You can officially say the St Bonaventure (6-2) are on a heater. Their 81-75 victory at Hofstra gives them 5 wins in a row in the uber competitive Atlantic 10. Jaylen Adams has averaged 25.2 ppg during the winning streak. While Adams leads the team in scoring with a 23.4 ppg average, Matt Mobley isn’t too far behind. Mobley averages 21 points, 7.3 rebounds a game. Mobley has a double double in two of his last four games.
At the top of the conference along with the Bonnies is Dayton (6-2). The Flyers boast a four game winning streak themselves. After the their two loss to Nebraska in the first round of the Wooden Legacy, the Flyers have four in a row with three by double digits.
Last week, we took a look at George Mason’s (7-3) recent success and they haven’t cooled off. The Patriot’s six game winning streak is their longest since 2011-2012. The Patriots have impressive back to back double digit wins against Mercer and at Penn State. Mason’s DC brethren, George Washington (6-4), has won 3 of 4. The win at Temple tested the Colonials as they blew a double digit lead before getting a huge 3 pointer with 7 seconds left from Tyler Cavanaugh.
Down I-95, the two teams in Richmond (4-4) and mired in two game losing streaks. The Spiders lost to Patriot League power, Bucknell, and a much improved Wake Forest team. VCU (6-3) seems to be in more a struggle. An 18 point loss to Illinois in the HoopHall Miami Invitational and overtime loss to Georgia Tech has the Rams in a little bit of a tailspin.
Rhode Island (6-3) started off the season winning their first four including a win over Cincinnati. Since then the Rams are 2-3 with losses to Duke, at Valparaiso, and at Providence. On the other hand UMass (5-2) had a four game winning streak snapped by a home loss to UCF. The Minutemen were foiled by a 3 pointer with .6 seconds left.
Davidson (5-3) also faced off against a top ten opponent in North Carolina minus their starting point guard, Joel Berry II. Despite Jack Gibbs’ 30 points and the Wildcat defense holding the Heels to 38% shooting, Davidson fell 83-74.
Wins against Drexel and then two Patriot League foes (Bucknell and Lehigh) had LaSalle (4-3) on a three game winning streak when the faced off against defending champion, Villanova. The Explorers gave number one Villanova all they could handle as they got as close as four in the waning moments of the game but fell 89-79. In the loss, Sophomore Pookie Powell had a career game. Powell scored 27.
Fellow Big 5 member, St Joseph’s (3-4), has had a rough two weeks. The Hawks are in the midst of a four game losing streak.
Like St Joe’s, Fordham (5-4) is mired in a losing streak. After three losses in a row, it won’t get any easier for the Rams as they are in the middle of a three game road trip. Having already loss at Harvard, there are still trips to St. John’s and Manhattan over the horizon.
In the “City Game” Duquesne (4-6) upset Pitt 64-55. In their upset win over the Panthers, Emile Blackman scored 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. St. Louis (2-6) will try and break a 5 game losing streak as they face Chicago State next.
Co-Players of the Week: B.J. Johnson (LaSalle) and Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure)
Rookie of the Week: Mike Lewis II (Duquesne)
Marcus “Mook” Washington is the host of Making The Cut. Follow Mook on Twitter: @mtcwithmook and IG: MTCWithMook
