The bracket is completely busted in the Atlantic 10 as all four lower seeds won on Thursday, setting up a Saturday afternoon showdown between the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and Duquesne Dukes with a chance to go to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final on the line.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies vs. Duquesne Dukes (-1, 134.5)
The overall defensive edge is with the Dukes, who are 54th in the country in points allowed on a per possession basis while St. Bonaventure is 118th in this category, but the Bonnie’s defense catches a break with the lack of scoring distribution Duquesne has.
Only two players on the Duquesne roster are averaging more than 7.4 points per game with Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark combining for 31.7 points and 6.3 assists per game on a combined 33.3% 3-point shooting percentage.
The Bonnies have the more balanced and complete offense, ranking 65th in the nation in points scored on a per possession basis while the Dukes are just 195th in this category with each of St. Bonaventure’s top three scoring guards shooting above 38% from 3-point range.
Overall St. Bonaventure is 25th in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 37% while Duquesne is 194th in this category with the Dukes and Bonnies both doing a good job of generating turnovers.
St. Bonaventure is 47th in the country in turnovers forced per defensive play while Duquesne is 52nd in this sector, but the Bonnie’s can maximize it even further with having the higher rebound rate, ranking 152nd in the country on that front while Duquesne is 182nd.
With St. Bonaventure committing fewer turnovers both per possession and per game than Duquesne and having more balanced scoring with five different players registering at least 9.5 points per game, St. Bonaventure will win to get to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final.
The Play: St. Bonaventure Moneyline +114
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