Inside the Numbers in Olean - A four-game snapshot of the Bonnies

By: Ray Floriani, Columnist

BRONX, NY - The 73-68 win posted by St. Bonaventure over Fordham at Rose Hill on Wednesday improved the Bonnies' Atlantic 10 record to 5-8. It was also the Bonnies' second consecutive road win as they look to finish strong with the regular season winding down and the A-10 tournament on the horizon.

Taking a look at the last four games, Bonaventure dropped home games to Richmond and Temple before venturing from Reilly Center to defeat LaSalle and Fordham. The following chart looks at the score, offensive (points per possession * 100) and defensive efficiency, efficiency margin (offensive minus defensive efficiency) and pace, or, possessions in each contest.

Venue had little to do with the two wins or losses. The Bonnies played two top tier A-10 teams at home and after hanging around a half or so, they couldn't go the distance. In both cases the Bonnies' offensive and defensive efficiencies were below an acceptable rate. Credit the opposition.

In the LaSalle and Fordham contests the reverse was true. Mark Schmidt's club had its best offensive and defensive effort in the four games studied in Philly. The offense dropped a bit at Rose Hill.  Andrew Nicholson (who was not 100%) turned in a sub-par, five point, 22 minute effort; a factor to consider. Defensively, a fair enough job to earn the victory.

From a pace (or possessions per game) perspective,  the Bonnies average 69 possessions per game. Richmond averages 65 possessions, so the tempo was dictated by Bonaventure, to little avail.  Fran Dunphy's club averages 64 possessions and did a good job imposing their will on the Bonnies in their meeting. LaSalle (74 average possessions) and Fordham (73) were accommodating hosts for the Bonnies, as they opted for a slightly quicker tempo.

A common nemesis for the Bonnies the past few seasons is a high turnover rate. The figure is derived by dividing turnovers by possessions. 20% is considered the cutoff.  Above that threshold is simply too high. Below 20% is the goal. The turnover rate the past four games illustrates the games the Bonnies had difficulty.

Richmond is fourth in the A-10 in forcing turnovers so eclipsing the 20% mark against the Spiders is understandable. Temple is 13^thin that same category, however, which tells us a  good portion of the turnovers against the Owls can most likely go in the unforced error column.

LaSalle is 12^th and Fordham is at the bottom of the conference at forcing turnovers.  But the Bonnies do deserve credit for taking care of the ball quite well in these road affairs. On the season, the turnover rate for Bonaventure is now 19.5% in A-10 play.  A marked improvement over recent seasons. "The last three or four games we have been caring for the ball," Schmidt said following the Fordham game. That's something we have to do. We did have 12 tonight... but when we get 18 to 20 that's an absolute killer."

The other noticeable statistic has been two point field goal defense. Defending the arc is important. While the three-pointer surrendered can be a momentum killer that ignites an opposing rally, two point field goals - while less noticeable - can cause just as much damage.  Often, these buckets occur in the paint, can accompany drawn fouls... and a below average figure can also indicates that with the easy two, comes a spaced floor and better looks at the killer threes.  Simply, two pointers have to be defended for a team to be successful on the defensive end. The chart shows the breakdown of the opponents' two-point field goal shooting, how they shot from three and the overall percentage for the game.

Richmond did not shoot extremely well from three but did appreciable damage inside the arc. David Gonzalvez, the Spiders' outstanding guard, was a major factor shooting 7 of 9 from two en route to a game high 25 points. 

Temple also enjoyed success inside but the Owls had a better showing than Richmond from three. Juan Fernandez of Temple scored fifteen and was dangerous inside (3 of 6) and outside (2 of 3 from three).

On paper Aaric Murray was LaSalle's key inside threat. The highly regarded Explorer freshman was defended well shooting 4 of 15 from two en route to a 13 point afternoon.

Fordham did not have a player shoot 50%, inside or total against the Bonnies. In fact after that win at Rose Hill, Schmidt emphasized that defense and rebounding have been stronger points of late.

The overall efficiency numbers give a quick clue on how the Bonnies have succeeded or come up short the last four games.  Behind these efficiency numbers, turnovers (or a lack of them) and defending the paint give us a closer look at how we arrive at those efficiency figures.

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