Game Information
#24 Saint Louis Billikens (18-1) at St. Bonaventure Bonnies (12-7)
Time: 4:30pm CT Friday
How to watch: ESPN2
DraftKings Odds
Spread: SLU -7.5
Total: 158.5
KenPom Projection
SLU 84, St. Bonaventure 75
Billikens Battle Bonnies
The Saint Louis University Billikens shoot for their 13th consecutive win tonight in a road matchup against St. Bonaventure.
The Bills are 18-1 overall, 6-0 in the Atlantic 10, and ranked 24th in the AP poll, 22nd in the NET, and 29th in KenPom.
Bills Need To Rebound
SLU survived in its first game as an AP-ranked team on Tuesday, winning at Duquesne 81-77. The Billikens got out-rebounded 42-38 in that game, including 17-9 on the offensive glass. They’ll need a better effort on the boards tonight with St. Bonaventure being a top 40 team in the country in offensive rebounding.
The Bills held on at Duquesne in large part because they held the Dukes to just 34.8% shooting from the field and 26.7% from 3. SLU’s defense is #1 in the country in effective field goal percentage.
Don’t Overlook The Bonnies
The Bonnies are just 1-5 in the A10, but don’t be fooled into thinking this should be an easy game for SLU. All of St. Bonaventure’s conference losses have come by single digits.
The Bonnies are definitely capable of a hot shooting night. They rank 25th in the country from 3-point range at 37.9%, and they’re fantastic from the free throw line at 77.8% (18th in the nation).
My Pick
Look for SLU to try to push the tempo even more so than usual tonight against a thin opponent. The Billikens should be really focused on trying to wear down the Bonnies, as St. Bonaventure ranks 346th out of 365 Division One teams in bench minutes.
Expecting the Bills to dictate a fast pace tonight, I think the over is a good bet. SLU should do its usual thing and score at least 80 points, while the over is 13-5 in St. Bonaventure games this season, including 9-1 in their last 10 and 8-2 at home.
Pick: Over 158.5 at -110 on DraftKings (bet to 160.5)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer