Northern Iowa vs St Bonaventure Picks and Odds (Nov. 27)

• #16 St. Bonaventure is a 10.5-point home favorite over Northern Iowa on Saturday
• St. Bonaventure won the eight-team Charleston Classic last weekend
• A look at the matchup and odds can be found below with a prediction

#16 St. Bonaventure puts its perfect record on the line when it hosts Northern Iowa at 2 pm ET Saturday at the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y.

Northern Iowa (1-3) will be well-rested. The Panthers last played Nov. 17 and lost at then #16 Arkansas 93-80.

Northern Iowa vs #16 St. Bonaventure Odds

Odds as of November 26th at FanDuel.

St. Bonaventure (5-0) is coming off winning the eight-team Charleston Classic last weekend. The Bonnies beat Marquette 70-54 in the championship game.

In a game that will be shown on ESP+, St. Bonaventure is a double-digit favorite.

Northern Iowa Stumbles from Gate

Expected to contend for the Missouri Valley Conference title this season, Northern Iowa is off to a slow start.

Junior guard AJ Green leads the team in scoring with 11.0 points a game. He had a strong effort against Arkansas with 16 points, including four three-point field goals.

In our program we call this a "Get" as in pass it and go get it…clever I know. Good option to play a 2 man game and force the defense into a tough position with how to guard it. Also, AJ Green of Northern Iowa is vastly underrated!
👇 pic.twitter.com/XtDN20eNnm

— Andy Fitzgerald (@_AndyFitzgerald) April 13, 2020

Senior guard Trae Berhow topped Northern Iowa with 23 points, including making 7 of 11 shots from beyond the arc. He also had six rebounds and two steals to earn MVC Player of the Week honors.

It was the first double-digit scoring game of the season for Berhow, who is averaging 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Guard Nate Heise, a second-year freshman, scored 16 points and added six boards. He was two off his career scoring best.

This is why UNI recruited Heise.

Nate Heise added a D1 offer this spring from UNI! Easy to see why with how well he has played on the #PHCircuit

Full Video 🎥: https://t.co/FFnCOv9CS6 pic.twitter.com/8V2IPGMtSO

— Prep Hoops Circuit 🏀 (@PHCircuit) May 9, 2019

Northern Iowa has a balanced attack with seven players averaging at least 6.5 points a game and seven players averaging 17.0 minutes.

Defense let Northern Iowa down against Arkansas. The Razorbacks shot 50.7% (35 of 69) and had just five turnovers.

However, the Panthers played Arkansas tough as there were 18 lead changes and 10 ties before the Razorbacks ended the game with a 16-2 burst.

St. Bonaventure Still Perfect

Senior guard Jaren Holmes and senior big man Osun Osunniyi both had their first double-doubles of the season to lead St. Bonaventure past Marquette.

Holmes had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Osunniyi added a season-high 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while shooting 8 of 10 from the field.

So far this season, Holmes has been outstanding. He is averaging 17.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Bonnies, who haven’t been ranked this high since climbing to #10 during the 1970-71 season.

JAREN HOLMES CAME TO PLAY VS CLEMSON‼️🔥

19 points!
5 threes! @3BallJay pic.twitter.com/D51aPIMOCr

— SBU-TV Sports (@sbutvsports) November 20, 2021

Another senior guard, Kyle Lofton, is also having a fine start. He is scoring 17.0 points and handing out 5.0 assists a game. Lofton scored 12 points in the Charleston Classic final.

Senior guard Jalen Adaway finished with 14 points, bumping his season average to 13.5. He is also grabbing 5.3 rebounds a game.

St. Bonaventure is 25^th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 57.4 points a game, and was outstanding at that end of the floor against Marquette. The Golden Eagles shot 30.4% (17 of 56) overall, 22.2% (6 of 27) from three-point range and turned the ball over 17 times.

The rim protection of Osinniyi and senior guard Dominick Welch’s four steals keyed the Bonnies’ defense. Marquette came in averaging 78.0 points a game and St. Bonaventure held the Golden Eagles to 24 points under that figure while also limiting leading scorer Darryl Morsell to 3 points, 17 below his average.

Osun Osunniyi rotates over and blocks the dunk attempt! pic.twitter.com/bb5p3UQT03

— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) November 18, 2021

St. Bonaventure held Marquette without a field goal for seven minutes to start the second half while using a 16-2 spurt to build 49-27 lead. Holmes and Adaway keyed the run with 6 points apiece.

Northern Iowa vs St. Bonaventure Prediction

The teams haven’t met since St. Bonaventure swept a home-and-home series during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.

When Northern Iowa met the 16^th-ranked team in the country in its last game, the Panthers put a scare into Arkansas. You can be sure St. Bonaventure, this week’s #16, noticed and won’t take the Panthers lightly.

Pick: St. Bonaventure -10.5 (-118)