tandems in the nation — but welcome back most other key contributors, including forward Marvin Prochet (10 points, 8 rebounds).
The game will be the first in the Gallagher Center for Bona, which owns an 88-70 advantage in the all-time series, since 2013 after playing Niagara at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center in the Big 4 Classic in 2014 and 2016.
GEORGIA STATE (120)
League: Sun Belt Conference
Record/postseason: 24-11, won Sun Belt title, lost to Cincinnati in NCAA Tournament first round
Returning starters: 4
Game notes: It’s the Jordan Tyson reunion game.
In their opening round matchup in the Cayman Islands, the Bonnies will meet the defending Sun Belt champs and the rising senior forward Tyson, who transferred to Georgia State after his redshirt freshman season at Bona in 2015-16.
The Panthers return four starters, including their top three scorers in D’Marcus Simonds (21 points), Devin Mitchell (12) and Jeff Thomas (11). Tyson averaged two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes per game last season.
It’ll be the first matchup between the two programs.
CANISIUS (124)
League: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record/postseason: 21-12; lost Jacksonville State in CBI first round
Returning starters: 3
Game notes: Bona avenged a stunning home loss from the year before with a hard-fought 73-65 victory over Canisius last season in the Koessler Center — its 100th in the series.
The Golden Griffins lose stalwart Jermaine Crumpton from a team that impressed under second-year coach Reggie Witherspoon, but return their talented guard trio of Isaiah Reese (17 points), who had a game-high 31 points and five 3-pointers last year against Bona, Takal Molson (13) and Malik Johnson (8).
Bona, which was won four of the last five over Canisius, brings a 100-66 all-time series lead into the Nov. 28 showdown in the RC.
DELAWARE STATE (351)
League: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record/postseason: 4-28; none
Returning starters: 2
Game notes: If there’s a “gimme” on the Bonnies’ 2018-19 schedule, it’s likely this one. The Hornets won just two games against Division I opponents last season en route to finishing 351st in the RPI — last in the country.
Delaware State returns two starters from that team — fourth- and fifth-leading scorers Marquise Collins and Johquin Wiley (9 points each) — and welcomes back guard Kobe Gantz, who led the team in scoring through six games (14 points) before missing the rest of the season with an injury.
The teams have met once before, in December of 1998, an 81-57 Bona victory.
SIENA (299)
League: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record/postseason: 8-24; none
Returning starters: 3
Game notes: Bona won its second-straight in the Franciscan Cup series, 75-55, last November after dropping three in a row from 2013-15. It was only the second time in the Cup’s eight-year history that the game was decided by more than seven points.
This year, the Bonnies will see a mostly new-look Saints.
After losing leading scorer Nico Clareth to transfer midway through a rough season, coach Jimmy Patsos resigned amid player abuse allegations and Siena lost promising freshmen Roman Penn and Prince Oduro in the aftermath.
The Saints return three starters, notably guard Khalil Richard (9 points), but will essentially start anew with former Mount St. Mary’s coach Jamion Christian.
BUFFALO (25)
League: Mid-American Conference
Record/postseason: 27-9; won MAC title, beat Arizona in NCAA Tournament first round, lost to Kentucky in NCAA Tournament second round
Returning starters: 3.5
Game notes: Bona has dominated the series with what has been mostly quality Bulls teams, winning seven of eight and four in a row since the rivalry was re-established in 2010.
A year ago, Bona earned an 11-point road win over the Bulls, a feat made even more impressive after the way UB handled Pac 10 power Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.
Buffalo, which has made three of the last four Big Dances, seems poised for another strong campaign, returning three of its top four scorers in C.J. Massinburg (17 points), Jeremy Harris (16) and super sub Nick Perkins (16), and another starter in Devonta Jordan.
VERMONT (60)
League: America East Conference
Record/postseason: 27-8; lost to UMBC in America East title game; lost to Middle Tennessee in NIT first round
Returning starters: 3
Game notes: Last year, then-senior Matt Mobley drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Bona a thrilling 81-79 triumph over the Catamounts in Rochester.
This year, the two teams will meet again in Burlington.
Vermont hung strong last season despite losing star forward Anthony Lamb to injury midway through the season, falling in the America East championship to UMBC, which wound up knocking off No. 1 seed Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
With Lamb (14 points, 5 rebounds) and two other starters back, it should present a tough test for Bona again this year.
NORTHEASTERN (55)
League: Colonial Athletic Association
Record/postseason: 23-10; lost to Charleston in CAA title game
Returning starters: 5
Game notes: Bona handled Northeastern, 84-65, last December in the RC, but the rematch in Boston figures to be much more difficult.
The Huskies return all five starters, including top scorer Vasica Pusica (18 points), and their top two bench players from a team that won 23 games and came within one contest of making the NCAA Tournament. Also eligible will be George Washington transfer Jordan Roland, the Syracuse native who scored 41 points against Olean in the 2014 New York State Class B championship game.
Northeastern is one of seven potential top 100 teams from last season on the Bonnies’ non-league slate.
SYRACUSE (45)
League: Atlantic Coast Conference
Record/postseason: 23-14; lost to Duke in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Returning starters: 5
Game notes: For the second year in a row, it’s the marquee game on Bona’s non-conference schedule.
Last season, the Bonnies pulled out a thrilling 60-57 overtime victory over the Orange, their first in the Carrier Dome and first over Syracuse since 1981. This year, it will almost certainly be playing a Top 25 opponent.
Syracuse brings back all five starters from a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 again in 2018, including all-league guard Tyus Battle (19 points) and talented rising sophomores Oshae Brissett and Marek Dolezaj. Like last year, this Dec. 29 contest gives Bona a chance to end the non-league on the ultimate high note.
