Sully on Sports

The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team needed overtime to win on the road last night against Rhode Island, the only winless team in Atlantic 10 league play. But a win is a win, and suddenly the Bonnies are tied for first in a tightly  packed A-10 race. Bona is in a five-way tie for first at 4-2 with St. Louis, Dayton, UMass and LaSalle. Temple, the highest A-10 team in the RPIs at No. 16, is a half-game back at 3-2. Five other teams have three losses.

That means 11 teams are within a game of first in the A-10, which actually has 13 teams (the Atlantic Baker's Dozen?). The Bonnies are only eighth among A-10 teams in the power rankings, however. A home loss to Arkansas State drags down their rating. Too bad they lost close games to Illinois and North Carolina State. The Bonnies host Richmond on Saturday, then play a huge road game at St. Louis, which is currently 16-4 overall.

Meanwhile, the Bona women are ranked 27th in the AP poll and are 28th in the RPIs. They're 19-2 overall and 6-0 in the A-10. The Bonnies' two losses were to teams rated higher in the women's RPIs -- No. 7 Delaware and No. 15 Villanova. Barring a total collapse, Bona should make the NCAA Tournament. They'll have a strong case as an at-large if they don't win the A-10 tourney. No Western New York women's team has ever gotten an at-large berth. Only one team, Canisius, has gone as a conference champ.