St Bonaventure vs Virginia Tech Picks and Odds (Dec. 17)

• The Virginia Tech Hokies are 2.5-point home favorites over the St  Bonaventure Bonnies in an NCAA men’s basketball game on Friday, December 17
• The game is an afternoon start and is part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout in Charlotte, NC
• Both the Bonnies (8-2) and Hokies (7-4) are off to decent starts to the 2021-22 season

Each of the Virginia Tech Hokies and St Bonaventure Bonnies will be licking their wounds as they arrive in Charlotte, NC to play in the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout.

The Bonnies fell to 8-2 on the season by virtue of a 74-64 setback handed them Saturday by #15 UConn. Meanwhile, the Hokies dropped to 7-4 following Sunday’s 62-57 road loss at Dayton.

Oddsmakers are leaning toward the Hokies in Friday’s game. Virginia Tech is set as the 2.5-point favorites. St Bonaventure is 0-5 against the spread over the past five games.

St Bonaventure vs Virginia Tech Odds

Odds as of December 16th at FanDuel.

Friday’s game is featuring an afternoon tipoff of 4pm ET at the Spectrum Center. ESPN2 is carrying the broadcast.

St Bonaventure Bonnies Betting Trends

The Bonnies rank 12th in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10 in fewest turnovers per game (10). They’re also atop the Atlantic 10 and 17th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (79.1).

St Bonaventure hasn’t lost back-to-back games in well over a calendar year. It last happened Feb. 26 (81-77 to Duquesne) and Feb. 29 (73-65 to LaSalle), 2020.

𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 pic.twitter.com/FHYYKBiRXR

— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) December 16, 2021

The Bonnies played the last three games without senior point guard Kyle Lofton (ankle injury). He’d started 93 games in a row prior to his injury, playing a minimum of 30 minutes in all but four of them. He’s responsible for 41% of Bona’s assists over that span.

Redshirt senior guard Jalen Adaway is helping to fill the void created by Lofton’s absence. He’s recorded double-doubles in three of the last four games. That includes a 14-point, 10-rebound performance against UConn. Adaway is averaging a team-best 17.3 points per game with Lofton out of the lineup. His 7.8 rebounds per game rank fourth among all Atlantic 10 players.

Virginia Tech Hokies Betting Trends

Senior guard Keve Aluma, a preseason All-ACC first team selection,  is averaging 16 points in his last six games while shooting 56% from the field. He’s reached double figures in points in six straight games. Aluma was the top scorer or tied for top scorer honors in each of the past four games. His 14.4 points per game leads the team for the season.

The #Hokies have arrived 😏 pic.twitter.com/ChsT90O0IR

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 17, 2021

Graduate student forward Justyn Mutts leads the Hokies with 7.5 rebounds per game. He’s also dished out a team-high 32 assists.

Virginia Tech is hitting 8.6 3-point field goals per game, which is second-best in the ACC. The Hokies are 13th in the NCAA with a 39.3% 3-point field goal percentage. They rank 290th in the nation at getting to the free-throw line (145 free throw attempts).

Hokies vs Bonnies Prediction

Both teams enjoy gettting invites to the block party.  The Hokies are 6-0 when blocking three or more shots in a game. Virginia Tech is 1-4 when failing to block at least three shots. The Bonnies are 8-0 when blocking four or more shots and 0-2 when they don’t.

The Bonnies already have two wins over Power 6 schools on their resume this season. They beat both Marquette and Clemson while capturing the Charleston Classic championship in November.

Shots up in @spectrumcenter 🟤⚪️ pic.twitter.com/rI8Tq2GyPt

— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) December 17, 2021

Friday’s game is featuring a pair teams counting heavily on their starting five to get the job done. The Hokies’ starters produce 74.3% of Tech’s scoring. The Bonnies get 86.9% of their scoring from starters. Just three bench players have scored points for the Bonnies this season.

At one time both Atlantic 10 Conference members, this will be the first meeting of Virginia Tech and St Bonaventure since November 27, 2011. The Bonnies and Hokies have met 16 times previously. Virginia Tech is showing a 10-6 series advantage, as well as a three-game win streak. Nine of those 16 games were decided by single-digit margins.

Virginia Tech will be St Bonaventure’s sixth NCAA NET 100 opponent of the season. The Bonnies are 4-1 straight up so far in these games.

Pick: St Bonaventure Bonnies +2.5 (-110)