The Robert Morris men’s basketball team knows one thing for certain: they have one game remaining this season. After that, the future is unknown for this team, who just six months ago was picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League, and received no first place votes in the preseason poll.
Since then, the Colonials have undergone a transformative season, going 26-8 overall and 15-5 in conference, including winning 16 of their past 17. The only thing preventing this team from extending this historical season: a matchup against second seeded Alabama in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We knew we were going get a super team whoever we played,” head coach Andy Toole said on Sunday following the announcement of the Colonials’ opponent. “We knew it was going to be a top-10, top-15 team. Alabama is a great program, a great team, and we know they’re going to be on the top of their game.”
The Crimson Tide enters the Big Dance coming off a magical finish last year, where the team made the Final Four for the first time in program history. This season, they finished 25-8, before losing in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Now, Alabama enter as one of the betting favorites to be crowned champion, and they have the numbers to back it up.
Alabama led the SEC in offensive output, by a large margin, too. The Tide averaged 91.1 points per game, six points more than second-ranked Florida. The downside is that the team also led the SEC in points allowed, giving up an average of 81.4 points to opponents.
On the flip side, RMU finished fourth in the Horizon League in offense, and second in defense. The Colonials averaged 76.9 points per game on the offensive side of the court, while only allowing 70.4 to opposing teams.
While the two teams have put up similar numbers on paper, the Tide enter the game on a slight slump, due in large part to injuries and their level of opponent. Alabama has lost five of their last nine games, while RMU comes in on a ten game winning streak and winning 16 of their last 17.
Something backing the Colonials, too, will be the fact the Tide might be without one of their best players, Grant Nelson. Nelson is second on the team in scoring, and leads the team in rebounds and blocks. Alabama head coach, Nate Oats, said on his radio show Tuesday morning that Nelson is questionable for the game Friday.
No matter who is on the court for the Crimson Tide, Coach Toole has continued to reiterate the sentiment he’s held all season, especially in the Colonials’ playoff games of late.
“[We have to] be aggressive,” he said. “No one’s expecting much of us, so let’s go play, let’s go be aggressive, let’s go do what we do. We don’t have to do anything that’s spectacular, we just have to do what we’ve done all year long, again, at a high level, and at the best we’ve done it.”
One benefit for the Horizon League champs will be the location of Friday’s game, Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, just a two hour drive from the Colonials home of Moon Township, just outside Pittsburgh.
The game marks a homecoming of sorts for some members of Robert Morris. Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, Amarion Dickerson, is from Cleveland, and DJ Smith and Ryan Prather spent time near the city, playing at Bowling Green and Akron, respectively.
For Dickerson, the chance to put a bow on what’s been a stellar season on his home court is an opportunity he doesn’t want to pass on.
“As a kid, your dreams always as a basketball player to be able to get to this stage, so being able to get here and play in front of a hometown crowd, it’s a blessing.” Dickerson said. “I never thought I’d be where I’m at now, being here at Robert Morris, I count all my blessings, I’m grateful.”
The location isn’t the only connection between RMU and their first round matchup. The Colonials have faced Alabama before, losing 64-56 in Tuscaloosa in January of 2014. Ironically, that same season, Toole and his men would make the NIT and win in the first round against St. John’s.
Another connection is Kam Woods, an Alabama native who played for Troy previously in his collegiate career. Woods also knows what it takes to be a Cinderella in tournament, playing for the 11th ranked NC State team who made the Final Four last year.
“This year I’m playing more, and I’m a bigger factor in us playing well,” Woods said on the difference between this year and last. “Even though we made the Final Four, I feel like this year, this feeling, is more unreal than last year.”
Woods has indeed been a main factor in the Colonials’ late season success. The senior averaged 19 points and 5 assists for RMU in the Horizon League tournament alone, earning him the conference tournament MVP award and finalist for the Riley Wallace award for the most impactful transfer in Division I basketball.
With the date, time, and location set and the storylines aplenty, all that’s left is for the Colonials to take the court and show why they are only the fourth team to double as regular-season and tournament champions in the Horizon League in the last decade.
Tip-off is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. on Friday at Rocket Arena. The Colonials will face the Tide in the first matchup of Friday’s games in Cleveland.
