The Rams, injury-depleted, are missing three of their top four scorers.
Fordham will need to get defensive about their chances to win basketball games. One look at their current roster and there’s really no other choice for the Rams.
Defense is the calling card for Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer. The Rams, during his tenure, have perennially been in the upper tier of the Atlantic 10 statistics when it comes to team defense.
This season, Fordham has held their opponents to an average of 61.3 points per game, that’s good for second in the conference. Their opponents have 41 percent from the field, seventh among A-10 teams.
But there should be a sense of urgency surrounding this team right now. They’ve lost five straight games and are sitting exactly where many predicted they’d finish in the preseason polls. They’re 0-5 conference record has them in last place.
Fordham must rely on their strengths to help get them into the win column. The emphasis has to be on defense, not just because it’s what they do best, but also because the majority of their offense has been sidelined with injuries.
Fordham has played their last four games without three of their top four scorers. Chuba Ohams was leading the team in scoring and rebounding when he went down with a season-ending knee injury in the Rams’ loss to La Salle.
Fordham must stick to what they do best
Neubauer knows his team can’t get into a shootout with opponents. They just don’t have the talent to compete that way.
The head coach acknowledged as much at halftime of Sunday’s home game against Davidson. The Rams took a 41-37 lead into the locker room. Neubauer, when asked by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports for his thoughts, alluded to the 37 points they allowed and cited it as a concern.
The Rams went on to lose to Davidson, 74-62. Their offense stalled in the second half and Davidson got their three-point shot going to put the game away. But Neubauer was right to be concerned.
Fordham is getting solid production from sophomores Onyi Eyisi and Jalen Cobb. Moreover, over the past four games, 70.7 percent of Fordham scoring has come from freshmen and sophomores. That will need to continue as the team works to get healthy again.
But if Fordham is going to get in the win column, they must rely on their defense as the starting and finishing point.
