St. Bonaventure at Duquesne 1/23/10 - What to Expect
(By the way, that is St. Bonaventure pictured above)
By Colin Dunlap | 6:29 p.m. Friday
Matchup: Duquesne (9-9, 0-4) hosts St. Bonaventure (9-8, 2-2)
Venue: A.J. Palumbo Center
Time: 7 p.m. on Saturday
Radio/Internet: KQV-AM (1410) and GoDuquesne.com
Probable starters for Duquesne:
- No. 32 B.J. Monteiro 6-5 G/F So. 11.5ppg 5.3rpg
- No. 30 Bill Clark 6-5 G/F Jr. 14.1ppg 6.5rpg
- No. 25 Damian Saunders 6-7 F Jr. 15.2ppg 12.9rpg
- No. 13 Jason Duty 6-1 G Sr. 5.3ppg 2.3rpg
- No. 3 Eric Evans 5-11 G So. 10.3ppg 2.8rpg
> CLICK HERE FOR DUQUESNE STATS
Probable starters for St. Bonaventure:
- No. 44 Andrew Nicholson 6-9 F So. 15.9ppg 7.9rpg
- No. 21 Da'Quan Cook 6-9 F So. 3.8ppg 2.3rpg
- No. 32 Michael Davenport 6-4 G So. 9.4ppg 4.4rpg
- No. 4 Chris Matthews 6-4 G Sr. 11.4ppg 2.6rpg
- No. 0 Ogo Adegboye 6-0 G Jr. 6.8ppg 2.0rpg
In my estimation, here is what the Dukes need to do to win this game: Control Nicholson. There is absolutely, positively, no question the long-armed Canadian is becoming (if he hasn't already become) one of the best players in the Atlantic 10. Not only can he catch the basketball both in the halfcourt and in transition, but what impresses me most about him is an ability to deftly finish around the hoop and, now, a little further away. Nicholson is able to hit a little fall away jumper, he can face up and know down that 12-15 footer that makes him so dangerous. When a big guy can do that, when he can step out and hit that mid-range stuff, it really is something that could give defenses fits, because he can force the opposition's big man to come out and play him. Simply put, if Nicholson has a big game, if he starts to take over and has monster numbers, Duquesne could be looking at 0-5 in the A10.
In my estimation, here is what the Bonnies need to do to win this game: Not let Duquesne get on the glass. Even though the Bonnies go 6-9 and 6-9 across the front, and have a height advantage at the start, it will be hard to keep Saunders off the glass. But it is something the Bonnies must do if they want to win. Also, when Big Mike Williams comes into the game, Bona must find a way to control him on the glass. Duquesne, for all their shortcomings over the past month, have never shown a penchant for quitting, the Dukes -- at least from what I have seen -- have never gone through stretches where they have failed to play hard. Many times, that translates to a hustle stat such as rebounding. So, that said, the Bona interior guys should probably understand the hunger level of Duquesne's guys and know they need to box out, rebound the ball and play all out on the glass or the Dukes could very easily control it.