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The St. Bonaventure Bonnies are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the last 17 years. St. Bonaventure has not been a traditional basketball power, but this year’s team has been surprisingly good. The Bonnies turned some heads after beating Maryland, and then they turned a lot more by knocking off Syracuse on the road. Now, they will take on one of the traditional small school.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, January 19, 2018, at 7 p.m. ET at John M. Belk Arena in Davidson, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Friday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Davidson is off to a nice 4-1 start in conference play. The Wildcats are happy to be in Atlantic 10 play after going 5-8 in non-conference action. This team played some good opponents, but lost outright to three different teams as a favorite.
The Wildcats have rolled off four straight wins and have been favored in every Atlantic 10 game to date. They failed to cover the first two A-10 games, but have rolled off three straight massive wins. Under has cashed in each of the last five Davidson games.
Road games have not gone well for the Bonnies thus far in conference action. Although St. Bonaventure was able to make some noise on the road in non-conference play, the Bonnies have lost all three of their road games in the A-10.
Not only that, but they failed to cover in all three of those games too. They were short favorites and lost outright against Dayton and St. Joseph’s and got hammered at Rhode Island over the weekend.
Player to Watch
Peyton Aldridge has been the top player on Davidson this season. The senior has been remarkably consistent over his last three seasons as a Wildcat. He is asked to do more and more and has responded with aplomb, carrying the team for long stretches.
Aldridge is averaging almost 20 PPG, but has been inefficient from the floor compared to previous seasons. He is hitting just 45 percent of his field goals and less than 30 percent of his threes. That has really hurt this team.
There’s no denying that he has played better recently though. Aldridge has hit more than 50 percent of his field goals in three of the last four games and that has helped lead the team to victory.
Key Stat
Defense has been the key to St. Bonaventure’s success. The Bonnies have been holding opponents to under 70 PPG and teams are hitting less than 42 percent of their field goals against this squad. Where this team is at its best though is when it comes to perimeter defense. Foes are shooting less than 30 percent from downtown against this side.
That has carried the day while the offense has struggled. No major contributor is hitting better than 48 percent of their shots from the floor. Fortunately, St. Bonnie has been hitting its free throws, otherwise, this team would have a real hard time scoring.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
St. Bonaventure has not been good on the road and will now play on the road for the fourth time in five games. Although the Bonnies looked better in non-conference play, the Wildcats should be favorites in this one. They have the more proven scorers and will be able to find a way to get open against this defense.
This is just a bad spot for St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies are going to be a great team at home all year, but this is a game they won’t be able to win. Look for Davidson to get a double-digit win.
College Basketball Odds: Davidson 78, St. Bonaventure 67
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