Friday, March 29

Bona faces Colorado in NIT


It already wasn’t the tournament the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, or its fans, wanted to be in.

Indeed, after opening the season nationally ranked, climbing to as high as No. 16 in the country and winning seven-straight February games to vault back into at-large contention, the Bonnies were aiming to be playing in a second-straight NCAA Tournament … not the National Invitation Tournament.

And now, only adding to that frustration is the draw it got in the latter.

Bona did receive and accept a bid to the NIT, answering the question of whether its five seniors wanted to play in the “lesser” bracket and if the potential for ending their careers at Madison Square Garden was enough of a consolation prize.

That much was revealed late Sunday night in an NIT Selection Show special on ESPNU. But it was given about as demanding a matchup as anyone in the 32-team field — and as unappetizing a contest as fans could have hoped for: A Tuesday night road game at fourth-seeded Colorado, for which the start time is 11 p.m. Eastern.

If Bona was going to be an NIT team, the hope was that it might get a home game. And if it wasn’t going to get to play in the Reilly Center, the assumption was that it would at least get a regional matchup, the way organizers typically tend to set up the bracket and how almost every other pairing in this year’s tournament is structured.

Instead, Bona was saddled with the longest road trip of the 16 visiting teams, two time zones over, and playing in a window where at least half the fan base won’t be awake for the game’s end.

That’s the downside to this latest postseason venture.

The good news for the Bonnies is that they get to play again, that their careers won’t have to end with Friday’s disheartening loss to Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals, that they can rewrite their ending and beat one or more Power 5 programs along the way … all in what figures to be a memorable trip to the Rocky Mountains.

And with that, they’ll turn their attention to a quality Colorado team in Tuesday’s first round.

The Buffaloes had a solid season, winning 21 games and finishing fourth in the Pacific 12 Conference. They currently sit at No. 70 in the NET rankings, 15 places higher than the Bonnies.

Colorado (21-11), like Bona, finished the season strong, winning eight of nine games before falling to No. 2 Arizona, 82-72, in the Pac 12 Tournament semifinals. That stretch included an impressive 79-63 home win over those same Wildcats and an 11-point quarterfinal victory over Oregon. Six of its 11 losses came to ranked opponents.

The Buffaloes are led by 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Jabari Walker, who averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game. Six-foot-8, 260-pound senior forward Evan Battey (12 points) and 6-2 sophomore guard Keeshawn Bathelemy (11 points) also have double-digit scoring averages.

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