We have our first upset of March Madness. In the second game of 2018 NCAA Tournament First Four action on Tuesday, March 13, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies knocked off the UCLA Bruins 65-58. St. Bonaventure was a 2.5-point underdog according to the betting odds, making those who backed the Bonnies on the moneyline a little extra coin. The game easily sailed under the total of 156.5, leaving the under 2-0 on the day.
St. Bonaventure will now face Florida on Thursday, March 15, in the Round of 64. Odds for that matchup will soon be released by BetDSI Sportsbook, but we look for Florida to be anywhere from a five- to seven-point favorite in the game. Don’t count the Bonnies out though. In each of the last three seasons, one of the No. 11 seeds playing in the First Four won its Round of 64 game in the NCAA Tournament.
Courtney Stockard led the way for St. Bonaventure on a night when neither team was shooting well from the floor. Stockard went 9-20 from the floor and led all scorers with 26 points. The rest of the Bonnies combined to go just 14-40 from the field, with star guard Jaylen Adams going an abysmal 2-16.
Coming into this matchup, many believed that the Bruins would win by virtue of their interior game. They did manage to outrebound the Bonnies by 10, but turnovers ended up killing UCLA in this one.
The Bruins couldn’t stop turning the ball over. St. Bonaventure force 14.3 turnovers per game on average, but UCLA turned the ball over 20 times. Aaron Holiday was responsible for 10 of those in a game that the senior will want to soon forget.
St. Bonaventure’s odds to win the NCAA Tournament were 500-1 according to BetDSI coming into this one. Their next opponent, Florida, is considered more likely to win the tournament, but is still a longshot at 120-1.
