Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between St. Bona. and the win they were favored to collect coming into this afternoon. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Niagara 33-20.
St. Bona. entered the matchup having won five straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it six, or will Niagara step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.
Who's Playing
Niagara Purple Eagles @ St. Bona. Bonnies
Current Records: Niagara 5-6, St. Bona. 11-1
How To WatchWhen: Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 1 p.m. ETWhere: Reilly Center -- St. Bonaventure, New YorkTV: ESPN PlusFollow: CBS Sports AppOnline Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)Ticket Cost: $38.88What to Know
If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for St. Bona. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Niagara Purple Eagles at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Reilly Center. The timing is sure in the Bonnies' favor as the team sits on five straight wins at home while the Purple Eagles have been banged up by six consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
St. Bona. is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week's over/under low at 127.5, but even that wound up being too high. They strolled past Siena with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 65-48.
Melvin Council Jr. and Chance Moore were among the main playmakers for St. Bona. as the former had 14 points along with seven steals and five rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds. Council Jr. is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last four games he's played. Jonah Hinton, on the other hand, was considerably less helpful: he went 0-6 from long range.
Even though they won, St. Bona. struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. That's the fewest assists they've posted since back in January.
Meanwhile, Niagara had just enough and edged St. Francis out 69-66 on Saturday.
St. Bona.'s win bumped their record up to 11-1. As for Niagara, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season.
Saturday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy game: St. Bona. has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.4 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Niagara, though, as they've been averaging only 31.2. Given St. Bona.'s sizable advantage in that area, Niagara will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for St. Bona. against Niagara when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 94-60 victory. In that contest, St. Bona. amassed a halftime lead of 45-20, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.
Odds
St. Bona. is a big 16.5-point favorite against Niagara, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 16.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 130.5 points.
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Series History
St. Bona. has won 4 out of their last 6 games against Niagara.
Dec 06, 2023 - St. Bona. 94 vs. Niagara 60Dec 18, 2019 - St. Bona. 87 vs. Niagara 70Nov 12, 2018 - Niagara 80 vs. St. Bona. 72Nov 10, 2017 - Niagara 77 vs. St. Bona. 75Dec 17, 2016 - St. Bona. 79 vs. Niagara 69Dec 30, 2015 - St. Bona. 82 vs. Niagara 68