Fordham Basketball: Stories to Follow in Atlantic 10 Tournament
Fordham closed out its regular season Saturday with a 66-52 loss to St. Bonaventure.
It was the second straight season that the Rams have won just nine regular-season games.
They'll go for their 10th win of the season Wednesday night when the Atlantic 10 tournament gets underway at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Similar to last year, Fordham will once again face George Mason in its A-10 opener. While nobody is predicting they'll win the tournament, the Rams still have a lot to play for.
The past, present and future will all be on display when Fordham takes the floor at Barclays. Here are the most important stories you'll want to follow.
Honorable Mention: This Is It for Bryan Smith
Ordinarily, one wouldn't pay too much attention or get too sentimental about a team's sixth-leading scorer. But for the second year in a row, Fordham enters the A-10 tournament with only one senior who plays significant minutes.
Bryan Smith only averaged 6.2 points per game this season, but after he was inserted into the starting lineup in mid-January, the senior elevated his game. In five of the Rams' final seven games, he reached double digits in points, and all along, he provided veteran leadership they so desperately needed.
Head coach Tom Pecora has called him a "Fordham man." Smith's college career will end in a few days. A big performance or two this week will keep him part of the conversation about Fordham basketball for a little bit longer.
No. 3: On the Big Stage, Youth Will Be Front and Center
So much has been said about the Rams' youth. There's good reason for that. They played this season with seven freshmen, one sophomore, and just three upperclassmen.
The three biggest names ended up being Eric Paschall (freshman), Christian Sengfelder (freshman) and Jon Severe (sophomore). All three will have plenty of eyes on them this week in Brooklyn.
Paschall injured his ankle last week in practice and missed the Rams' last two games. He's expected to play Wednesday night, and they'll need him to play well if they're going to get to Thursday.
Paschall averaged 16.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this year. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice. He's arguably the school's biggest recruit since it joined the conference 20 years ago. He'll need to be healthy and productive if the Rams are going to advance.
Meanwhile, Sengfelder has been a gem. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Week five times and was perhaps Fordham's most consistent player all season. He averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game; quite frankly, he brings it every night. He'll have to bring it to Brooklyn this week.
Finally, it was a disappointing season for Severe, who averaged 17.3 points as a freshman but followed that up with a rough sophomore campaign. There was an early-season suspension, then a leave of absence and lackluster play when he returned. Severe only averaged 6.6 points per game and struggled just to get playing time for a good portion of the season. If he gets hot, Fordham has a chance to extend its season.
No 2: After Another Difficult Regular Season, How Will Fordham Respond?
It seems like this has been the familiar mantra over the last two decades of basketball at Fordham: The next game is the most important, a chance for the Rams to get things right.
If you think the last 20 seasons have produced some rough moments—Fordham is 76-246 against conference opponents and 4-14 this year—try this on for size: The Rams have won only five conference tournament games.
They enter this year's tournament having lost their last three games. The Rams played 18 A-10 games and lost 14. They suffered through a nine-game losing streak when conference play began. They had two demoralizing losses early, first to UMass Lowell and then to Maryland Eastern Shore.
That Fordham was able to win four conference games could be considered an accomplishment when so many other things went wrong this year. The fact that the conference is so good and the Rams are so young were factors as well.
It will be interesting to see how Fordham responds. They could correct a lot of wrongs with a few good days in Brooklyn.
No 1: Win Wednesday Night, and Go from There
More than anything, Fordham needs a win. Wednesday night, it could get one.
Last year, after losing its final eight regular-season games, Fordham beat George Mason in the play-in game of the A-10 tournament before losing the next day to a better Dayton team.
This year, they'll once again face the Patriots on opening night of the tournament. If they win, they'll play VCU Thursday afternoon, where, like last year, they'll be heavy underdogs.
Nobody should expect the Rams to beat VCU, but it's realistic to think they could advance past Wednesday.
Fordham and George Mason have faced each other four times. The Rams have won all four. Three weeks ago, Fordham beat George Mason on the road 80-68. Both teams are 4-14 in conference play, and both have nine overall wins. This is more than a winnable game. It's one the Rams have to get.
Beyond that? Well, let's get to Thursday first.
Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. A full archive of his articles can be found here. Follow him on Twitter: @CFCostello