St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Date: Wednesday March 4th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: Monumental Sports Network/ESPN+
Ranks: 152nd (KenPom), 179th (Bart Torvik), 143rd (Haslametrics), 146th (EvanMiya)
2024-25 Record: 22-12, 9-9 (T-7th in A10)
2025-26 Projected Record: 16-15, 5-13 (T-12th in A10)
NET Ranking: 151st (Q3 Game)

Head-to-Head: 38-30. GW has prevailed in three straight matchups in the series after previously dropping five straight (and six of the past seven) against the Bonnies.

In last year's meeting, GW topped Bona 62-52 in Olean. The game was a low-scoring, defensive battle. The Revs held a slim four point lead at halftime, and the two teams combined for just 52 points. The scoring picked up a bit in the second half, but not by much. Both teams were very bricky from 3 (11/42 between the two squads - 26%) but GW's advantage at both the FT line and from two point range made the difference with great interior passing from Slim and Jun. Bona shot under 40% from the field overall and attempted just six free throws. GW also won the rebound battle decisively 39-24. Unfortunately, the Buff & Blue also coughed up the ball 20 times. I guess some things never change. Slim and Tricky led the way with 15 points each. Castro finished with a double-double by pulling down 10 boards, while Autry went 3/7 from deep to go with seven rebounds. Jun had 12 points/8 rebounds from off the bench.

The last home matchup funnily enough came on Senior Night as well, with the Revs pulling away 86-75. Apart from being the final home contest of the season, GW coming out with a win ended the over month long 12 game losing streak. Things started off much like many of the games during the skid - with GW behind. Bona led by five after the first 20 minutes. Unlike last year's game, this was a high-scoring affair. Both teams were great from three, with Bona drilling 11 threes and GW knocking down 15 at a 52% clip. The Bonnies were unable to slow the Revs down all game, resulting in a near 60% shooting performance from the field from the home team. GW also outshot Bona 23-12 from the FT line and out rebounded them by 9. JB led all scorers with 27 points/6 assists in his final home game at GW. Late in the game, he also had a dunk in transition - the only time I remember him dunking in his career. Max finished with 19 points/7 rebounds off the bench, Jun pitched in 14 points (and somehow made multiple threes - a sign that it was GW's night), while Jacoi put up 13 points/7 assists.

Offensive Efficiency: 91st (KenPom), 95th (Bart Torvik), 101st (Haslametrics), 96th (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 258th (KenPom), 288th (Bart Torvik), 252nd (Haslametrics), 238th (EvanMiya)
Pace: 199th (KenPom), 203rd (Bart Torvik), 171st (Haslametrics), 212th (EvanMiya)
Offensive Shot Quality Rank: 112th
Defensive Shot Quality Rank: 128th
Rim & 3 Rate: 75% (327th)

Strengths (2025-26 Season):
Three Point Percentage: 37.6% (27th; 2nd in A10)
Blocks Per Game: 4.7 BPG (28th; 2nd in A10)
Fouls Per Game: 15.9 PF/G (59th; 4th in A10)
Assists Per Game: 16 APG (65th; 2nd in A10)
Fastbreak Points: 12.83 PPG (68th; 4th in A10)
Field Goal Percentage: 47% (72nd; 4th in A10)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.42 AST/TO (78th; 3rd in A10)
Free Throw Percentage: 74.8% (87th; 3rd in A10)
Rebound Margin: +3.4 RPG (93rd; 5th in A10)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 11.79 ORPG (100th; 5th in A10)

Weaknesses (2025-26 Season):
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 23.17 DRPG (283rd; 12th in A10)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 46.2% (286th; 14th in A10)
Free Throws Made Per Game: 12.7 FTM (295th; 12th in A10)
Three Point Attempts Per Game: 19.3 3PA (312th; 12th in A10)
Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 17 FTA (327th; 13th in A10)
Bench Points Per Game: 14.07 PPG (331st; 14th in A10)
Three Point Percentage Defense: 36.5% (332nd; 13th in A10)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#5 G Dasonte Bowen (RS Junior; Boston, MA) - 11.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2 spg; 43% FG, 21% 3-PT, 78% FT per 31.1 mpg/10 GP at St. Bonaventure last season
#8 G Darryl Simmons II (Junior; Detroit, MI) - 17.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg; 43% FG, 39% 3-PT, 91% FT per 33.5 mpg/31 GP at Gardner-Webb last season
#24 G Cayden Charles (Senior; Kennesaw, GA) - 14.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2 apg, 1.5 spg; 46% FG, 37% 3-PT, 71% FT per 28.3 mpg/31 GP at D2 North Georgia last season
#3 F Daniel Egbuniwe (Senior; Memphis, TN) - 10 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 apg; 40% FG, 31% 3-PT, 62% FT per 27.9 mpg/30 GP at Tennessee Tech last season
#00 F Frank Mitchell (Senior; Toronto, Canada) - 4.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg; 66% FG, 41% FT per 15.6 mpg/29 GP at Minnesota last season

Key Bench Players:
#32 F Joe Grahovac (Sophomore; Santa Ana, CA) - 15.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.7 bpg; 62% FG, 39% 3-PT, 79% FT per 28.7 mpg/33 GP at Fullerton College (JUCO) last season
#33 C Andrew Osasuyi (Freshman; Magenta, Italy)
#20 G Achille Lonati (Freshman; Pavia, Italy)

Key Losses:
Melvin Council Jr. (Transferred to Kansas; Rochester, NY) - 14.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.1 spg; 44% FG, 30% 3-PT, 82% FT per 37.1 mpg/34 GP
Chance Moore (Transferred to West Virginia; Brookhaven, GA) - 13 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.3 spg; 46% FG, 25% 3-PT, 64% FT per 34.1 mpg/32 GP
Noel Brown (Graduated; Leesburg, VA) - 12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 apg; 57% FG, 33% 3-PT, 79% FT per 31 mpg/34 GP
Lajae Jones (Transferred to Florida State; Neptune Beach, FL) - 10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 spg; 46% FG, 39% 3-PT, 80% FT per 33 mpg/34 GP
Jonah Hinton (Transferred to Rhode Island; Chicago, IL) - 8.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.7 apg; 35% FG, 33% 3-PT, 79% FT per 28.3 mpg/34 GP

Preview:
For the past 19 years, Mark Schmidt has made it look easy. After some growing pains early in his tenure, the 63 year old has been incredibly consistent over the past decade plus. It's no secret that St. Bonaventure is not exactly the most desirable job from a geographic standpoint - although the residents of Olean are a passionate bunch who are ride-or-die for their team which you have to respect. You wouldn't be able to tell the challenging nature of the job under Schmidt though, as the Bonnies have finished .500 or better in conference eleven straight seasons and have won 20+ games in three of the last four years.

Of course, the NIL and revenue sharing era has changed what it means for a school to be a good program within a conference. Historical success and fan support is still important, but the available budget to pay players has become top priority. Bonaventure is by no means at La Salle levels of poor, but the school has an endowment of just over $100 million. You can count on Schmidt, the all-time winningest coach in program history, to keep the floor relatively high but it may be difficult for the program to reach the top tier of the league. It certainly didn't hurt that proud alum Adrian Wojnarowski, a well known insider and reporter in NBA circles, offered to become the general manager for the program. Back in September, St. Bonaventure hosted an NBA/G League Pro Day in NY which definitely brought some nice attention their way.

Behind the scenes, it's been rumored that the Schmidt-Woj marriage hasn't gone swimmingly, and that's likely been exacerbated this season given St. Bonaventure's surprising struggles in conference play. The Bonnies did go a respectable 11-2 in the OOC slate, highlighted by an opening day win against Bradley. They also had a solid win at the end of November against Florida Atlantic and went 5-0 against regional rivals Canisius, Siena, Buffalo, Colgate, and Le Moyne. The North Carolina loss was not unexpected, and Bona was only down two at halftime to the Heels. An overtime loss to Ohio was probably the moment when Bona started to crack a bit. The Bonnies then lost their first five conference games, with a full month separating their final OOC win against Le Moyne and their first A10 dub against Loyola. I guess it's a bit reassuring as a GW fan that there's another fanbase that's had to endure close losses this year. In conference games, St. Bonaventure is 2-10 in games decided by single digits. That figure should sound familiar to GW fans. Granted, Schmidt's bunch did beat Duquesne and Fordham - something GW hasn't done, and both were on the road.

Like Mooney, it's fair to wonder whether Schmidt is cut out for this new age of college basketball with constant roster turnover. Five of the top six Bonnie scorers from last year departed, and most were transfers out. What's even more killer for Bona is not just that the outgoing players transferred up - it's that they've been very productive in their new stomping grounds. Melvin Council Jr. was Bona's workhorse last year, ranking eighth nationally in minutes, 94th in field goals made, 63rd in assist/turnover ratio, and 28th in steals per game. Council is averaging 13.5 ppg at Kansas while shooting a career best 34% from 3. Quite the story for a guy who started his D1 career in the NEC. Chance Moore led Bona in rebounding and is also averaging double figures (10 ppg) in the Big 12 at West Virginia. Lajae Jones has actually increased his scoring output to nearly 12 ppg while starting at Florida State. Jonah Hinton, who led Bonaventure in threes made, is averaging double figures at Rhody. That does not even include the graduation of old friend Noel Brown, who set career highs across the board and even made four threes in his final campaign. Prior to his final year, Brown had not even attempted a shot from behind the arc.

So where have things gone wrong for the Bonnies? I think the conversation has to start on defense, much like GW. Part of the reason Schmidt teams have a reasonably high floor is because they are generally decent to great on defense. The last tournament team in 2021 was 20th nationally in defensive efficiency. This year, Bona has sunk to 259th in that area, the worst mark under Schmidt since his first team 18 years ago. The boys from Olean have not been terrible at forcing turnovers or keeping teams off the line but it's felt like every team they play cannot miss from the field - especially from 3 where they rank 335th in defensive 3P%. Communication on this end has been poor. Foes shoot nearly 37% from 3 against them on the year. Also, the fact that they are 22nd in block percentage yet 259th in defensive 2P% says a lot. Opponents have had success finishing at the tin once they get around their primary rim protector.

The offense has prevented the team from plummeting to La Salle/Loyola levels. Interestingly, Bona has alternated being good and mediocre on this end over the past half decade. This year's team is good at offensive rebounding (57th in OR%) and the personnel has just been more efficient in the shooting department compared to 2024-25's squad. St. Bonaventure is 73rd in free throw percentage and 20th in 3P% at 38%. That looks great on paper, but I'll cite the "rim & 3 rate" statistic above where Schmidt's team has been absurdly bad with shot selection. It's almost criminal that Bonaventure shoots so well from both the line and three, yet rarely takes shots in those categories. When you rank bottom 30 nationally in both free throw rate and 3PA%, that is a failure by both the players and coaching staff. The poor decision making is magnified by opponents not only scorching the nets from the other side, but Bona being more than content allowing teams to take the shots they want.

It was certainly a welcome sight for the team to get Dasonte Bowen back fully healthy this year. St. Bonaventure got off to a 9-1 start in the 2024-25 season with Bowen calling the shots before going down with a season-ending foot injury. The Boston native who spent his first two years at Iowa is currently 2nd in the A10 in assist/turnover ratio (72nd nationally) and 76th overall in assists per game. Bowen is also money at the FT line, ranking 93rd in percentage. I believe he was a GW target when he entered the portal two off-seasons ago.

Bowen will be flanked by Darryl 'Buddy' Simmons II and Cayden Charles. Simmons, who comes from "the other GW" in Gardner-Webb led the Runnin' Bulldogs in points, assists, and steals. The native of Michigan is undersized at 5'11", which can hinder his finishing at the rim. He can also get picked on defensively (-1.15 DBPR, per EvanMiya). Simmons is a very good three point shooter, making nearly three a game (57th nationally) while shooting 43% (14th in the nation). He's also a good FT shooter, but rarely gets there. Simmons has taken over the Council role of rarely coming off the floor, leading the A10 in minutes played (48th most of any player in D1). He will get his points - he's had just four games where he's failed to hit double figures, and just one of those came in conference play. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's auditioning for his next school tomorrow.

Charles is the unsung hero of this year's team who does a lot of the small things well. He played on an okay D2 team in North Georgia and led the Nighthawks in rebounds, steals, and blocks while ranking second in scoring and third in assists. This season, he paces the Bonnies in steals and is second in rebounding while scoring in double figures. Charles is a bit undersized to play the 3 in the starting lineup at 6'3" but he's a good connector piece.

Up front, Bonaventure will roll with Daniel Egbuniwe (Tennessee Tech) and Frank Mitchell (Minnesota). Prior to this season, Egbuniwe was an OVC lifer - beginning his career at Little Rock and then spending the next two at TTU. During that time, he was a spotty three point shooter and poor at the FT line but rebounded well. Egbuniwe could also move the ball, but that was often offset by turnovers. This year, he's shooting a career best 39% from three on four attempts a game and 78% from the line (on low volume). Save for one scoring explosion against Richmond, Egbuniwe has struggled in the month of February. He put up 22 points against the Spiders, but is a brutal 6/31 from the field (19%) in the other six games.

Mitchell, a Canadian, returns to upstate NY after beginning his D1 career at Canisius (that team had Tre on it). He is an effective interior hub as a scorer and crashes the glass exceptionally well. Mitchell leads the league in double-doubles this year with 17, which is the sixth most in the country. He's also top 60 in field goal percentage, top 40 in field goals made (leads league), 11th in rebounding (leads league), and even leads the nation in offensive rebounds per game. His matchup against Slim will be one to watch. Schmidt tends to feature Mitchell on offense, passing the ball into him on half court sets and letting him decide whether to call his number or find another player along the perimeter/cutting to the basket. That's led to mixed results, as Mitchell can be careless with the ball (and that's an unfamiliar role for him since he didn't really do that last year at Minnesota). His jersey number is 00, which I don't think I've seen before.

It's no secret that Schmidt doesn't like to play many guys. Bona is last in the league in bench points per game, with the unit averaging just a hair over 14 ppg. It didn't help that Albany transfer Amar'e Marshall has been sidelined since December due to a foot injury, returner Xander Wedlow has been sidelined with a knee injury, and freshman Ilia Ermakov has had ankle problems of his own. Joe Grahovac is a cool story. For those that don't know, he was living in his truck and working in a warehouse in California while playing pickup ball at a 24 Hour Fitness during his time away from work. Film of his play caught the attention of an assistant coach at the JUCO level, and the rest is history. He averaged nearly 16 ppg for a 30-4 Fullerton College Hornets squad while shooting an insane 62% from the field, 39% from 3, and pulling down over six boards a game. While he hasn't quite matched the hype coming into the year, Grahovac has 49/38/87 splits, which is still pretty good. He also leads the team in blocks. I wonder if Schmidt unleashes him more in the final games of the year. Grahovac saw his most minutes of the month last week against Mason and Rhody and did some nice things although he's a bit scrawny.

Rounding out the roster is a pair of Italian freshmen in Andrew Osasuyi and Achille Lonati. Osasuyi was teammates with GW commit Elisée Assui on Italy's U20 Euro team last summer. He has a ton of potential as a finisher/rebounder inside and is a tremendous shot blocker. Over the last six games, Osasuyi is 20/24 from the field and has blocked 18 shots (with at least one in every game). Now that has come with fouling but he's the kind of backup big with upside that any team would want to have. As a freshman, Osasuyi already has the best DBPR on the team (+1.88). Lonati was billed as a shooter, but has been inefficient this year (just 25% from 3). He can play on and off the ball and is a great cutter but can get lost defensively.

I would hope that GW comes out focused on Senior Night, especially after Friday's disappointment. It's a possibility that Bonaventure makes enough shots to keep the game close. A high scoring game may end up working in their favor. This is not a team that wants to drive at you, but closing out on jump shots well will be important. Can GW's positional size be of help defensively? Bonaventure will be starting players who are 6'2", 5'11", and 6'3" at the 1, 2, and 3. On paper, GW should not have much trouble on offense. Bona is dead last in defense during conference play, allowing teams to shoot over 39% from 3 (not sure how that is even possible - honestly might be a bit of bad luck with the number that high). There is certainly opportunity to get Tre going for this game. They block shots well, but that should not deter GW from getting to the rim.

Projected Score: GW 86, St. Bonaventure 77. 81% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik forecasts an 86% chance at a W. ESPN predicts an 82.9% chance for GW to move to 17-13.
 

SBU is 27th in the country in three-point shooting percentage yet 312th in the country in three-point attempts per game?  That's perplexing.

This is presumably Schmidt's "free pass" of a season though Piranha does an excellent job in pointing out that between today's transient nature for players to change schools like they are socks and the possibility of not seeing eye to eye with Woj, perhaps this is the coach's swan song.  One thing for sure is that Woj was expected to raise NIL funds and while it's only fair to consider this a work in progress, the reality is that there does not appear to be an upgrade of talent at least on this year's team.

Since both teams really don't seem to know how to pull out close victories, I am proposing a maximum of three overtimes this evening in which case a tie will be declared if applicable. 

Expectation for Moss is to graduate this year and then transfer out for a graduate year.

districthoops wrote:

Expectation for Moss is to graduate this year and then transfer out for a graduate year.

So sounds like at a minimum we have four scholarships to give? And who knows who will transfer out.  Do we have any recruits for next year? Obviously we will go portaling for transfers too.

GW 2005 Alumna wrote:

districthoops wrote:

Expectation for Moss is to graduate this year and then transfer out for a graduate year.

Do we have any recruits for next year? Obviously we will go portaling for transfers too.

We have two international recruits signed for next year

Promis N'Landu from Canada
Elisee Assui from Italy

And right now we have two open scholarships.  You can find the A10 Scholarship Tracker here
 

I said it before, another poster said it too, and I will say it again… we need a seasoned vet assistant coach on the bench next year.

GW’s witching hour has apparently arrived. Again.

oldish wrote:

Never seen a waist high alley oop before.

Honestly - could there be a better microcosm for the season than that abjectly ridiculous play?  Hare-brained.

Coming out of a time out with the ball and the game on the line and the play CC calls does not work.
It is like deja'vu all over again. 

(adendum: at least tonight it just meant OT and not a L)

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (3/04/2026 9:27 pm)

At least Caputo admitted the last couple of minutes were embarrassing.