Thu Mar 13 13:40:00 UTC 2025: **St. Bonaventure Bonnies Avoid First-Round A-10 Tournament Pitfall Thanks to Buzzer-Beating Escapes**
**Washington, D.C. –** The St. Bonaventure Bonnies basketball team, boasting a 21-10 overall record, will face Duquesne in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Thursday, avoiding a potentially disastrous first-round matchup thanks to a string of lucky breaks.
The Bonnies’ 9-9 A-10 record placed them as the eighth seed, setting up a clash with the ninth-seeded Dukes. This favorable seeding was a near miss; four last-second escapes against conference rivals – Virginia Commonwealth, Fordham, UMass, and Davidson – proved crucial. Had the Bonnies lost even two of those nail-biting games, they would have fallen to a 7-11 conference record and been relegated to the first round, significantly hindering their chances of winning the tournament and securing an NCAA bid.
Coach Mark Schmidt, known for his aversion to the first round, expressed relief at avoiding the early-round game that often proves a stumbling block to tournament success. This year’s A-10 tournament is particularly competitive; thirteen of the fifteen teams finished with at least six losses. The Bonnies’ narrow escape underscores the exceptionally tight race for favorable seeding.
St. Bonaventure and Duquesne split their regular-season games, setting the stage for a highly anticipated rematch. A victory over Duquesne would propel the Bonnies into a Friday matchup against top-seeded VCU. The A-10 tournament continues through Sunday, with games broadcast across various networks including USA-TV, Peacock, and CBSSN.
First Piper 