Xavier vs St. Bonaventure 3/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The St. Bonaventure Bonnies & Xavier Musketeers will square off at Madison Square Garden this Tuesday night in the Semifinals of the NIT.

The St. Bonaventure Bonnies improved to 23-9 on the season after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers, 52-51, this past Tuesday. St. Bonaventure trailed by a 50-45 margin with just 3:01 left in regulation, however, the Bonnies defense was outstanding down the stretch and St. Bonaventure was able to secure the victory after Kyle Lofton hit a pair of game-winning FT’s with just :05 seconds left in regulation. St. Bonaventure shot 37.0% from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Virginia to shoot 37.7% from the field & 26.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bonnies was Dominick Welch who had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, St. Bonaventure is averaging 69.8 ppg on 45.2% shooting from the field. The Bonnies are averaging 6.0 three-pointers per game on 32.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, St. Bonaventure has been led by Jalen Adaway (15.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg), Jaren Holmes (13.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 spg), Kyle Lofton (12.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.7 apg, 2.1 spg), Dominick Welch (11.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.3 spg), & Osun Osunniyi (11.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.5 spg).

Defensively, St. Bonaventure is holding their opponents to an average of 65.9 ppg on 42.4% shooting form the field. The Bonnies have a rebound margin of 0.2 and a turnover margin of 2.3.

The Xavier Musketeers improved to 21-13 on the season after defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores, 75-73, this past Tuesday. Xavier was solid on the offensive end against Vanderbilt and was able to take the lead for good after an Adam Kunkel layup gave the Musketeers a 74-72 lead with :58 seconds left in regulation. Xavier shot 52.9% from the field & 35.7% from beyond the arc while allowing Vanderbilt to shoot 44.1% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Musketeers was Colby Jones who had 15 points, 8 rebounds, & 4 assists.

On the season, Xavier is averaging 73.9 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field. The Musketeers are averaging 6.7 three-pointers per game on 32.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Xavier has been led by Jack Nunge (13.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.4 bpg), Paul Scruggs (11.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.5 spg), Colby Jones (11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.5 spg), Nate Johnson (10.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg), & Zach Freemantle (10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg).

Defensively, Xavier is allowing their opponents to average 68.9 ppg on 42.2% shooting from the field. The Musketeers have a rebound margin of 2.6 and a turnover margin of 1.1.

The Bonnies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 20-8 ATS in their last 28 neutral site games as a favorite. The Musketeers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall & 1-6 ATS in their last 7 neutral stie games.

St. Bonaventure has been led by their defense which ranks 72^nd in scoring defense & 49^th in turnover margin, however, the offense has struggled at times as the Bonnies come into this matchup ranked just 208^th in scoring offense. Xavier has been led by their offense which ranks 100^th in scoring offense & 128^th in FG% while the defense has been average, ranking 167^th in scoring defense.

Xavier is a solid team, however, most of their success this season has come at home as the Musketeers have just a 4-6 road record and 1-2 neutral site record. St. Bonaventure had a disappointing season by not making the NCAA Tournament, however, this is a team that has a talented starting unit that has a bunch of experience and as I the Bonnies defense is going to give Xavier some trouble, I’m taking St. Bonaventure to cover this small spread. Good Luck!