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Men's basketball opens the 2024-25 season in St. John's

Men's basketball opens the 2024-25 season in St. John's

BRONX, NY (November 3, 2024) – The Fordham men's basketball team will open the 122ndnd season in program history on Monday night when it takes on longtime local rival St. John's at Carnesecca Arena. Kickoff in Queens is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

Alex Faust and Tarik Turner will be in charge on FS1. For the fourth consecutive year, BIG EAST and its media partner Fox Sports on FS1 will provide wrap-around coverage of college basketball's opening night. Similar to NFL RedZone, you can watch parts of the game on FS1, but not the whole thing. If you take the Fordham-St. To watch John's game in its entirety, you'll need to visit FoxSports.com/Live or download the Fox Sports app on your smartphone, tablet or smart TV. You will then be asked to log in with your cable provider's credentials. If your cable package includes FS1, there is no additional charge for this.

The game will also be broadcast live on 90.7 FM WFUV and on the WFUV Sports YouTube page.


The Rams are entering their third season under the head coach Keith Urgowho won more games in his first two seasons as Fordham's head coach than any head coach since Johnny Bach in 1950-51 and 1951-52. The 2023 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year can regain more than 60 percent of his points from a season ago, led by Japheth Medor And Will Richardsonwho both averaged 9.8 points per game in the 2023-24 season. Rising Junior Joshua Rivera averaged 7.7 points in just 18.9 minutes per game in his first year with the Rams.


On the frontcourt, Fordham returns its best rebounder and shot blocker from a season ago in the sixth grade Abdou Tsimbilawho averaged 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, the last of which ranked second in the A-10 and 18Th national.


The Rams welcome back two more upperclassmen who had consistent playing time last season Romad Dean And Zach Riley.


Fordham received and welcomed two key additions to the transfer portal this offseason Jackie Johnson III And Matt Zona to Rosenberg. Johnson began his college career at Duquesne and averaged 9.5 points per game before spending the next two seasons at UNLV. Last season, he appeared in all 34 contests for a Runnin' Rebels team that won 21 games and reached the NIT quarterfinals. Zona returns to New York after four years at Notre Dame. The Blauvelt native played in 33 games as a senior last year, averaging career-highs of 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.


The Rams host four first-year scholarship players: Aleksander Pachucki, Ryan Pettis, Kingston Prize And Jaden Smith. Smith, a 6-foot-11 center, was a four-star recruit according to ESPN and is the Rams' highest-rated prospect since Chris Gaston in 2009. Pettis, a 6-foot-4 guard from East Palo Alto, Calif., played 18 minutes in the Rams' exhibition win over Holy Cross, recording seven points and four steals.


In addition to their win over the Crusaders, Fordham also defeated UMBC at Rose Hill Gym, completing a perfect preseason run. Johnson led the way for the Rams in each of those wins, scoring 20 points against Holy Cross and 23 against UMBC. The senior shot 8 of 17 from long range in those two contests and averaged 6.0 goals per contest.


St. John's enters its second year under the leadership of Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino and enters the season just two spots behind the Associated Press Top 25. The Red Storm were ranked fifth in the BIG by the league's coaches EAST and return five players from last season's team that won 20 games and narrowly missed an NCAA Tournament bid, led by UMass transfer RJ Luis with 10.9 points per game.


During the offseason, St. John's had the top-rated transfer class in the country, according to EvanMiya.com. The Johnnies welcomed Kadary Richmond, an All-BIG EAST first teamer last season, to Seton Hall after averaging 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the NIT Champions. The Johnnies also added transfers Vince Iwuchukwu (USC), Deivon Smith (Utah) and Aaron Scott (North Texas). Smith led the nation and set a Pac-12 record with five triple-doubles last season, averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game for the Utes. Aaron Scott was a force for the Mean Green against Fordham at Barclays Center last season, posting 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the loss.


Fordham and St. John's meet for the 91stst time in the history of the two programs, a series dating back to January 30, 1909. It will be the third game in four years between the New York schools. Fordham is 22-68 all-time in the series and last defeated the Red Storm at Rose Hill Gym during the 2015-16 season. The Rams are 0-19 against the Johnnies at Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) since 1962.

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