The St. Bonaventure Bonnies play the La Salle Explorers in the Atlantic 10 Tournament first round. Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. ET on USA.
St. Bonaventure is favored by 5.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -225. The total is set at 145 points.
Here’s my St. Bonaventure vs. La Salle predictions and college basketball picks for March 11, 2026.
St. Bonaventure vs La Salle Prediction
My Pick: St. Bonaventure ML -225
My St. Bonaventure vs La Salle best bet is on the Bonnies to win outright. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
St. Bonaventure vs. La Salle Odds
| St. Bonaventure Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5.5 -115 | 145 -110 / -110 | -225 |
| La Salle Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5.5 -105 | 145 -110 / -110 | +185 |
- St. Bonaventure vs La Salle spread: St. Bonaventure -5.5
- St. Bonaventure vs La Salle over/under: 145 points
- St. Bonaventure vs La Salle moneyline: St. Bonaventure -225, La Salle +185
St. Bonaventure vs La Salle College Basketball Betting Preview
St. Bonaventure Basketball
Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt is in his 19th season at the helm, but it was announced that he's retiring following this Atlantic 10 Tournament. That means this is his chance for one last run.
In spite of its sub .500 record this season, St. Bonaventure has an impressive starting five, with four players posting double-figure scoring efforts.
Frank Mitchell is the leading scorer for the Bonnies, as he's averaging 16.4 points per contest. The Canadian has been St. Bonaventure’s most valuable player on both ends of the floor, and an absolute monster on the glass.
Aside from Mitchell, the great majority of the team’s offensive production comes through its three guards.
Dasonte Bowen runs the point for Schmidt’s offense, recording over 10 points per game and five assists on average.
5-foot-11 guard Daryl Simmons is the most gifted scorer in this Bonnies' backcourt, posting 16.3 points per game this season. St. Bonaventure senior guard Cayden Charles is also having a great season on the offensive end of the floor.
The primary issue for Schmidt’s bunch has been its atrocious defensive efforts, with the unit allowing 75 points per contest.
Though experienced, St. Bonaventure is rather undersized, which has certainly reflected in the team’s consistent lackluster defensive performances all season long. Per KenPom, the Bonnies rank 246th nationally in defensive efficiency rating.
St. Bonaventure has the offensive talent to be a major sleeper in this event — despite the team’s low seeding — but the Bonnies will never reach their full potential if the team continues to defend this poorly.
La Salle Basketball
Though seeded higher than the Bonnies, La Salle enters this contest with a 9-22 overall record.
This is the second meeting between these A-10 foes this season, with the Explorers prevailing by four points on its home floor nearly two months ago.
For a program that's been to the NCAA Tournament just once in the last 33 years, La Salle first-year head coach Darris Nichols took the job this past offseason knowing it would be a very uphill battle in 2025-26.
It doesn't take much deep-diving to arrive at the conclusion that this La Salle offense is beyond disastrous, with the Explorers scoring just 66 points per contest.
Jaeden Marshall leads Nichols’ bunch in scoring with 12 points per contest. Though Marshall has a very ideal frame for a guard — boasting impressive length — he's not a very gifted shooter, with the majority of his field goals coming from jump-shots in the lane.
Unfortunately for this La Salle offense, the buck doesn't stop with Marshall.
Rob Dockery is having a solid year on the offensive end of the floor, posting nearly 12 points per contest. Like his backcourt mate Marshall, Dockery is another gifted guard who struggles to shoot the basketball (26% clip from 3).
The Explorers are making just five 3-point field goals per contest, which ranks 350th nationally. Their lack of efficiency from 3-point land is just one of several areas this La Salle bunch needs improvement in.
While the Explorers' frontcourt boasts experience and athleticism, their forwards are rather undersized, which has resulted in significant problems for La Salle on the defensive glass.
Nichols’ bunch ranks outside the top 300 nationally in defensive rebounding, another very concerning metric ahead of the tournament.
The Explorers rank outside the top 200 in the country in both offensive, and defensive efficiency rating, per KenPom.
St. Bonaventure vs. La Salle Betting Analysis
In the first meeting between these two this season, La Salle was victorious on its home floor. That should give them some confidence heading into this first-round matchup.
Though it's tough to have any real confidence in a Bonnies team that's 1-6 over their last seven contests, I'm definitely buying into the revenge narrative of this matchup.
While St. Bonaventure is seeded lower due to its inferior conference record, I think the Bonnies are the way better team on both ends of the floor. I expect both La Salle’s 3-point shooting and defensive rebounding woes to play a vital role in what will likely be a short road trip for the Explorers.
I feel comfortable backing the Bonnies on the moneyline in this spot to exact their revenge and to advance in the tourney.
My Pick: St. Bonaventure ML -225
