The 2013-14 Fordham University men's basketball non-conference schedule was released today and it features a contest at New York City's Most Famous Arena (Madison Square Garden) as well as one against the newest Atlantic Coast Conference member and will also have seven home games in the historic Rose Hill Gym.
The Rams will open the 2013-14 season, Fordham's 111
th varsity season, on Friday night, November 8, as they host the Saint Francis University Red Flash in the Rose Hill Gym. It will be the fourth meeting between the two schools, the first since November of 2006 when Fordham defeated Saint Francis in the Bronx.
Fordham then ventures to Syracuse on November 12 to face the newest member of the ACC. It will be the second time in the past three years that the Orange and Rams have squared off, the 44
th time overall.
The Rams return home for the next two games, hosting Lehigh University on November 15 and Sacred Heart on November 23. The Rams and Mountain Hawks will meet for the fourth straight year while the Pioneers last visited Rose Hill Gym in 2010.
On Tuesday, November 26, Fordham will travel across the Bronx to take on Manhattan College in the annual Battle of the Bronx. It will be the 105th meeting between the Rams and the Jaspers, the most against any opponent for Fordham.
Furman University pays a visit to the Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday, December 4, in just the second ever meeting between the two schools. The first game between the two teams occurred in the 1971 NCAA Championship, where the Rams defeated the Paladins, 105-74, at St. John's.
The Rams head into Manhattan on Saturday, December 7, as they square off with St. John's University in the annual Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. It will be the third straight year that Fordham has appeared in the festival.
Fordham travels upstate again on Tuesday, December 7, this time to Hamilton, N.Y., to face the Colgate Raiders. This will be the 29
th matchup between the Raiders and Rams, the last coming at the 1995 Patriot League championship game.
Before breaking for finals, the Rams host the Howard University Bison on Saturday, December 14, in the first ever meeting between the two programs.
After a week off for finals, Fordham returns to action by traveling to West Long Branch, N.J., to face the Monmouth University Hawks on Saturday, December 21. The game will be the third straight for the Rams and Hawks and the fifth in the overall series.
The Rams return to the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym for the next two games which bookend Christmas. The Rams host fellow Jesuits, Loyola University of Chicago on Monday, December 23, and Harvard University, two-time defending Ivy League champs, on Saturday, December 28. The Rams and Ramblers will meet for just the second time ever while the Rams and the Crimson square off for the fourth consecutive season.
Fordham closes out its non-conference schedule on Monday, December 30, with a trip to Albany to face the Siena College Saints in the Times Union Center.
The Fordham men's Atlantic 10 schedule will consist of 16 games, eight home and eight away, with the Rams facing four opponents in a home-and-home series. Head coach
Tom Pecora's squad will face George Washington, Richmond, Rhode Island and VCU twice during the 2013-2014 season.
In addition to the home games with George Washington, Richmond, Rhode Island and VCU, the Rams will host newcomer George Mason along with Dayton, La Salle and St. Bonaventure.
Besides the two trips to Virginia (Richmond and VCU) and the return trips to George Washington and Rhode Island, the Fordham men will also play at Duquesne, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis.
Conference play will begin in early January and conclude the weekend prior to the 2014 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, which will be played March 13-16, at Barclays Center. For the first time since 2005, every Atlantic 10 team will advance to the championship in Brooklyn.
On the court, head coach Pecora's Rams will be led by senior guard Brandon Frazier, who was second on the squad last year, averaging 14.2 ppg, 13
th best in the Atlantic 10, and he led the Rams and was third in the conference with 154 assists (5.0 apg).
