Reduced HCA for URI 821 St. Bonaventure +7.5 over URI
URI usually has a pretty strong home court edge but with a 4PM start against non-descript St. Bonaventure, a lot of fans will likely stay home to watch the 4:30PM kickoff of the Pats/Jets game, probably the most hyped sporting event in New England since Lakers/Celtics Game 7 in June, '08. Wouldn't be suprised by a very dull atmosphere in Kingston (gorgeous little oceanside college town, by the way).
Peformance patterns and matchups may favor Bonaventure as well. After hitting only 7 of 50 3's in their previous two games, Rhody spent Wednesday night hitting 12 for 27 from outside the arc in lighting up a Richmond team who clearly overlooked them, with UR Coach Mooney expressing his displeasure with the lack of defensive intensity shown. That kind of hot shooting is tough to replicate. Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure, possibly fatigued from going 3 OT's in their previous game was, as they always do, was getting wiped out by Temple, a team that they just can't beat. Off of that disappointing loss there is reason to think they'll bounce back here.
Matchup edge for St. Bonaventure is that URI does not have a strong interior defense, allowing opponents to shoot better than 50% from inside the arc, which sets things up nicely for Bonnie big man Andrew Nicholson, who is hitting nearly 60% of his 2's on the season. Nicholson averages over 20 points per game and is firmly on the radar of NBA scouts.
St. Bonaventure has won 4 road games, including at St. John's, and have also lost a neutral site game to Virginia Tech in OT. Not a lot seperates these two teams, URI may be flat due to a diminished home court edge due to the Pats game, and they may also have overconfidence after their Richmond win. St. Bonaventure should be ready to play and should stay right in this game.
