Rhode Island and Fordham will conclude their regular season on Saturday, with both teams entering the matchup holding identical records of 16-14 overall and 7-10 in Atlantic 10 conference play. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This contest marks the 79th meeting between the two programs and their second encounter this season. Rhode Island leads the all-time series, 43-35, but Fordham has claimed victory in three of the last four games, including a 70-66 overtime win earlier this year at Rhode Island. In that game, Rhode Island led throughout regulation but failed to score a field goal in the final minutes or in overtime. Fordham’s DeJour Reaves, Rikus Schulte, and Christian Henry combined for 52 points in that matchup, while Tyler Cochran led Rhode Island with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Both teams are tied for ninth place in the Atlantic 10 standings heading into Saturday’s game. The outcome will determine seeding for next week’s conference championship tournament. The losing team will enter as the No. 10 seed and play Thursday at 5 p.m., while a win by Rhode Island would secure them a spot in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game at 11:30 a.m.
Saint Louis has already secured the top seed for the Atlantic 10 Championship, with VCU set as No. 2 and Dayton and Saint Joseph’s earning double byes as well. George Mason holds the fifth seed position, while seeds six through ten—including Davidson, George Washington, Duquesne, Fordham, and Rhode Island—will be finalized after Saturday’s games.
Rose Hill Gymnasium, where Saturday’s contest takes place, is notable as the oldest active gymnasium used by a Division I program since its opening in 1925.
Rhode Island is aiming to clinch its second consecutive winning season and achieve its fourth straight year of increased conference wins; they improved from five A-10 victories in 2022-23 to seven so far this season.
A highlight for Rhode Island has been Tyler Cochran’s defensive performance this year. Cochran recorded six steals against Duquesne last week—his fifth game this season with five or more steals—and now has accumulated 81 steals on the year. He is seven away from tying Tom Garrick’s single-season program record of 88 set during the 1987-88 campaign. Fatts Russell is another former player who surpassed eighty steals in one season with eighty-six during the 2019-20 campaign.
Cochran currently ranks fourth nationally in total steals and third in steals per game (2.7). He also set a new school record earlier this season with nine steals against Stonehill on November 11, surpassing Fatts Russell’s previous mark of eight set against Saint Louis on March 1, 2020.
Previously recognized as MAC Defensive Player of the Year at Toledo last season, Cochran had twice recorded sixty-two steals before his current career-high mark at Rhode Island this year.
As a team, Rhode Island has registered a total of two hundred fifty-nine steals so far this season—the sixth highest single-season total in program history.
