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The St. Bonaventure Bonnies and Auburn Tigers will square off on Friday in the Legends Classic title game at Barclays Center. Tip-off from Brooklyn, NY, is at 7:00 p.m. ET.
St. Bonaventure (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS, 1-2 O/U) beat Oklahoma State 66-64 in the opening round. The Bonnies were predicted to finish third in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll. Last season, they were 14-18 overall, including 2-11 on the road.
Auburn (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS, 2-1 O/U) beat Notre Dame 83-59 on Thursday in the semifinals. The Tigers were picked to finish sixth in the SEC preseason poll. Last season, they were 21-13 overall, including 4-8 on the r oad.
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St. Bonaventure upset Oklahoma State in its Legends Classic semifinal game, as clutch free-throw shooting (18-for-21) was the difference. The Bonnies also outrebounded the Cowboys 32-28 and took better care of the basketball.
The Bonnies return all five starters and 90 percent of the scoring from their 2022-23 squad. Four fifth-year players provide St. Bonaventure with a wealth of experience, as the Bonnies boast a combined 725 career games and 562 starts at the Division I level. They are led by senior guard Daryl Banks III (15.4 PPG) and junior forward Chad Venning (12.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG), who were Preseason All-Conference selections. A few other Bonnies to watch are senior guard Mika Adams-Woods (9.1 PPG at Cincinnati last season), senior guard Charles Pride (14.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG at Bryant), and sophomore forward Assa Essa mvous (8.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 41.9 3PT%). St. Bonaventure has plenty of shooters, but is the backcourt too crowded?
The Bonnies average 68.7 points per game (282nd) and shoot 42.5 percent (245th) with a 30.0 shooting percentage from long range (252nd). They hit 75.4 percent of their foul shots (79th) and average 30.0 rebounds (305th). Last season, St. Bonaventure struggled on the offensive end (306th in scoring) despite shooting 34.8 percent from long distance. Its adjusted offensive efficiency rating (261st) certainly didn't help it down the stretch, as it dropped seven of its last eight games.
St. Bonaventure's opponents score 67.7 points per game (160th) and shoot 44.3 percent (253rd), including 34.4 percent from deep (256th), with 31.3 rebounds per game (176th). Last season, the Bonnies held their opponents to the fifth-lowest shooting percentage from three-point range (28.7%) in the country.