The Fordham Rams and the Arkansas Razorbacks meet Friday in college basketball action from Bud Walton Arena. Fordham is fresh off an opener win over Dartmouth to start the season at 1-0. As for Arkansas, they won their opener as well, taking out North Dakota State. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Fordham was a pretty average team last year, going 16-16 overall with an 8-10 run in Atlantic 10 matchups. The Rams finished right around the middle of the conference standings and ultimately lost to Davidson in the A-10 Tournament.
In their first action of the 2022-23 season back on Monday versus Dartmouth, Fordham scored 43 points in the first half and 45 more in the second for an 88-74 win. Leading scorer Darius Quisenberry finished with 20 points, four boards and three assists.
Over on the Arkansas side, they’re coming off a 28-9 overall record last year. The Razorbacks were 13-5 in SEC games for a fourth-place finish behind Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee. Arkansas made it to the Elite Eight in the national tournament.
In their opener versus North Dakota State, the Razorbacks held the Bison to 26 points in the first half on the way to a 76-58 victory. Ricky Council managed 22 points to lead the way, and Trevon Brazile doubled with 21 points and 12 boards.
PICK: I’m likely going to take a stab on Fordham. Granted, I don’t think the Rams will come close to winning but they’re good enough to keep the pace following a solid showing versus Dartmouth. Fordham shot 57.4 percent from the field with 35 rebounds and nine assists in the victory. As for Arkansas, they did well themselves with 49.1 percent shooting and 40 boards in their win over ND State. If Fordham can keep up the shooting percentage in this matchup, I think they can get into a cover.