Fordham coach's warning ahead of games against St. John's, Seton Hall: 'The A-10 is stacked this year'

As the 2024-25 college basketball season comes to a close on Monday, Fordham men's basketball coach Keith Urgo has a message for the teams facing the Rams and other Atlantic 10 programs this year.

“You’re going to have four or five (Atlantic 10) teams beating Power 5 teams in the non-conference,” Urgo told NJ Advance Media by phone Sunday. “The A-10 is stacked this year.”

Fordham, picked 14th in the 15-team A-10, will get two immediate chances to knock off its Big East opponents when it hosts St. John's at Carnesecca Arena on Monday night before Saturday's game Comfortable Walsh Gym takes on Seton Hall this afternoon. Rick Pitino's team was picked to finish fifth in the Big East, while Shaheen Holloway's Pirates finished 10th.

Urgo said the St. John's game was originally scheduled for Madison Square Garden, but “Richard (Pitino) is coming to town with New Mexico (Nov. 17), so we were attacked and coach (Rick Pitino) is great enough.” “To keep playing us.” He said the Seton Hall game was originally scheduled for the Prudential Center but was moved to Walsh after “something got mixed up with the date.”

“These are great early tests for us and we're happy to prepare for the A-10, which I think is going to be as high-caliber as it gets right now,” Urgo said of bringing in two Big East opponents to play Start of the season.

Urgo listed several other ways for A-10 schools to beat top-ranked programs in the non-conference. VCU, picked to win the A-10, will face Seton Hall in the Charleston Classic on Nov. 21. Dayton, picked second, will face preseason No. 9 North Carolina in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25. “Don’t be surprised if they win this,” Urgo said. St. Joe's, picked third in the A-10, faces fellow Big 5 member Villanova and Texas Tech in the non-conference.

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“In the last two years, the A-10 had the second most transfers of any league in the country,” Urgo said. “The transfers didn’t leave (the A-10) this year. Not only did they stay, we brought a bunch with us.”

VCU is averaging a league-high 65 percent of its scoring compared to last season's 24-14 team, which finished fourth with an 11-7 mark.

Dayton, led by preseason all-conference selections Nate Santos and Posh Alexander, finished 25-8 overall last year. The Flyers added former St. John's and Butler guard Alexander and former Ohio State forward Zed Key.

St. Joe's is led by preseason first-team selection Erik Reynolds II and second-team selection Xzayvier Brown. Urgo called them “arguably the best backcourt in the country,” which might be news to folks in North Carolina, Duke, Arkansas and elsewhere.

For the Rams, Urgo brought in former Notre Dame forward Matt Zona and former UNLV guard Jackie Johnson III. Zona was a collegiate standout at Bergen Catholic, where he worked with current Fordham sophomore guard Will Richardson for two years.

“We have one of the oldest teams in America,” Urgo said. “I have two sixth graders, a fifth grader, two other seniors and three juniors who are all in their 20s.”

As for St. John's, which beat Rutgers in a preseason charity event last month, coming off a combined 49 points from Zuby Ejiofor (27 points, 13 rebounds) and RJ Luis (22 points), Urgo knows the Red Storm has one will be a tough test.

“St. John’s, they have a lot of depth, a lot of athleticism,” the coach said. “We have to keep them off the offensive glass; They do a great job of smashing the offensive glass like they did in their two exhibition games against Rutgers and Towson. And for us, of course, it's about being physically active and taking care of basketball. We need to make sure we don’t allow them to drop out in the transitions and grab easy transitions so the audience can join in.”

When it comes to Seton Hall, Urgo said he won't turn his attention to the new-look Pirates, who feature eight transfers and two freshmen, later this week.

“Seton Hall, you just know that because of Shaheen they're going to be incredibly tough, mean and physical, so they're going to play us harder than anyone we play all year and that's the way “We’re playing,” Urgo said.

“Again, if we take care of the basketball and are physical on the plate, we can compete against virtually anyone we play against.”

Fordham will have two early chances to knock off Big East opponents, and Urgo says the A-10 as a whole will pull off some surprises in the next few weeks.

“There are a lot of opportunities for a lot of the A-10 to make some noise outside of the conference this year,” he said, “and I think you’ll see some of that.”

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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his website ZAGSBLOG.com.