With all of us pretty much homebound, how about some numbers on St. Bonaventure’s aborted men’s basketball season and some odds on the Bills’ and NFL’s 2020 campaign?
Let’s start with the Bonnies:
— This season St. Bonaventure sold 2,621 season tickets, an increase of 136 seats from last year and almost 300 more than the 2017-18 season.
— For the sixth straight year Bona won 10-or-more conference games, extending the Atlantic 10’s longest live such streak.
— This was the Bonnies’ fifth straight top-five finish in the A-10 standings.
— The Bonnies, with 104 wins, now rank third among all Atlantic 10 programs in total victories since the 2015-16 season.
— Sophomore guard Kyle Lofton was named First-Team All-Conference, the fifth straight season with at least one Bona player named to that unit with Courtney Stockard honored in 2018-19 and Jaylen Adams the three previous years.
— The Bonnies now have had 18 total First-Team All-A-10 selections (including players with multiple honors) which ranks third all-time among current conference members. Adams was named those three times, Andrew Nicholson, Harry Moore and Earl Belcher twice each and Lofton, Stockard, Matt Mobley, Marques Green, J.R. Bremer, Tim Winn, David Vanterpool, Barry Mungar and Mark Jones once apiece.
— St. Bonaventure loses just one senior, Amadi Ikpeze, after ranking fourth in the country in scoring from freshmen and sophomores. Underclassmen accounted for over 93% of the Bonnies’ scoring this past season.
Meanwhile, here are some Las Vegas odds on the Bills and the upcoming National Football League season.
Let’s start with those for the teams expected to win the eight divisions.
In the AFC East, there’s a perception that the balance of power has shifted with Hall-of-Fame-bound quarterback Tom Brady having left New England for Tampa Bay via free agency.
Sure enough, Las Vegas has the Patriots and Bills in a virtual odds tie to win the division with the Jets and Dolphins a toss-up for last.
In the AFC North, Baltimore is the heavy choice as winner with Pittsburgh and Cleveland strong candidates for second.
Tennessee is favored to claim the South with Indianapolis edging Houston for second.
Super Bowl champion Kansas City is the prohibitive favorite in the West with Denver, Las Vegas and the Chargers all at about the same odds to finish second.
— In the NFC East, Dallas gets a slight odds edge over Philadelphia to win the division.
Meanwhile, in the North, Green Bay is the favorite with Minnesota a solid choice for second.
New Orleans is odds-on to claim the South but, due to the Brady effect, Tampa Bay is now favored to finish second.
And, in the West, Super Bowl loser San Francisco is the easy choice to win the division with Seattle seen as the runner-up.
— The best odds of making the playoffs, by far, go to the Chiefs. Next are Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans, Green Bay and New England. Buffalo is seventh followed by Dallas, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tennessee. That’s 13 teams and 14 will make this season’s expanded playoffs. The other 19 franchises are toss-ups or worse. Cleveland is 16th on the list.
The bottom eight to miss the playoffs, from worst odds, are Cincinnati, Washington, Jacksonville, Carolina, the Giants, Miami, Detroit and the Jets.
— The over/under for wins this season?
For Buffalo and Cleveland it’s 8.5 while Pittsburgh is 9.5.
— Top odds for NFL Defensive Player of the Year go to Rams tackle Aaron Donald (7-1) followed by 49ers end Nick Bosa (9-1) and the Watt brothers, Houston end J.J. and Pittsburgh outside linebacker T.J., both at 11-1.
Former UB star and Bears outside linebacker Kahlil Mack at 12-1. Onetime Buffalo cornerback Stephon Gilmore, now a Patriot, is 16-1.
The Bills’ highest-rated defender is cornerback Tre’ Davious White, tied for 15th at 33-1, while teammate Ed Oliver, a tackle, is 150-1. Cleveland end Myles Garrett, his team’s top-rated defender, is tied for 12th at 25-1.
— New Orleans QB Drew Brees is a 5-1 favorite to lead the NFL in passing yards with Kansas City’s Pat Mahomes at 6-1 and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Brady at 8-1.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield and former Bill Ryan Fitzpatrick, now at Miami, are tied for 18th at 40-1. Buffalo’s Josh Allen is tied for 23rd at 50-1 while one-time Bill Tyrod Taylor, now a Charger, is tied for last at 150-1.
— The Saints’ Michael Thomas, at 6-1, is favored to lead the league in receiving yards ahead of Atlanta’s Julio Jones (8-1) and Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins (9-1). Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs and Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster are tied for 16th at 20-1 while Cleveland’s Odell Beckham Jr. is tied for sixth at 12-1.
Former Bills Robert Woods (Rams) and Sammy Watkins (Chiefs) are tied for 33rd at 50-1.
— Derrick Henry of Tennessee has the best odds of winning the rushing yards total at 6-1. Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey is second (7-1) followed by Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (8-1). Pittsburgh’s James Connor is tied for 17th at 20-1 with Buffalo’s Devin Singletary tied for 21st at 25-1 along with former Steeler Le’Veon Bell, now a Jet.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
