Bona Just Misses Top-25, Checks In At #26 In AP Poll

St. Bonaventure University Athletic News

January 30, 2012 ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Despite owning the third-most wins in the nation, the 20-2 St. Bonaventure women's basketball team just missed cracking the top-25 in the Associated Press Poll Monday for the first time in program history, checking in as the No. 26 team with 61 points. The Bonnies – who sit atop the Atlantic 10 standings as the lone unbeaten team at 7-0 – were just nine points shy of No. 25 Texas Tech, which garnered 70. In last week's poll, 61 points would have placed Bona as the No. 23 team in country. Only No. 1 Baylor (21-0) and No. 2 Notre Dame (21-1) have more victories than the Bonnies. St. Bona is 9-2 against top-100 teams in the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), which is a main ranking utilized by the NCAA Tournament selection committee when choosing its postseason participants. The Bonnies check in at No. 23 in the RPI rankings – the highest-ranked A-10 team. Of the schools ranked No. 13-25 in the AP Poll, none has more RPI top-100 wins than St. Bonaventure. Furthermore, SBU's five wins against teams ranked between No. 26-50 in the RPI are tied for the most in the nation with No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 6 Kentucky and No. 11 Ohio State. The Brown and White has won nine straight games – the second-longest winning streak in program history – and its 9-0 road record is the best in the nation. St. Bonaventure swept a pair of Philadelphia-based schools last week, defeating Saint Joseph's on Wednesday and La Salle on national TV Saturday. The win against the Hawks was already the fourth over a team picked to finish ahead of Bonaventure in the A-10 preseason rankings. Bonaventure returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Pittsburgh to face 15-6 Duquesne. The Bonnies won the first meeting of the year, 61-53, in the conference opener. The Dukes were tabbed to finish 3rd in the A-10 in the preseason poll. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.