Entire Men's Basketball 2009-10 schedule unveiled

Sept. 3, 2009

2009-10 Schedule | Printable Schedule | A-10 Composite Schedule

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - On a day in which the Atlantic 10 Conference unveiled its entire men's basketball schedule, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team also released its non-conference portion of the season slate for the 2009-10 season.

The Bonnies non-conference schedule will feature seven teams that advanced to postseason play in 2008-09, including four that made the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the Brown and White will also face six A-10 teams that advanced past the conference tournament and into the middle of March, giving them a total of 13 opponents (14 games) with postseason experience from last season.

"This is definitely the most challenging schedule during my time at St. Bonaventure," said third-year head coach Mark Schmidt. "The non-conference schedule is full of teams that made postseason appearances last year and that will certainly prepare us for an extremely difficult A-10 slate."

Also highlighting the A-10 portion of the schedule are three televised games by CBS College Sports as part of the league's package. Weekend home games against Richmond (Feb. 13) and Rhode Island (Feb. 27) along with a Feb. 21st meeting with La Salle will all be televised on CBS College Sports Regional Syndication package.

The Bonnies will tip-off the season at home against defending Horizon League champion Cleveland State on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The Vikings enjoyed a break-through season in 2008-09 under head coach Gary Waters, going 26-11 overall, including three wins over ranked opponents. One of those wins came in the NCAA Tournament when Cleveland State convincingly defeated fourth-seeded Wake Forest, 84-69, in the opening round.

Next up will be a trip to Rochester, N.Y. and Blue Cross Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to play BIG EAST foe St. John's. The meeting between the two teams will be the 17th in program history, but the first since 1985. The Red Storm earned a berth into the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) last season, finishing with a 16-18 overall mark. The game will be the Brown and White's fifth all-time at Blue Cross Arena.

"We're excited to be able to get a game back to Rochester in front of our great alumni base there," Schmidt said about the Bonnies first trip back to Rochester since 2005. "Games that our program has played in the past in Rochester have been well received by our alums and the community and we look for another big crowd this year."

St. Bonaventure will return to the Reilly Center just three days later to play Binghamton on Friday, Nov 20 in its last home game until the end of December. The Bearcats return four starters from last year's record-breaking 23-9 squad that captured the America East regular season and tournament title. Binghamton's NCAA Tournament appearance was the first in school history, as it finished with a No. 22 ranking in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

After a break for Thanksgiving, the Bonnies head to the BTI Classic for three games in Normal, Ill. The Bonnies will open tournament play with back-to-back 9 p.m. contests against Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 27) and Norfolk State (Nov. 28), respectively. The Brown and White will then take on host Illinois State on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. in the final game of the tournament. The Redbirds advanced to their second consecutive National Invitational Tournament (NIT) last season after compiling 23 wins and advancing to the Missouri Valley Tournament title game for the second straight year.

The Bonnies then head south for a rematch against SEC foe Mississippi State on Saturday, Dec. 5. Led by All-American candidate and reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Varnado, the Bulldogs held off a late charge by the Bonnies at the Reilly Center last season for a 76-71 win. Mississippi State returns all five starters return from last year's club that became just the fourth team in conference history to win four straight games en route to a SEC Tournament championship.

Currently, there are two weeks until St. Bonaventure's next game. The non-conference schedule will be completely done and announced in the upcoming weeks.

St. Bonaventure will renew its longtime rivalry with BIG EAST member Syracuse on Saturday, Dec. 19 in the 33,633-seat Carrier Dome. The meeting will be the 26th all-time between to the teams and the first since 2006-07. Led by legendary head coach Jim Boeheim, the Orange advanced to the Sweet 16 of the South Region in the NCAA Tournament last season and ended with a 28-10 record.

The final road game of the Brown and White's 39-day hiatus from Bob Lanier Court will come three days before Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at Little 3 rival Niagara. Fresh off a 26-win campaign that landed them in the NIT, the Purple Eagles return four starters from last year's team.

The Bonnies will return home from Christmas break for their second straight Little 3 battle against Canisius on Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Reilly Center. St. Bonaventure has taken two straight from the Griffs at the Reilly Center, but will be looking to revenge after last year's last-minute 68-66 loss at HSBC Arena.

A road trip to Huntington, W.Va. on Saturday, Jan. 2 to take on Marshall will ring in 2010 and closeout the non-conference slate for the Bonnies. The meeting between the Thundering Herd and the Brown and White will be just the fourth all-time and first since 1960.

"Our non-conference schedule is really competitive so far," said Schmidt. "We still have a little work to do on it, but as we improve our program we want to play a better non-conference schedule to prepare us for the A-10 slate. I think we've done that this year."

St. Bonaventure will open A-10 action at home for the first time in three seasons when George Washington comes to campus on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The Bonnies will then quickly turn around and head south to Charlotte on Saturday, Jan. 9 for its A-10 road opener.

The first of two bye weeks in January will take place before the Bonnies play three games in eight days, including a pair on the road. Saint Joseph's visits the Reilly Center on Saturday, Jan. 16 for the first of two matchups this season. St. Bonaventure will then head to Amherst, Mass., on Wed., Jan. 20 to take on Massachusetts and then turn around a take on Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Saturday, Jan. 23.

The team's final bye week of the season and second of the month of January comes before 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Dayton comes to town on Saturday, Jan. 30.

A hectic eight-game month of February starts with another back-to-back road trip, as the Bonnies head to Saint Louis (Feb.3) and make a return trip to travel partner Saint Joseph's (Feb. 6). The Bonnies are 3-1 against the Billikens since they joined the A-10 in 2005-06. The game against the Hawks in the brand new Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena will be the first of two trips for the Brown and White to the city of "Brotherly Love."

A season-long three-game homestand hits the Reilly Center in mid-February, beginning with Fordham on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The third of the team's four Saturday home A-10 contests takes place on Feb. 13 when Richmond visits. The clash with the Spiders will appear on CBS College Sports Regional (CBS CR). A Wednesday, Feb. 17 date with reigning back-to-back A-10 Tournament champion Temple closes out the three-game set.

The Bonnies will return to Philadelphia on Sunday, Feb. 21 to take on La Salle. The game against the Explorers will also appear on CBSCR, giving St. Bonaventure a pair of TV games in just over a week. A Wednesday, Feb. 24 trip to Fordham three days later will conclude the team's third back-to-back road swing in conference play.

The CBS College Sport TV crew will invade the Reilly Center for the second time on Saturday, Feb. 27 when the Bonnies host Rhode Island and recent SBU Athletics Hall Of Fame inductee coach Jim Baron. The game will also be a regional broadcast.

The Bonnies will play their final regular season game in front of the RC faithful on Wednesday, Mar. 3 when they square off against Duquesne for the second time. A trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, to play A-10 power and reigning A-10 regular season champ Xavier on Saturday, Mar. 6 caps a very challenging A-10 regular season.

"The A-10 season is always tough, but I think this year it's going to be extremely difficult," said Schmidt. "Our goal is to improve every year and this schedule is going to push us to play the best we can every night."

Starting this season, a new format will be in place for the A-10 Tournament. The top 12 teams will qualify for the Championship; however the first round games will be hosted on the campuses of teams seeded #5, #6, #7, and #8 on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

The Championship then shifts to Boardwalk Hall as the top four seeded teams (#1-#4) will again receive a bye into the quarterfinal round, scheduled for Friday, Mar. 12. Semifinal action will take place on Saturday, March 13, with the Championship game held on Sunday, March 14, and televised live at 1:00pm on CBS Sports for the first time in A-10 history.

Dates for Homecoming Weekend and Hall of Fame Weekend will be released in the near future.