Rutgers came to the big city looking to keep the good times rolling, but the game started with a thud. Fordham attacked the paint early and Rutgers missed several shots near the rim, including three in a row by Deshawn Freeman. That led to head coach Steve Pikiell calling a timeout just three minutes into the game with his team trailing 8-2.
While the team responded out of the timeout with a Candido Sa dunk and a Corey Sanders three-pointer, Fordham took advantage of bad transition defense with back to back layups and led 12-10 with 11+ minutes to play in the first half.