1969–70 St. Bonaventure Brown Indians men's basketball team

The 1969–70 St. Bonaventure Brown Indians men's basketball team represented St. Bonaventure University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The Brown Indians were independent and not a member of a conference. They were led by ninth year head coach Larry Weise as well as 6′ 11″ center Bob Lanier, named a consensus first-team All-American for the second consecutive season. He finished his career with averages of 27.6 points and 15.7 rebounds in 75 career games.^[1][2] St. Bonaventure advanced to the only Final Four in program history.^[3] Lanier suffered a knee injury in the Regional final against Villanova and did not play in the Final Four,^[4] but would be the top pick in the 1970 NBA draft and go on to a Hall of Fame career.

1969–70 St. Bonaventure Brown Indians men's basketball
East Regional Champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	25–3
Head coach	Larry Weise (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Bob Sassone Fred Handler
Home arena	Reilly Center
Seasons ← 1968–69 1970–71 →

1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Jacksonville		–			–			27	–	2		.931
No. 5 New Mexico State		–			–			27	–	3		.900
No. 8 Marquette		–			–			26	–	3		.897
No. 3 St. Bonaventure		–			–			25	–	3		.893
No. 11 Florida State		–			–			23	–	3		.885
No. 12 Houston		–			–			25	–	5		.833
Army		–			–			22	–	6		.786
No. 17 Niagara		–			–			22	–	7		.759
No. 16 Utah State		–			–			22	–	7		.759
Villanova		–			–			22	–	7		.759
No. 9 Notre Dame		–			–			21	–	8		.724
St. John's		–			–			21	–	8		.724
Georgetown		–			–			18	–	7		.720
Duquesne		–			–			17	–	7		.708
Dayton		–			–			19	–	8		.704
Manhattan		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Holy Cross		–			–			16	–	9		.640
Long Island		–			–			16	–	9		.640
Georgia Tech		–			–			17	–	10		.630
Creighton		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Seattle		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Boston University		–			–			14	–	10		.583
Butler		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Oklahoma City		–			–			17	–	13		.567
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Southern Illinois		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Colgate		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Providence		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Denver		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Loyola (IL)		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Penn State		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Rutgers		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Saint Peter's		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Northern Illinois		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Air Force		–			–			12	–	12		.500
Fairfield		–			–			12	–	12		.500
Iona		–			–			12	–	12		.500
NYU		–			–			12	–	12		.500
Pittsburgh		–			–			12	–	12		.500
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			12	–	12		.500
Syracuse		–			–			12	–	12		.500
DePaul		–			–			12	–	13		.480
West Texas State		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Loyola (LA)		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Boston College		–			–			11	–	13		.458
Virginia Tech		–			–			10	–	12		.455
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			9	–	12		.429
West Virginia		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Canisius		–			–			9	–	13		.409
Fordham		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Seton Hall		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Marshall		–			–			9	–	14		.391
Miami (FL)		–			–			9	–	17		.346
Centenary		–			–			8	–	16		.333
Pan American		–			–			8	–	16		.333
Detroit		–			–			7	–	18		.280
Tulane		–			–			5	–	18		.217
Xavier		–			–			5	–	20		.200
Navy		–			–			4	–	19		.174
Portland		–			–			4	–	22		.154
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1969–70 St. Bonaventure Brown Indians men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 11 Bill Kalbaugh 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Sr C 31 Bob Lanier 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Sr Buffalo, New York F 35 Matt Gantt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So F 30 Tom Baldwin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So G 20 Paul Hoffman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So G 33 Vic Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — So G 15 Dale Tepas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr F 23 Greg "Bubba" Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr G 12 Gene Fahey 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr G 10 Mike Kull 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr	Head coach Larry Weise (St. Bonaventure) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule/results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Dec 5, 1969*	No. 17	Detroit College	W 106–54	1–0	36 – Lanier	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Dec 8, 1969*	No. 20	Xavier	W 82–69	2–0	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Dec 15, 1969*	No. 20	Detroit	W 97–68	3–0	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Dec 20, 1969*		Duquesne	W 77–58[5]	4–0	21 – Lanier	21 – Lanier	–	Reilly Center (6,291) St. Bonaventure, NY
Dec 27, 1969*	No. 19	at New York University Holiday Festival	W 107–60	5–0	33 – Lanier	–	–	Alumni Gymnasium  New York, NY
Dec 29, 1969*	No. 19	vs. Saint Joseph's Holiday Festival	W 96–61	6–0	25 – Lanier	–	–	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Dec 30, 1969*	No. 12	vs. No. 17 Purdue Holiday Festival Championship	W 91–75	7–0	50 – Lanier	15 – Lanier	–	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Jan 3, 1970*	No. 12	Baldwin-Wallace	W 96–63[6]	8–0	25 – Lanier	16 – Lanier	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Jan 7, 1970*	No. 5	Loyola (MD)	W 96–52	9–0	–	24 – Lanier	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Jan 10, 1970*	No. 5	at Kent State	W 94–65	10–0	42 – Lanier	13 – Lanier	–	Memorial Gym  Kent, OH
Jan 21, 1970*	No. 4	DePaul	W 83–59[7]	11–0	–	22 – Lanier	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Jan 24, 1970*	No. 4	at Canisius	W 62–49	12–0	–	–	–	Koessler Center  Buffalo, NY
Jan 28, 1970*	No. 3	at Villanova	L 62–64	12–1	21 – Lanier	–	–	Villanova Field House  Philadelphia, PA
Jan 31, 1970*	No. 3	Niagara	W 89–81	13–1	–	23 – Lanier	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Feb 3, 1970*	No. 3	Belmont Abbey	W 131–64	14–1	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Feb 7, 1970*	No. 4	at Toledo	W 77–71	15–1	–	–	–	The Field House  Toledo, OH
Feb 11, 1970*	No. 4	at Seton Hall	W 103–83	16–1	–	–	–	Walsh Gymnasium  South Orange, NJ
Feb 14, 1970*	No. 4	Providence	W 68–52	17–1	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Feb 18, 1970*	No. 3	at St. Francis (NY)	W 87–57	18–1	–	–	–	Pope Physical Education Center  Brooklyn, NY
Feb 21, 1970*	No. 3	Long Island	W 71–61	19–1	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Feb 25, 1970*	No. 3	Canisius	W 91–68	20–1	–	–	–	Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Mar 1, 1970*	No. 3	vs. Niagara	W 104–68	21–1	–	–	–	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium  Buffalo, NY
Mar 5, 1970*	No. 4	at Fairfield	W 86–59	22–1	–	20 – Lanier	–	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, CT
NCAA tournament
Mar 7, 1970*	No. 4	vs. No. 10 Davidson	W 85–72	23–1	28 – Lanier	16 – Gantt	–	Carnesecca Arena (5,320) New York, NY
Mar 12, 1970*	No. 3	vs. No. 10 NC State Regional semifinal	W 80–68	24–1	24 – Lanier	19 – Lanier	–	Carolina Coliseum (12,316) Columbia, SC
Mar 14, 1970*	No. 3	vs. Villanova Regional final	W 97–74	25–1	26 – Lanier	18 – Gantt	–	Carolina Coliseum (10,981) Columbia, SC
Mar 19, 1970*	No. 3	vs. No. 4 Jacksonville National semifinal	L 83–91[8]	25–2	16 – Gantt	13 – Gary	–	Cole Fieldhouse  College Park, MD
Mar 21, 1970*	No. 3	vs. No. 5 New Mexico State Consolation	L 73–79	25–3	22 – Gary	11 – Gary	–	Cole Fieldhouse  College Park, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	17	20	—	19	12	5	4	4	3	4	4	3	3	4	3
Coaches	16	20	16	10	7	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	3

Awards and honors

• Bob Lanier – Consensus First-Team All-American

Team players in the 1970 NBA draft

See also: 1970 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	1	Bob Lanier	Detroit Pistons

^[9]

References

1. "1969-70 St. Bonaventure Bonnies Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
2. "Bob Lanier College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
3. "What we said 50 years ago when St. Bonaventure made Final Four". The Buffalo News. December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
4. "1970 Bonnies: Weise wonders what might have been". Democrat and Chronicle. March 12, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
5. "Bonnies Crush Dukes, 77-58". The Pittsburgh Press via newspapers.com. December 21, 1969. p. 83. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
6. "Still in Holiday Mood! Bonnies Rumble, 96-63". New York Daily News. January 4, 1970. p. 56. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
7. "BONNY YEAR FOR BUFFALO BOB". Sports Illustrated. January 19, 1970. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
8. "ST. BONAVENTURE BEATEN BY 91-83". New York Times. March 20, 1970. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
9. "1970 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.