The Razorbacks are back at home for another tune-up ahead of the Maui Invitational. Nick Smith is still expected to be out, and Eric Musselman says several Hogs are banged up, though all the players he mentioned played after getting hurt against North Dakota State.
Let’s meet the opponent: the Fordham Rams, who present a very different challenge than North Dakota State.
Fordham is on its third coach in three years, although the offseason transition to new coach Keith Urgo was not a hard one. After years in the cellar of the Atlantic 10, the Rams hired longtime Villanova assistant Kyle Neptune, who coached Fordham last season. But when Jay Wright retired after the season, the Wildcats called Neptune, who replaces his mentor. Urgo, a longtime Villanova staffer who started as a video assistant and was already on Neptune’s staff at Fordham, was promoted to head coach.
Last year’s Rams
Fordham went 16-16 in 2022, which was already a significant improvement over previous seasons, including 2021, when they went 2-12 in Jeff Neubauer’s final season. They finished a respectable 188th in adjusted scoring margin.
The Rams were among the nation’s most imbalanced teams last year, ranking 325th in offensive efficiency and 31st in defensive efficiency. They chased shooters off the perimeter and defended at the rim very well, thanks largely to big man Chuba Ohams (15 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg). They also were very good at forcing turnovers.
Offensively, the less said, the better. Like any Villanova-influenced team, they took a lot of 3-pointers, but those didn’t go in (336th). In fact, almost none of their shots went in, and they finished 346th in effective field goal percentage. As if that wasn’t enough, they turned the ball over too often and were merely average at getting to the free throw line.
This year’s Rams
Ohams is gone, but the Rams return most of their other major contributors, including last year’s leading scorer, guard Darius Quisenberry, who had 20 points in the season-opening 88-74 win over Dartmouth.
Here’s a quick scouting report:
- Veteran guards are key to the offense, as all three starters from last year are back. Fordham played fairly fast last year, but the Rams were very fast in the opener, scoring 25 points in transition thanks to very decisive guardplay.
- Fordham’s offensive scheme is very good at punishing defenders who do not rotate properly. This ia big threat for a young Arkansas team.
- The defense is all about rim protection. It was a strength last year, and the Rams held Dartmouth to 40% shooting at the rim with seven blocked shots.
- Chasing shooters off the perimeter was a strength last year, but Fordham struggled with that in the opener, repeatedly failing to rotate against Dartmouth’s offense and giving up a ton of open 3-pointers.
4-Out Offense
Fordham runs the Villanova offense, which is usually referred to as “4-out spacing” or “4-out motion”. Four players are generally spaced on the perimeter, while one – usually a center with more limited ball skills – mostly stays in the “dunker” position in the post:
Sequences typically begin with a pass to the wing, followed by a rotation by the two slots and the weakside wing. The wing with the ball will look for an early post entry. From there, the Rams have a basic set of reactions to what the defense gives them, like any motion offense. A common tactic is a “split action”, where a player will cut to the basket after passing or screening, trying to split defenders who are attempting a switch.
The good spacing that you see from this offense is similar to what the Hogs have seen from Colgate and Vermont in the last two NCAA Tournaments. If the Razorbacks are slow to deal with switches, then the Rams will rain open 3-pointers on them.
But Fordham will have the ability to punish bad defense even if they struggle to hit 3-pointers. One of the big things Jay Wright was known for at Villanova was coaching his players to get tremendous dribble penetration off the catch. You’ll see Fordham’s wings play low on the catch, allowing them to immediately pull up or drive if their defender is late coming over:
It’s been just one game, but so far, Fordham’s veteran guards look much more decisive than last year. The Rams are also much more athletic than North Dakota State, so it will be interesting to see how the Hogs defend.
Defense
The major concern for Fordham was that Dartmouth – 255th in offensive efficiency last year – had a strong game offensively. The Big Green avoided turnovers and repeatedly got wide-open 3-point looks, ultimately hitting 11 of 24 from downtown. Fordham was late to react far too often.
The Rams will play man-to-man defense. They blocked seven Dartmouth shots in the opener and held the Big Green to just 40% shooting at the rim. Rim defense was also a strength last year, so that’s worth watching.
Personnel
- Darius Quisenberry, SG, 6’2. Team’s leading scorer a year ago and had 20 points in the opener. He needed 18 field goals and three free throws to get 20 points, so it wasn’t an overly efficient performance, but he’s their volume guy. For the game, he graded at 61 and the Rams were +8 in his 36 minutes (and +6 in the four he was off the floor).
- Antrell Charlton, PG, 6’5. The focus on Quisenberry might have helped Charlton, who hit 7 of 9 shots and dished out three assists without a turnover, helping him grade at 82 while the Rams were +13 during his team-high 38 minutes. Charlton was a fine starter last year, grading at 61 for the season due mostly to his defense, but if his improved shooting sticks, he could be their best all-around player.
- Kyle Rose, CG, 6’4. Rose was a low-usage starter last year, but he might have been Fordham’s best player on the opener, scoring 11 points and grading at 92. Most impressively, the Rams were +14 in his 18 minutes (+0 in the 22 minutes he was off the floor)
- Khalid Moore, PF, 6’7. Another high-volume scorer, Moore had 18 points and seven rebounds in the opener, but graded at just 59 thanks to four turnovers. He hit 8 of 11 shots in the opener, but the issue throughout his long career has been a poor shooting percentage despite a high volume of attempts.
- Abdou Tsimbila, PF, 6’9. His main task is replacing last year’s rim protector, Chuba Ohams. He had six points, six boards, and two blocks in the opener, grading at just 42 because he hit just 2 of 6 shots turned it over a couple of times.
- Rostyslav Novitskyi, C, 6’10. This Ukrainian rim protector came off the bench and was more effective than Tsimbila in the opener, blocking three shots in 13 minutes.
- Romad Dean, SF, 6’7. The true freshman scored seven points in his collegiate debut, grading at an impressive 92.
Keys to the Game
Be decisive at the rim. Fordham has a very good rim defense and has multiple shot blockers on the roster. The Hogs will likely get plenty of opportunities to score around the rim, but off-balanced or indecisive attempts under the hoop could be returned to sender.
Rotate, rotate, rotate. The Rams will move the ball constantly around the perimeter, waiting for the defense to miss a rotation. Catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, dribble drives, and basket cuts are all threats for the Fordham offense. The Hogs can’t get lazy and over-rely on athleticism alone when rotating.
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