Hatchet article seems to indicate that fans will be allowed this Sunday https://www.gwhatchet.com/2022/01/27/in-person-gatherings-to-resume-beginning-next-week-as-cases-decline/

Fans will be allowed: 

https://gwsports.com/news/2022/1/27/mens-basketball-university-to-reopen-events-for-fans-and-students-on-sunday-january-30th.aspx

Fordham Rams

Date/Time: Sunday January 30th @ 12:00 PM ET at The Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC.
TV: USA Network
Preseason Ranks: 245th (KenPom), 242nd (Bart Torvik), 290th (CBS), 226th (SI)
2020-21 Record: 2-12, 2-11 (14th in A10)
2021-22 Projected Record: 14-16, 7-11 (T-9th in A10)

Coach: Kyle Neptune, first season at Fordham. Neptune is a native of Brooklyn and played college basketball at Lehigh, making the NCAA tournament in 2004. He played professionally a couple years (in Lithuania and Puerto Rico) before returning to the states to start his coaching career. Neptune has been an assistant at both Villanova (was previously video coordinator) and Niagara before winning the Fordham head coaching gig.

Head-to-Head: 29-9, and we beat the Rams in both meetings last season. In the regular season matchup, we won at Rose Hill 71-47 against all odds after JNJ and Maceo left the team. Jamison finished with a team-high 24 points (to go with 4 rebounds), James had 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists (4/5 from deep), and Sloan had 11 points off the bench in one of his best games as a Colonial. Fordham shot under 30% from the field and was brutal all around as they were coming off an extended COVID pause.

Offensive Efficiency: 280th (KenPom), 285th (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 90th (KenPom), 76th (Bart Torvik) - if we are talking about identity, at least Fordham has always had a good defense even though they've been brutal offensively in the recent past.
Pace: 138th (KenPom), 130th (Bart Torvik) - Neptune has significantly increased Fordham's pace offensively as they've shifted to a guard-oriented attack.
Returning Minutes: 50.8% (249th in country)

Key Returning Players:
Jalen Cobb** (Junior; Atlanta, GA) 7.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.7 SPG; 30% FG, 23% 3-PT, 65% FT (out for season)
       2020-21 season @ Fordham: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; 1-10 FG, 0-4 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 28 minutes.

Josh Colon-Navarro (Senior; Carolina, PR) 6.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.8 APG; 29% FG, 28% 3-PT, 77% FT
       2020-21 season @ Fordham: 14 points; 5-10 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 3-4 FT in 27 minutes.

Chuba Ohams (RS Senior; Bronx, NY) 6 PPG, 6 RPG; 43% FG
       2020-21 season @ Fordham: DNP

Kyle Rose (Sophomore; Upper Marlboro, MD) 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.4 SPG; 30% FG, 25% 3-PT, 58% FT
      2020-21 season @ Fordham: 0 points; 0-3 FG, 0-1 3-PT in 17 minutes.

Key Losses:
Chris Austin (Transferred to Portland; Pasadena, CA) 11.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG; 41% FG, 32% 3-PT, 81% FT
Joel Soriano (Transferred to St. John's; Yonkers, NY) 10.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG; 55% FG, 56% FT
Tyrone 'Ty' Perry (Transferred to Buffalo; Boston, MA) 7.5 PPG, 2 RPG; 33% FG, 30% 3-PT, 80% FT

Key Losses During Season: (This is a special section for Fordham because they can't have nice things)
Antonio Daye Jr. (Transferred to Coastal Carolina; Durham, NC) 16.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.4 SPG; 46% FG, 26% 3-PT, 76% FT

Comments:
Ah, good ol' Fordham. Coming off three consecutive seasons in the cellar, Neubauer entered last season squarely on the hot seat. To be fair, I'm not sure what he could have possibly done to lift Fordham from doormat status in the A10. Fordham has only had 1 season where they've finished above .500 in the past 15 years, which was year 1 under Neubauer (17-14). Fordham has also not made the NCAA tournament since the 1991-92 season (when they were in the Patriot League). This is simply just a tough job in the A10, although Fordham's administration has expressed a recent desire to field a better basketball team in the A10. After a 1-7 start to the year (I could talk about their COVID issues, but Fordham would have sucked regardless), the administration ultimately decided to pull the plug on the Neubauer era. Neubauer did not depart without leaving us with some memorable moments, from that picture taken at practice to his locker room celebration after a win over Dayton.

In steps Kyle Neptune. Former Villanova assistants haven't been great thus far in the A10 (Lange and Howard have had virtually no success recreating the Wildcat offense at a lower level) but hopefully the third time's the charm in the A10. The introductory press conference didn't start off great when Fordham's president introduced Neptune as the next head football coach (d'oh!) but Neptune has certainly made his mark since then. Fordham currently sits 190th in KenPom, and as you can see from the preseason ranks above, there's no doubt Neptune has made considerable strides in The Bronx in year 1. Having said that, it's important to look at a two season sample size before concluding that things are going in the right direction. Neubauer had Fordham 161st in his first year, only to fall below 200th in year 2, and then completely fall off the rails in the years after that. The Rams are currently 9-9 on the year. They have good mid-major wins against Akron (by 20) and Rice (by 10) but have also fallen to Maryland Eastern Shore. The close Miami (FL) loss by 6 has aged well recently.

The cupboard was pretty bare for Neptune whether players on last year's team transferred or not - there were only 5 teams in D1 with a worse offense than the Rams last season. Having said that, it's still worth mentioning that Fordham's top three scorers departed. Austin opted to return to the west coast, aiming to lift another bottom-tier program, Portland, out of a very good WCC (are we thinking four bids this year?). Apparently, Soriano leaving Fordham was a "mutual" decision between Neptune and Soriano, and he ultimately traveled 16 miles to St. John's where he has been a solid piece in the Red Storm rotation. Perry was one of the better shooters on Fordham (not saying a lot, but still) but seemed to have lost his touch last season.

Neptune had his work cut out for him this past offseason, but there was still a trio of guards who ultimately decided to remain with the team, providing a starting place to build from. Jalen Cobb, Josh Colon-Navarro, and Kyle Rose provided at least a bit of continuity while Neptune started bringing his own guys in. It never hurts to have A10 experience, whether it's been positive or not. Unfortunately for the Rams, Cobb (the leading returning scorer) suffered a season-ending injury in the offseason (because it's Fordham) but Navarro and Rose have played a sizable role in the rotation this season.

Both were capable passers coming into the year (and Rose in particular showed promise as an on-ball defender) but shooting the ball was a struggle for the two, much like the rest of the Fordham roster. It's amazing how a change in system changed things for both. I couldn't tell you what the hell Fordham was running under Neubauer, but Neptune's system that emphasizes shooting and allows the guards to make plays has done wonders for both Navarro's and Rose's game. Both are now shooting over 37% from three this year which will at the very least need to be tracked going into tomorrow's game.

The only other returner of note is veteran Chuba Ohams. Ohams has struggled with injuries over his Fordham career, which likely explains why it feels like he's been around for 10 seasons. When he's fully healthy, Ohams is a force. He averages a double double on the season (14 points, and a team-high 11 rebounds) but unfortunately injury issues have caught up with him yet again recently. Ohams has missed Fordham's last two games, and his status remains up in the air for tomorrow's contest.

The rest of the roster are new additions to the team. Neptune isn't afraid to go 9 deep. The alpha of the Fordham team is former Youngstown State Penguin Darius Quisenberry (there should be more Penguin mascot teams in D1, but that's just my opinion). He has the green light to shoot any time he has the ball - he has nearly 100 more shot attempts than the next player on Fordham's roster - which has hurt his efficiency at times. Still, Quisenberry is shooting a respectable 35% from distance and 81% from the line so it will be all about limiting him the best we can tomorrow.

The question for Fordham moving forward is who steps into the #2 role now that former Florida International transfer Antonio Daye Jr. is no longer on the squad (Daye recently announced he's transferring to Coastal Carolina, which is a lot closer to home). The Rams could withstand an off-night from Quisenberry when Daye was on the team. He was less of a shooter and more of a penetrator, but was also the best passer on the team (and one of the better defenders) which is a pretty big loss for Fordham. I found it hard to believe that he picked Fordham over Kansas (was Kansas that interested?), but maybe there was something the Jayhawks saw in the offseason.

Perhaps former JUCO Antrell Charlton can replace a good chunk of Daye's production. Charlton is a versatile player who is very disruptive as a defender (he paces Fordham in steals) and is a strong complementary passer (second in assists after Daye). He contributes in a lot of ways, but shooting is not one of his strengths as he is under 40% on the season. The aforementioned Navarro and Rose definitely have the prior experience to maybe step into that secondary scoring role.

Coming off the bench for Fordham will be former Mississippi Valley State Delta Devil Kam'Ron Cunningham, Penn State transfers Abdou Tsimbila and Patrick Kelly, and true freshman Ahmad Harrison. Cunningham is transferring about 50 levels up, but was one of MVSU's better scorers last year. He has predictably struggled shooting the ball at the A10 level (kudos to the Delta Devils though - no longer the worst team in D1! Yikes, IUPUI...). Tsimbila and Kelly add rebounding, but aren't real factors scoring the ball. Harrison has similarly struggled, but Neptune is hoping he can be the point guard of the future in due time. He attended National Christian Academy, which is the same prep school that Brayon attended his senior year of HS.

No game is going to be easy for us in the A10, but this game and the home contest against La Salle have to be wins for there to be a belief JC has this thing going in the right direction. The schedule starts getting a bit harder than that after those games. Fordham is strong defensively, and will surely try to zone us (at least they did under Neubauer; I know Jay Wright likes to run the 1-2-2 zone from time-to-time so Neptune may consider it at the very least). The key may be hitting Lindo and playing through him more tomorrow. We of course will have to make outside shots, which is our achilles heel. I see this being a likely low scoring game, but I think we match up pretty well with Fordham if Ohams remains out.

Projected Score: Fordham 67, GW 66. 45% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us a 53% chance to win. Fordham opens up as a 1 point road favorite.
 

Looks like no Brown again today.

Freeman
Bishop
Bamisile
Samuels 
Dean

Apparently Dave Paulsen is/was(?) a special advisor to Fordham.  How is he allowed to call the game? /half-joking

Daring us to shoot 3s, which is the right strategy but Adams and Samuels (?) hit early.

Great start, strong D and a pair of 3s
 

Lindo looks like he's in quicksand. People say Lee was the biggest loss this year but Lindo has been much more disappointing. Too much one on one and one on five still. 7-0 Fordham run.

Dean playing outside the circle on offense ... anyone have any idea why?