When Manhattan and Fordham take the floor Thursday night it will be the 105th time the two schools play in one of the richest rivalries in all of college sports.
Dubbed “The Battle of The Bronx,” the Rams and Jaspers have been playing one another for more than a century and with both programs on the rise, the fight for the bragging rights of the borough means more than ever.
“This is what New York needs more of,” Fordham coach Tom Pecora said. “I think the more we play each other in New York, the stronger it makes college basketball in New York. It’s cool to take part in it.”
For Pecora’s Rams, the Manhattan game is their first one at the historic Rose Hill Gym and just one of three non-conference home games to be played in The Bronx.
“They’re going to be fired up for this,” Pecora said of his players. “It’s our first home game and only one in our first 11 contests. I’m a little worried they might be overhyped.”
Manhattan won last year’s contest 81-47 and leads the overall series 54-50. The Jaspers, despite their 1-3 record, come into Rose Hill with lofty expectations after getting star swingman George Beamon back and making the postseason a year ago.
Fordham (1-4) lost just one non-conference game at home last season and upset No. 21 Harvard at Rose Hill last January.
“We understand we have a tough task going into Rose Hill,” Jaspers head coach Steve Masiello said. “I know how hard it is to play in Rose Hill, that’s one of the reasons why we have had games at Louisville, at Dayton and at Harvard. Our guys are used to playing on the road in hostile environments.”
One difference this year is that Fordham will be without star forward Chris Gaston, who is out after having knee surgery this month.
Masiello said losing Gaston makes Fordham a different team, but no less dangerous.
“Very dangerous, they have a lot of good pieces,” Masiello said. “They have a lot of depth. They can hurt you in a variety of ways. In a game like this, guys are going to look to step up and show what they’re made of.”
Just 10 minutes away from one another, the two schools have passionate fan bases that add to the rivalry.
“You’ll see a lot of Manhattan and Fordham fans going to the game together and a lot of fans picking up dinner checks after it,” Masiello said.
As for Masiello and Pecora, the friendly rivals have not made a dinner bet on the outcome, but they both know where they would eat after the game.
“One thing is certain, Steve and I would both pick Italian restaurants,” Pecora said.