The Bronx will be the place to be Saturday afternoon as No. 11 Butler comes into the historic Rose Hill Gym to square off against Fordham.
The Bulldogs (20-5, 7-3 Atlantic 10) are the first ranked team to come into Fordham’s home gym since last January when the Rams upset Harvard.
Butler is coming off of its third conference loss of the season after Charlotte stunned the Bulldogs 71-67 on Wednesday night.
Regardless of Fordham’s struggles, coach Brad Stevens’ team is treating this game like a dogfight.
”No matter who you play, it’s a 40-minute game that starts [scoreless],” Stevens said. “There’s no change in how you approach each game based on what happened in the last. My expectations are that [Fordham] will play their very best and they’re very capable.”
Butler and Fordham (6-19, 2-8 A-10) will be getting significant frontcourt boosts, with Andrew Smith and Chris Gaston returning for their respective teams.
Smith, averaging more than 11 points and five rebounds per game, was originally expected to miss the game, but was cleared to practice and play after being re-evaluated by Butler’s staff.
”The bottom line is whoever is in there has to play well against those guys,” Stevens said. “[Fordham] has excellent rebounders. They have a good front line.”
Gaston, the Rams’ leading scorer and rebounder for the past three seasons, has missed 13 games this season with a knee injury and should provide the Rams with some much needed help on the offensive end.
”Chris’ minutes won’t be what they usually are, but it will be good to have him in the lineup,” Fordham coach Tom Pecora said. “I think he’s a good scorer. What he gives you is that great motor and the ability to get the ball off the backboard. Having him back for this run hopefully makes a difference.”
Several Fordham players, including Gaston and leading scorer Branden Frazier, played significant roles in last year’s 60-54 upset win over the Crimson, which serves as proof the Rams could pull off another miracle.
”I think it’s going to be tremendous college basketball environment,” Pecora said. “We’ve had nationally ranked teams in here and we’ve beaten them in the past.”
Butler joined the A-10 this season after becoming a nationally known program having been to back-to-back NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011. The Rams and Bulldogs have met one other time in the schools’ history, a 94-80 win for Butler on March 12, 1959 in the first round of the NIT.