Tag: Mandell Thomas

Fordham 78, UMass 72 (OT): Another Step Up Ladder For Rams

AMHERST, Mass. – In an instant gratification society, baby steps are not much noticed and even less appreciated, even if they take place on national television.

Beating a UMass team that has had trouble getting out of its own way of late 78-72 in overtime before a small, mostly grumbling crowd at the Mullins Center will not send shockwaves through the land or turn Fordham into instant NCAA Tournament or even Atlantic 10 contenders.

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Richmond 93, Fordham 82: Spiders Eventually Deal With Rams Pressure

BRONX, N.Y. – Sometimes a battle of contrasting styles can produce the most entertainment value for your valuable hard-earned money, and Sunday’s Richmond-Fordham clash at Rose Hill was no exception.

One one side, you had the Spiders, coached by Pete Carill and Princeton educated (he does have a B.A. in English from the place) Chris Mooney, who values the basketball and movement off it above everything else. On the other, you had Fordham’s Jeff Neubauer, who played for a guy named Speedy (Morris) and was schooled as a coach under John Beilein (including five years at Richmond), where confusing and baffling opponents into turning it over and getting easy points is one of the primary objectives.

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George Washington 69, Fordham 63: Encouraging Loss For Rams

WASHINGTON – Yes, Fordham was 9-2 and there were many positive signs under first-year coach Jeff Neubauer for a program that hasn’t won more than 10 games in a season since 2007-08, but putting the Rams’ resume under the proverbial microscope suggested they might be due for a bit of a comeuppance in their Atlantic 10 opener at George Washington Sunday night.

Consider that Fordham’s non-conference strength of schedule ranked 351st, dead last in Division I. All of its wins were at home, and none came against an opponent currently higher than No. 240 (St. John’s) in KenPom. The trip to the nation’s capital was the Rams’ first true road game since Nov. 14 and they weren’t exactly taking on a cupcake (not that there are many of those in the A-10, but even relatively).

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Fordham 89, LIU Brooklyn 84 (OT): Rams Ready For A-10 Or Nah?

Any potential scientific experiment needs a problem statement and Tuesday night at Rose Hill, it was pretty simple to concoct one: Is Fordham good?

Of course, then you need a hypothesis, and I went with a yes, although a little hesitantly. Fordham was indeed 6-1 and went to 7-1 with a hard-fought 89-84 overtime victory over city rival LIU Brooklyn (4-3). That alone is cause for celebration on campus. After all, the Rams only won seven games total in 2010-11 and 2012-13. They won just 10 each in Tom Pecora’s other three seasons, and he was fired after posted a 44-106 mark.

It’s not only likely, but probable that Jeff Neubauer will start his Fordham career 9-1 after beating two of the worst teams in Division I, Coppin St. and Maine (Fordham’s next two games), and then could match Pecora’s high for a campaign at the Barclays Center on Dec. 22 against Boston College, some two weeks before the former Eastern Kentucky coach even makes his Atlantic-10 debut.

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