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A small school with big expectations: No. 23 St. Bonaventure

The Bonnies open their season hosting Siena on Tuesday.

Credit: AP

FILE - St. Bonaventure's Jalen Adaway, right, tries to shoot over VCU's Hason Ward during the first half of an NCAA college basketball championship game for the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Dayton, Ohio. No. 23 St. Bonaventure is ranked for the first time in 50 years and returns five seniors -- all starters -- from the team which went 16-5 and lost to eight-seeded LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

OLEAN, N.Y. — No. 23 St. Bonaventure is a small school with big expectations in preparing to open its men's basketball season ranked for the first time in 50 years.

The Bonnies return five starters — all seniors — from a team that won both the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

They went on to make their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and third in nine seasons before losing to eighth-seeded LSU in the opening round.

This is the type of success coach Mark Schmidt envisioned upon taking over in 2007. The Bonnies open their season hosting Siena on Tuesday.