Courtesy of FordhamSports.com
BRONX, N.Y. – The full 2016-2017 Fordham University men’s basketball schedule was released today. It features eight televised Atlantic 10 contests and a visit from the defending Atlantic 10 champions, Saint Joseph’s University, to the historic Rose Hill Gym.
Fordham will play 17 of its 31 contests in the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym in 2016-2017 and will make eight appearances on national television during the Atlantic 10 season, five on the NBC Sports Network, two on the American Sports Network (ASN) and one on the CBS Sports Network.
“I’m excited about our 2016-2017 schedule and can’t wait to start building on the success of last year,” said Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer. “The Atlantic 10 has been one of the best basketball conferences in the country and this year will be no different. I hope the Fordham fans turn out to support us during the nonconference season and then return to help us during the challenging conference season.”
The 2016-2017 Fordham schedule includes nine schools that played in the postseason last year with four NCAA participants. Opponents who advanced to the NCAA tournament last year include Atlantic 10 foes Dayton, Saint Joseph’s and VCU along with non-conference foe FDU, while George Washington and St. Bonaventure played in the 2016 postseason NIT tournament, with the Colonials winning the title.
Other opponents who played in the postseason last year include East Tennessee (Vegas 16), Duquesne (CBI) and UT Arlington (CIT).
The Fordham men’s Atlantic 10 schedule will consist of 18 games, nine home and nine away, with the Rams facing five opponents in a home-and-home series. Neubauer’s squad will take on Davidson, Duquesne, La Salle, Richmond and Saint Joseph’s twice during the 2016-2017 season.
Fordham’s conference slate opens with the Rams hosting the Duquesne University Dukes on Friday, December 30, in the Rose Hill Gym.
The Rams open the new year with a road contest at Richmond on January 4 and also have road games at Davidson (Jan. 11), St. Bonaventure (in Rochester on Jan. 14 on NBCSN) and Massachusetts (Jan. 21 on NBCSN) during the month. Fordham will host defending A-10 champs Saint Joseph’s on January 7 on the NBC Sports Network along with VCU (Jan. 18), Davidson (Jan. 28 on NBCSN) and Dayton (Jan. 31 on CBSSN) in the first month of conference play.
Fordham opens February with a trip to Saint Joseph’s on the fourth in the first of two American Sports Networks games on the month before returning to the Rose Hill Gym to host La Salle on February 8. The Rams will also host Saint Louis (Feb. 18) and Richmond (Feb. 25 on NBCSN) in February while also making trips to George Mason (Feb. 11 on ASN), Rhode Island (Feb. 15) and Duquesne (Feb. 22).
March will open with the final home game of the season when George Washington pays the Rams a visit on March 1 and Fordham then closes out the regular season with a trip to La Salle on March 4.
The 2017 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship will be played March 8-12, 2017 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Every Atlantic 10 institution will make at least eight appearances on national television through the league’s four media partners: ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NBCSN and the American Sports Network (ASN). This also marks the first time in A-10 history that over two-thirds of conference games (87 of 126) will air on national television. In addition to the conference games, there will be eight televised non-conference games as part of the A-10 package.
“Once again, in conjunction with our four media partners, we have a television schedule that provides numerous opportunities for our fans and alumni to follow Atlantic 10 men’s basketball throughout the 2016-17 season,” stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “This schedule showcases the outstanding basketball programs in our league, but it also is one of the best vehicles to brand and share the success stories from our 14 institutions.”
All 13 games of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh will be nationally televised. ASN will air the opening round games on March 8. NBCSN will carry the second round and the quarterfinals, March 9-10. CBS Sports Network will air the semifinal games on March 11. CBS Sports will broadcast the final on network television for the eighth straight year as part of the network’s annual Selection Sunday coverage.
The Rams closed out the 2015-2016 season with a 17-14 record, 8-10 in the Atlantic 10, and appeared in the 2016 CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), Fordham’s first postseason appearance since 1992. The 17 wins were the most since 2006-2007 while the eight conference wins were the most since 2006-2007. The Rams went 14-5 in the Rose Hill Gym, the most home wins ever in school history.
Leading the 2016-2017 Rams will be junior forward Christian Sengfelder, who averaged 10.3 ppg, fourth best on team, and 5.2 rpg, third best on team, sophomore Joseph Chartouny, the 2016 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, who set a school freshman record with 161 assists, and redshirt junior Antwoine Anderson, who averaged 8.3 ppg last winter. They will be joined by five newcomers.
“I believe we have a solid core group returning,” said Neubauer. “When you combine them with the newcomers I think we’ll have a very competitive team.”
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