Friday, February 28, 2014

Regular season finale: Robert Morris at Wagner

Robert Morris (19-11, 14-1) at Wagner (17-11, 11-4 NEC)
When: Saturday March (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) 1st, 6pm
Where: Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island NY
KenPom: RMU 156, Wagner 176
Link/TV: Root Sports, MSG, Fox College Sports
Storyline: Robert Morris and Wagner square off on national TV in a final tuneup before the NEC tournament begins Wednesday March 5th. The game has no impact on the final standings, but RMU still has a lot to play for. A win, and the Colonials are the first one loss NEC team in the NEC since 2001.

Folks, MARCH IS HERE!

The best month of year is here. Finally! It's March, and the madness is RIGHT around the corner. Before the NEC tournament gets going next week, there is one more Saturday full of NEC regular season games. Four of the five have major implications on the league standings and playoff positioning.

The game that does not?
A handy tie breakers chart (Craig D'Amico).

RMU vs Wagner.

Oddly enough, this game, circled by everyone as possibly the game of the year, has no meaning on the league tournament. The Colonials are the one seed, the Seahawks are the two need. No matter what the result Saturday night, that isn't changing.

However, both teams have a lot to play for. Let's start with Wagner....

Getting to know the Seahawks:

Currently there is one team as hot, if not hotter then RMU.

It's Wagner.

The Seahawks have won seven in a row, and clinched the two seed Thursday night with an impressive 74-45 victory over St Francis PA.

They lost one of their better players for the season, guard Jay Harris was suspended for the year a few weeks back, but guys like Latif Rivers, Kenny Ortiz, and Naofall Folahan have picked up their play.

The Seahawks also have the best statistical defense in the league. They have a 94.7 adjusted defensive rating in conference per KenPom, and are led by the best rim protector (Folahan) in the NEC, and the two time defensive player of the year, Ortiz. For those of you not up to speed on advanced statistics, a 94.7 rating is REALLLLY good.

They are still deep despite the loss of Harris, going at least two deep at every position, and no team in the league can match their size and athleticism.

At times they lack the offense to keep up with teams like Robert Morris (see the first meeting back on January 25th) and other top tier offenses. That was the main reason they were upset last season by LIU Brooklyn in the NEC tournament. Rivers is really the only consistent scoring threat, and will need to play well in the NEC tournament for Wagner to advance far.

While the Seahawks have clinched the two seed, they still have a lot to play for come Saturday. A win over 14-1 RMU would do wonders for a team that has struggled at times against the league's best the past few years.

Another big key for Wagner? Figuring out the Colonials matchup style 2-3 zone. In the last matchup, Robert Morris was without the services of big man Stephan Hawkins due to foul trouble for much of the game. He only played 14 minutes, and grabbed only one rebound in that contest. When Hawk was on the floor, Wagner really struggled to manufacture points in the half court.

If Wagner is to win the NEC tournament, they will likely have to beat RMU in the process, so figuring out a few ways to beat that 2-3 would certainly help.

Wagner also has a fighting chance, if they are to win the NEC tournament, to pickup a 15 seed in the NCAA tournament. In order for that to happen, they need to beat Robert Morris, probably twice. So down he road it could be a beneficial win.

What the Colonials have on the line....

First off, much like Thursday night, my number one wish....

NO INJURIES!!

I would also like to see a few less minutes for Karvel Anderson (39 Thursday) and Ant Myers Pate (38 Thursday). Andy Toole chose to rest Hawk and get that ankle healed up, which was a good call, but it forced him to play Vel and Ant a lot more then I'm sure he wanted to. Hopefully this game, they each play less then 28 minutes (which is around their per-game average).

RMU needs a healthy, fresh "Crazy 8" come Wednesday.

The Colonials will also be shooting for their 20th win of the season. Getting to 20 wins is always an accomplishment, but doing it with a 5-10 non-conference record is even more impressive. Oh yea, there's the whole eight guys thing too.

Get to 20 boys.
None of this!!!! Please! (AP)

As for actual play on the court, it would be nice to see the team jump out to a lead and sustain it. These comebacks the past three games (16 points, 12 points, 15 points all in the second half) have been a lot of fun, but as I stated in the post game report, that is flirting with fire. You're not winning three straight games in the NEC tournament by falling behind by double-digits each contest.

I also would like to see Chuck Oliver and Lucky Jones shoot a good percentage. This is a good opportunity for both, because Wagner is the type of team that will really make Karvel work for his points. Others, mainly Oliver and Jones, will have to step up and provide offense.

Odds are, if Robert Morris is going to win the NEC tournament, there will be at least one game in which Karvel is a tad off and will need someone else to provide offense (Though maybe Karvel will just continue amazing me and score 30 plus each game).

Jones and Oliver can do it. They have done it. But these past few games, both have shot some ugly percentages. Getting these two going heading into the NEC tournament would be ideal.

Like Wagner, RMU could also use the win to improve their seed if they are to make the NCAA tournament. Wagner is currently the highest rated team in the KenPom standings (excluding RMU of course). It would be a solid road win for the resume.

Action elsewhere:

As noted above, the rest of the NEC still has a lot to play for. The field of eight is set (with CCSU clinching the last spot, eliminating three time defending champ LIU Thursday night), but every seed from three to eight has yet to be decided.

For the Colonials purpose, the only seed that matters, is the eight seed. After all, if they don't beat the eight seed in the first round, the rest of the field does not matter.

It will come down to FDU and CCSU. If the Knights win at St Francis Brooklyn, CCSU must win at Sacred Heart to maintain the seven seed. A Knights win and a Blue Devils loss, and RMU will played Central Connecticut first round. If FDU loses, the Knights will make the trip to Moon no matter the result of the CCSU/Sacred Heart game.

PS: CCSU is as dangerous an eight seed as this league has ever had if they are to fall to that position. With Kyle Vinales back, RMU would like to avoid them. 

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Comeback Kids

RMU was down 15 points with eight minutes to go. Given the circumstances, the game was surely over. Right?

Coming into the game, the Colonials were without Hawk, who sat out to rest his hurt ankle. The team had clinched the NEC one seed, and didn't look like they had much to play for.

After all, what did they really have to play for? The team had the stacks against them, and with eight minutes to go, with only SEVEN bodies on the active roster, and four of them in foul trouble, almost, if not every team in college basketball in their position, would pack it in. Move on.
Appolon helped RMU to another
comeback win (p/c Post Gazette).

Not this group.

They just battled, battled and battled. The result, a 69-64 win, improving them to 14-1 in the NEC, 19-11 overall. A 17-0 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) run to win the game. FDU didn't score in the final five plus minutes of the game.

The beauty in this comeback, it was a complete team effort. That's not to take away from guys in the past two big comebacks, but let's be honest, Karvel Anderson carried them. This game, he was hot early, but didn't have to put the team on his back to will them to the win.

It was the defense, and a complete effort on the offensive end that helped the Colonials ruin the FDU Knights senior night.

The 2-3 zone was suffocating the final eight minutes of the game, and RMU forced a couple of huge turnovers. Once again David Appolon made winning play after winning play down the stretch. Lucky Jones had a few huge blocks, and hit his free throws in the final minutes.

The Colonials certainly got some help, as FDU went into complete "play to not lose the game mode", instead of play to win mode. They ran the shot clock down under five almost every possession the last few minutes and couldn't get any good looks.

RMU took advantage.

Thoughts:

Anderson finished with 22 points, 17 in the first half. He also had what may have been his first dunk in an RMU uniform mid-way through the first half. He went cooled, but helped his team in other ways during the comeback.

My biggest worry, Lucky Jones once again shot terribly. He went 2-14 from the field. But, like he normally does, he was excellent on the boards, played great D, and made shots when it mattered. He hit a big three during the comeback and made a few big free throws. Luck ended up with 13 points, 10 rebounds.

Chuck Oliver also struggled, going 2-10 from the floor. He scored eight.

These two need to score for RMU to win games. Simple as that. Karvel can only do so much. In the first half, Vel had 17 points, but RMU only had 30 as a team. I would like to see these two get going heading into the NEC tournament.

Once again, David Appolon was phenomenal. He finished with six points, eight rebounds but made countless winning plays on both sides of the ball. His steal and finish while RMU was pressing to cut the FDU lead to one late in the game was the official turning point. Keep it up App.

Kavon played a solid game, and made two HUGE free throws to give RMU the lead for good. Those were big time free throws for a freshman. Nice to see.

Wagner clinched the two seed tonight with their win over St Francis PA. That is big because now Saturday's game between the Seahawks and Colonials has zero effect on the NEC tournament. Both teams will want to win, but expect players to rest. My guess is Hawk will play, but not much, and I don't expect Karvel to play as much as he normally would.

These comebacks are fun and all, but they need to stop. Not stop winning games, but stop with the comebacks. It's flirting with fire, and making me very nervous at the end of games. Starting March fifth, hopefully RMU is the team taking the 15 point lead, and then holding that lead.

--Lee Kunkel
--@kunkel5

Much more to come tomorrow, including a preview for the game Saturday.

Breaking: President Dell'Omo to leave Robert Morris

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Robert Morris president Gregory Dell'Omo will be leaving Robert Morris for La Salle University in Philadelphia. Dell'Omo has been president of RMU since 2005. The growth RMU has seen under Dell'Omo is hard to describe, whether it be the building of new facilities or his dedication to athletic programs.

If these rumors are indeed true, this is really crushing news. Dell'Omo had a strong vision for this school and, as he has said before, athletics were a huge part. Just a few months ago he was a key figure who orchestrated the cut of seven athletic programs.

To try and make everyone feel a little better, I put a search in on Youtube for "World's saddest song" and this was the fourth one down with over eight million views.




#CappellaForRMUpresident
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella


Update, 4pm EST:

Looks like Chris will not be able to run for president, at least not quite yet.

Dell'Omo and RMU announced that he will not be leaving for La Salle and will stay at Robert Morris.

“I wish LaSalle University the very best as their search continues,” said Dell’Omo who has been President at RMU since 2005. “It was gratifying to know that the progress that’s been made here at RMU caught the attention of this institution and led them to invite me into their recruitment process. At this point, I’m glad to get back to work with my great team at RMU to take us to the next level.”

The full statement can be read here: http://rmu.edu/News.aspx?id=520


Huge win for RMU!

Maybe next time though Cappella!!

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Robert Morris at FDU

Robert Morris (18-11, 13-1) at Fairleigh Dickinson (10-18, 6-8 NEC)
When: Thursday February 27th, 7pm
Where: Rothman Center
KenPom: RMU 159, FDU 273
Link: NEC Front Row
Storyline: The Colonials hit the road for their final two games of NEC play, and start the trip against the FDU Knights, who are fighting for positioning in the NEC tournament.

What is at stake?

These final two games, at FDU and at Wagner, are going to be really interesting for Andy Toole and the Colonials. He has a bit of a problem on his hand, but it's a good problem to have.

How do you handle meaningful, but yet meaningless games as a coach?
How will Toole handle the rotation
with the league wrapped up?

It is indeed a confusing question, but here's what I mean.

If Robert Morris achieves their goal and makes the NCAA tournament, they obviously want the best seed possible in the field of 68. To achieve that, you want as many wins as possible, especially wins away from home. Those look the best.

More importantly for Andy, and his team, you also want to enter the NEC tournament full of confidence. An eight game win streak (and a win at Wagner, who will likely be the 2 seed) would certainly help that area, if RMU were to win these last two games.

These games have a ton of meaning, in that regard.

But then there is the other side of the coin. This team has only eight guys. They have cliched the one seed. An injury would be KILLER this time of year. Toole can't really control that, but he can control fatigue.

Karvel Anderson just played 42 minutes Saturday against St Francis, and every other starter played more than 30. That was a must win so it was certainly understandable, but how does he handle minutes now that RMU has wrapped up the league?

If guys get tired, or hurt while playing in games after RMU has already clinched the one seed, it would probably cost them a shot at their ultimate goal.

In that regard, these games are meaningless, and certain players could use some rest.

(It's kind of hard to rest guys when you only have eight total bodies so don't expect anyone to sit games out. My guess is Chuck Oliver plays a few more minutes to spell Karvel, Aaron Tate plays a few more minutes to rest Hawk (who hurt his ankle last Thursday), and Kavon Stewart plays a bit more to rest Ant Myers Pate).

Getting to Know the Knights:


Sanders has helped FDU to their best
season in years.
(Fox Sports)
If it weren't for the miracle run that Andy Toole and Karvel Anderson have produced in Moon Twp this year, Greg Herenda and Sidney Sanders probably run away with Coach of the Year and Player of the Year respectively.

The Knights had little to know expectations at the start of the season, and here they are with an NEC tournament berth in hand, and battling for tournament position with two games to go.

Impressive.

It all starts with Sanders. He's an electrifyingly good point guard who gets to the rim with ease, and can score, set up others, and take things into his own hands late in games.

Statistically speaking, Sanders has been just as good as Anderson, if not better in certain categories. He's averaging more points-per-game (20.0 to Karvel's 19.4) and is over about 5 assists-per-game better. Sanders is at 6.0 apg, Karvel 1.6.

Anderson is much more efficient and can score in many different ways, including behind the three point line, so I, along with many others, would take him over Sanders, but make no mistake, the FDU senior is a very, very good ball player.

One interesting tidbit, the Knights have yet to play RMU this year. This is important because most teams have really struggled against the Colonials 2-3 zone the first time they have seen it.

RMU's zone could really frustrate Sanders, who looks to get to the rim on a majority of FDU's possessions.

Unlike the Colonials, FDU still has a ton to play for as it pertains to the NEC standings. They currently sit in seventh, but with two games to go, could finish as high as fifth, or as low as eighth. An eighth place finish would mean the Knights would play at RMU in the opening round.

They went on a five game losing streak after starting the NEC season off 4-2. Then they stunned everyone and won at Bryant, and followed that up with a win over Sacred Heart and a hard fought three point loss at the hands of Wagner Monday night.

Point being, they are a really streaky team.

There's an App for that:


App has played well lately.
(Getty Images)
That is still one of my favorite RMU hoop's sayings, if not number one. But seriously, App has done it all the past two games. He's averaging 11.5 points-per-game, shooing 68 percent from the field (11-16) and has averaged seven rebounds in that time frame.

His offense really helps the Colonials because it's off rebounds and hustle plays. Whenever you can get extra buckets off pure hustle, you're in good shape.

Dave would not let RMU go away against LIU, as his offensive put backs were the only reason Karvel had a chance to go all superman on the Blackbirds.

Lastly, he continues to be an absolute force in the 2-3 zone on the wing. The ground that he, and Lucky Jones on the other side, cover makes the RMU zone so effective.

Oh yea, that thunderous dunk to start OT Saturday wasn't bad either. Keep it up App.

Finding their Luck:

If there is one guy I would like to see get going the next two games, it's Lucky Jones. His game winner was huge, and I hope it catapults him into a string finish on the offensive end.

Let's make no mistake about it, Lucky has been really good. He's maybe the best defender in the league, and averages over six rebounds per game this year. When he's not scoring, he can still have a positive effect on the game, something most college players can't do.

With that said, he's been extremely inconsistent with his shot this year. The past three games, he's shot 3-15 from three (20 percent). The two before that? six for eight, 75 percent. If he can find a consistent medium, and give the Colonials 13-14 points-per-game while shooting above 45 percent, RMU will be in really good shape.

Try some wrinkles?

This is pure speculation, but I'm interested in seeing if Andy Toole throws any wrinkles into the RMU game plan to see what he has going forward.

These last two games, RMU can afford to experiment with some things. Maybe in certain situations RMU plays some man-to-man D, to see if they can use it in a pinch during the NEC tournament?

Maybe there are some unique lineups, like an all five guard lineup for a stretch? We saw that against LIU when Hawk was hurt, Lucky was in foul trouble, and Tate needed a quick breather. Maybe Toole experiments with a five guard lineup when he can afford to do so, just in case that situation comes up in the NEC tournament?

Who would you prefer?

Nobody on the team has this on their mind, at least I doubt it, but believe it or not, Thursday night's result will likely dictate who the Colonials play first round. If RMU wins, there is a pretty good chance they get a rematch against FDU in the first round. If the Colonials lose to the Knights, they will not play them, and would likely get CCSU (who has beaten them this year, and has Kyle Vinales back). Just an interesting thing to think about.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Karvel Anderson won the NEC player of the week

This past week, Robert Morris shooting guard Karvel Anderson won his second NEC Choice Hotels Player of the Week award. Anderson paced the colonials to a perfect 2-0 weekend en route to their sixth straight win and second consecutive NEC regular season title. Anderson averaged 28.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while shooting 21-37 (56.8 percent) from the field and 8-18 (44.4 percent) from three.

Anderson had a quiet start to Thursday's game against Long Island before exploding for 26 second half points, including nine in the final 1:10 of the game. The colonials came back from 16 down to defeat the Blackbirds by nine. Anderson picked up where he left off Saturday, going 10-14 from the field en route to 31 points and a one-point overtime victory. Ironically, Anderson's solid 8-18 overall mark from three brought down his three point shooting percentage.

There's not much more to say about Karvel at this point. We here at CTC already thought he was going to win NEC player of the year but there's no doubt that'll happen now after his huge weekend.

It's hard to put into perspective the season Karvel is having. KenPom statistics have him 11 in the country in offensive rating, 12 in effective field goal percentage, and 20 in true shooting percentage. If you don't know what that means, just know that it represents awesomeness.

The thing I really like about his game is how many wrinkles are thrown into it. Before, Karvel feasted off his pull-up elbow jumper and wing three from a handoff. Now we're seeing more step-back jumpers from the left side of the court (like the missed game winner in regulation of Saturday's game) and off the dribble three's from the top of the key.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappell

What happens when RMU's gmail fails

It got weird last night.
Those who keep up with their RMU gmail may have noticed something odd last night. In order to better tell the story let's start at the beginning:

At 2:55 p.m. Monday the Office of the President sent out an email to all Robert Morris students. President Dell'Omo announced to us that tuition and room and board fees will go up, resulting in a 3.44 percent increase in the cost of attending Robert Morris. Surprise! We go to a private business school, it's going to be expensive.

So that's that, right? Not exactly.

A little over seven hours later a response showed up in our inbox's from an RMU student. This is what Zachary Burke had to say:

Before we go even farther, can we stop an applaud this kid? Let's think about what just happened here. Zac not only read through all of the original message, he took those numbers and made his own projections FOR THE NEXT THIRTY-SIX FUCKING YEARS. Seriously, who does that? 

Then, not only did Zac compose all of his numbers into an email, he actually tried to send it out as a response to the entire student body... and it worked! Again, who does that? Has anyone ever even tried responding to one of these before? How did he think to give this a try? How long did he spend crunching these numbers and composing that message? What would he have done if the message didn't send? I still have soooooo many more questions. 

What happened next sparked the most intense and hysterical 15 minutes I've ever spent at RMU. People were not pleased (all names and e-mails have been erased from this content. All images came from yesterday's e-mail chain)...








As you can see, things started to bombard quickly. Some were NOT happy they were on this list and obviously, to solve this problem, they replied to the email. Others took full advantage of this opportunity to talk to every undergrad at RMU by broadcasting their events and personal lives: 




People were still not happy and looking for answers:




Why would you want to leave this though? It was just getting good:

Then all hell broke loose:










We finally had a Karvel Anderson mention:

This was hysterical because it came from RMU power forward Aaron Tate, who I have never seen open his mouth to talk one time. It was just that type of night:


A few meme's made the round:


Also, give credit to Ty Hartin, who I think was the first person to advertise himself:


This was my personal favorite but I don't really know why:


Things were looking good:



And then just like that it was over. RMU stopped letting gmail respond to everyone and it was done. In about 15 minutes there were 156 messages sent. I was a little disappointed we didn't have a "do you even lift bro" or a terrible chain message like "if you don't forward this 10 times by 3:00 a.m. a little girl will suck you down the shower" but all in all great job. 

Which brings me to this last message I personally received from Zac:


Don't be a bunch of pricks, guys. Zac simply responded to an e-mail and there's no need to send him hate mail like this wasn't the funniest fucking thing you've ever seen. And don't tell me you had anything better to do at 10:15 on a Monday night, because you didn't. 

Feel free to comment/share....

#JoinTheRevolution
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

A Look at the Women’s Basketball Standings (And a note on Tie Breakers)

by Aaron Hartman, contributor

We are nearing the end of the season, and while the men’s team has the regular season conference championship locked up, the Women’s team is not quite there yet.

The Lady Colonials could have essentially locked up the championship Monday night, but they fell to St. Francis Brooklyn 92-83 in overtime.

With two games remaining in the season, the RMU Women’s team holds a one game lead over second place Mount St. Mary’s. No other team can catch RMU in the standings. RMU currently has a record of 13-3, and The Mount has a record of 12-4.

The final games of the season are as follows:
March 1:
RMU at St. Francis (PA)
Mount at Wagner

March 3:
Mount at RMU.
RMU can win the conference outright by beating Mount St. Mary’s in the final game of the season. RMU can also win the conference if they beat St. Francis (PA) and the Mount loses to Wagner. The Mount can win the conference if they beat Wagner, RMU loses to St. Francis (PA), and beat RMU in the final game of the season.

There is a possibility that RMU and the Mount will be tied at the end of the season, so let’s take a look at the tiebreakers:

NEC Tiebreaker Procedure

Two-Way Tiebreaker:
In the event of a two-way tie in the standings, the following tiebreaker system shall be used – in order – until the tie is broken:

1. Winning percentage of each team in head-to-head competition.
2. Winning percentage of each team vs. the first-place team, or their composite winning percentage against any teams tying for first place.
3. Winning percentage of each team vs. the second-place team, or their composite winning percentage against any teams tying for second place.
4. This process continues with winning percentage vs. the third-place team, fourth-place team, etc., as necessary, until the tie is broken and seeding is complete.
5. If a tie still exists after exhausting steps 1-4, the most recent RPI rankings at the conclusion of the NEC regular season will be utilized to determine the higher seed. 

RMU has a record of 1-1 against these teams: St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, and Wagner.
The Mount has a records of 1-1 against these teams: St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, and St. Francis (PA).

Coincidentally, RMU plays St. Francis (PA) March 1, and Mount St. Mary’s plays Wagner March 1. To add to that, Wagner plays St. Francis (PA) on March 3.

St. Francis Brooklyn, St. Francis (PA), and Bryant are in the second spot in the standings with records of 9-7.

Wagner and Sacred Heart are in the third spot in the standings with records of 8-8.

If both RMU and the Mount win on March 1, but the Mount beats RMU in the final game, the conference championship will come down to the St. Francis (PA) vs. Wagner game. If St. Francis (PA) is victorious in that game, RMU will win the conference on a tie breaker criteria (having a stronger record against teams higher in the conference). If Wagner wins the final game, the Conference championship will go to criteria 5, and the team with the higher RPI ranking will win the conference.

If both RMU and the Mount lose on March 1, but the Mount beats RMU in the final game, the conference championship will be decided by criteria 5 of the tie breakers. This would be because RMU and the Mount would have identical records against all of the teams in the conference.

Currently, the Mount is ranked 156 and RMU is ranked 197, so it looks like the Mount would win that tie breaker.

So there you have it. That is all of the possibilities for the conference championship. As long as RMU beats the Mount in the last game of the year, they win the conference. It’s looking to be a very good game.

Monday, February 24, 2014

RMCMB/NEC News and Notes

It's been a very busy past few days in the NEC, and will only get busier as the final week begins.

There are two makeup games on the docket tonight, as Mount will host Bryant, and Wagner will travel to FDU. Tomorrow LIU heads to Sacred Heart, and then Thursday there are the accustomary five games, before each team plays their final game on Saturday.

With those three makeup games being played tonight/tomorrow, it's a little difficult to do an weekend review/preview, so CTC will skip this, but will get to the standings/seeding in a bit.

Feed the Beast:

No words left to describe this dude
other then NEC POY. (p/c Justin Berl)
First off, some news pertaining to Robert Morris.

Karvel Anderson won his second player of the week award this past weekend. He went bonkers, scoring 57 points (26, 31) in the two past games, and helped RMU come back from 16 and 12 points in each game.

Here at CTC, we believe Karvel wrapped up the NEC POY a week or two ago, but after this past weekend, we're not the only ones thinking that.

Congrats Karvel, now go dominate the NEC tournament.

Some NEC Braketology updates: 

ESPN has Robert Morris as a 16 seed in the play in game, as does CBS Sports. ESPN has the Colonials taking on High Point, with the winner playing Syracuse, CBS against Weber State (The fighting Damian Lillard's) with the winner playing Florida. NBC Sports also has RMU as a 16 in the play in against High Point.

While there may be some upsets in other conferences, it's pretty clear that RMU is the only team in the NEC that will be able to get off the 16 line. Wagner doesn't have enough bulk to their resume, and Bryant lost a few games this past week including a tough one to FDU.

If any other team outside of RMU wins the NEC Tournament, it's back to the play in game for the NEC, and if the Colonials are so fortunate to win it this year, they to may be there, but I, nor anyone else would care. Let's just get there.

Hot at the right time:

Last year, Mount St. Mary's won their last seven games entering the NEC tournament, then upset Bryant and Robert Morris (both on the road) to make it to the NEC tournament title game. They probably could have taken that game if Julian Norfleet didn't twist his ankle and miss the title game.

So who is the team catching fire that could cause the Colonials the biggest problem in the postseason?

The Wagner Seahawks.

Wagner has won five in a row, and plays three more winnable games, the last two at home. The last game of the season is against RMU, and who knows how much Coach Toole will play his stars, who need to be fresh for the conference tournament.

The preseason favorites are starting to play really well, and have a great shot at getting the two seed over Bryant. With two more possible home games in the NEC tournament, maybe three if RMU is upset before the title game, Wagner is certainly dangerous entering March.

Down, but not out:

When Central Connecticut blew a 15 point halftime lead against Mount St. Mary's on their home floor, they left the door open for three time defending champ LIU. The Blackbirds have struggled throughout the year, but can still make the NEC tournament, despite their recent struggles (they've lost six of their last seven).

If LIU can rebound, and win Tuesday night at Sacred Heart (who is 1-12 in the NEC) they will set up a HUGE game Thursday, when the Blackbirds host CCSU.

This is important, because the winner of that game could very well be who RMU plays in the first round of the NEC tournament.

Both are much more dangerous the your typical eight seed.

CCSU still has the advantage, as they play at Sacred Heart their final game, and likely only have to win one of the final two games, while LIU must win over CCSU, beat Sacred Heart Tuesday, and then upset Bryant Saturday (if CCSU wins their game Saturday). Got all that?

Middle Bunch/Possible road:

The NEC tournament is right around
the corner. (NEC Sports)
The middle of the NEC is a giant cluster. There really is no way to predict who will finish where because this league is so unpredictable. For RMU purposes, I think the Colonials want to avoid Wagner and St Francis Brooklyn. They provided the most difficult match ups.

With all the adversity that RMU has faced this year, they will likely get CCSU (who is way better then an 8 seed with Vinales), a rematch with Jalen Cannon and St Francis (we just saw how tough they are) and then Wagner in the finals, who is hot, and very tall, thus a bad matchup for RMU. Of course they have to win each game to get the next opponent, but in my opinion, that's the hardest road to an NEC title.

The easiest road, (given no absolutely crazy upsets) in my opinion, FDU first round, St Francis PA second round, and Bryant in the title game. They matchup well with all of them. Again though, slip up once, and the season is over.

Down to Business:

College basketball is a funny sport, especially as a mid-major. It can magical, and cruel.

Colin Dunlap wrote this piece on Robert Morris being, just maybe, the best story in college basketball this season. He may be right.

We all know about the "crazy 8" by now (if you don't, check out Dunlap's article), and the adversity this team has faced. It's an incredible accomplishment for Toole, Anderson, Myers Pate, and every other member of the program.

13-1 in the league, a conference regular season title with two games to spare.

Impressive, no doubt.

Guess what? Throw it out the door now. Forget about it.

Can we remember it in a few weeks? Sure.
It's going on four years since RMU's last
NCAA berth. (AP)

But not now.

Karvel Anderson didn't come here to win back-to-back regular season championships.

Senior Ant Myers Pate didn't spend hours upon hours in the gym the last four years to get to his second straight NIT.

Andy Toole didn't take over Robert Morris to win games in February.

This team had one goal at the beginning of the season, and unless they win on March 11th, it won't be accomplished.

March 5th, the opening round of the NEC tournament, you can throw the records out the window. It's time to get down to business, because this team 100 percent deserves to dance, but they've got to earn it.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Game recap: wild OT victory clinches NEC title

I’ve been trying to calm myself down in an effort to write a more calm recap, but fuck it, right? RMU defeated Saint Francis Brooklyn by a score of 71-70 in overtime to clinch the NEC regular season title.

Insane game. Karvel Anderson started off his senior day performance by draining some mid range jumpers but couldn’t get stops on the defensive end. St. Francis, who scored 43 points in their last game (FOURTY-THREE IN THE GAME) had 18 by the under 16 media timeout. They were absolutely crushing RMU in the low post and on the glass.

Which brings me to Stephan Hawkins. I was told before the game that Hawk was a no-go, then a few minutes later was told he was going to give it a go and they hoped he would play 10-15 minutes. Then Hawk played 31 of 45 minutes. Gutsy effort. He didn’t bring a lot offensively, but he had five boards and two blocks and provided solid low post defense in the second half.

It was a steady back and forth affair with not a lot of defense being played in the first half. RMU scored 31 points, which is usually good enough to lead Brooklyn through one, but found themselves down six. In the first half, RMU was outscored in the paint 28-6.

The second half didn’t start much better (RMU was down 12 early in the half) but the defense improved. RMU had trouble with on-ball screens in the first half but did a much better job getting overtop of screens and taking away passing lanes.

The two teams went back and forth, playing gritty defense and getting tough buckets in the lane. After a Kevin Douglas layup, RMU had the ball in a tie game with the shot clock off and gave Karvel Anderson the ball, who took an 18 foot step back jumper from the left wing that was just long. Overtime.

Overtime started off as great as it could have been. David Appolon won the tip in the frontcourt, strolled to the basket with Kevin Douglas guarding him and just… COCKED BACK AND THREW ONE DOWN IN THE MOST DISRESPECTFUL WAY POSSIBLE OH MY GOD WHERE DID THAT COME FROM. Then RMU got a stop and Karvel canned a three pointer for his 29, 30, and 31 points of the game. SFC took a timeout, and answered RMU’s 7-0 run with their own 8-0 run.

Down two with 13 seconds remaining, Jalen Cannon (18 points) got the ball in the low post, took some contact, and made a bucket with the foul. The foul call was bullshit, especially that late in the game, but whatever. Cannon drained the free throw and just like that RMU was losing.

The colonials came out of the timeout and gave the ball to Karvel Anderson, who pulled up at the top of the key off a screen for three and airballed. Lucky Jones was under the basket, grabbed the ball, and put it back up and in with three seconds left. The ball hung on the rim for what felt like forever before going in. Brent Jones took the inbounds, dribbled upcourt, and threw up a 30 footer Tyler Ennis style that hit the bottom of the backboard and just like that RMU improved to 13-1 in the NEC.

Analysis:
What a stretch of games. RMU came back from 16 against LIU and 12 tonight. This win ensured home court advantage throughout the NEC tournament and was the second straight year the colonials won the regular season title.

-Karvel Anderson: 31 points on 13-27 shooting and 3-13 from three in 42 (!!!!!) minutes. He was a little long on seemingly every three point shot, but his left side mid-range game was unreal. The only time he missed his stepback jumper was probably the missed game winner in regulation. NEC MVP.

-Anthony Myers-Pate played a very controlled senior day. He took one “adrenaline” shot to start the game but besides that shot 3-7 (1-1 from three) and 5-6 from the line. He was, per usual, very good on knowing when to be aggressive and speed up or slow down the tempo. Ant was Toole’s first recruit and he has put together an absolutely unreal career.

-Toole kinda shortened his bench tonight, which sounds silly when you realize there are only eight guys, but he did. Chuck Oliver played only 13 minutes and barely played in the second half. Aaron Tate played 19 and Kavon Stewart played 20. Toole wasn’t thrilled with Chuck’s defense.

-Other role players are playing great basketball. David Appolon continues to hustle and grab offensive boards. Hawkins gutted out 31 minutes and played well too.

-Tonight’s game was the second largest announced crowd of the year. Great atmosphere. Incredible game. NEC champs.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Friday, February 21, 2014

Robert Morris' defense is coming alive

by Chris Cappella

Not too long ago Robert Morris was a program known for their grittiness on the defensive end. They would make you work for shots on the outside and mug anyone who dare tried to get to the rim.

Junior guard David Appolon has thrived in RMU's zone defense (p/c: Justin Berl)
Gone are those days, which is not necessarily a bad thing. A slight fall off in defense was bound to happen when you look at how unbelievably efficient RMU was in Andy Toole’s first two seasons.

What we saw at the beginning of this year, though, was no slight drop off. In the first nine games of the season, teams were averaging 80.2 points per game against the Colonials. RMU was on a five game losing streak and couldn’t get stops on the defensive end. This was no slight drop off, it was a complete free fall with an ugly ending coming.

“I thought the inexperience was something that hurt us. We lost a lot of defensive minded guys,” senior guard Karvel Anderson said. “We were more focused on scoring baskets and that was something we shouldn’t have been.”

Changes in the rules only added to the struggle. Hand checking has been completely removed from the game, now replaced with more whistles that favor offenses. This was a quote from coach Toole circa December 7, 2013, after a three-point loss to Toledo on the new rule changes:

“To be a good defensive team now, you have to be a quick thinking, well positioned, urgent team. When you are out of position now in man-to-man defense you get exposed. If you are late on a close out you can no longer just grab an arm and hold on for the ride, and a lot of times in the past that’s just what we would do. Ant Myers would just ride your ass out of bounds,” he said.

The Toledo game was the beginning of something new. For the first time all season, RMU played a 2-3 zone defense.

It really was tough to gauge how effective the zone was. Toledo is one of the best offensive teams in the country and still hung 80 against the Colonials but still, to the naked eye, the zone didn’t look bad. It helped slow down the tempo, forced some tough outside shots, and kept guys out of foul trouble.

The zone also had a unique look. While many people may coin a zone as a passive way of playing defense, Toole installed a rather aggressive feel to it.

“He’s taken a lot of his man principles and implemented them in the zone. We still pressure the ball and we still close out like we’re playing man but at the same time,” Anderson said.

Anderson explained that when an offensive player has the ball at the wing, a forward at the bottom of the zone will bump out and step up on the guard, then bump back and pass the responsibility to the guard at the top of the zone.

“It hesitates the offense for a little bit because it’s hard to read,” Anderson said.

There have been a few bumps in the roads, like when Oakland hung a hundred on the Colonials towards the end of December, but RMU’s defense is now hitting its stride. RMU is holding opponents to an average of 58.2 points per game in its recent five game win streak and 65.5 points per game in NEC play.

RMU is also second in conference-only defensive efficiency according to KenPom. The colonials are still allowing teams to shoot at a 51 percent effective field goal mark, but are forcing more turnovers in the zone and are running teams off the three point line.

The zone (along with suspensions) has allowed role players to flourish on the defensive end that otherwise might not have been able to. Junior guard David Appolon has always been a good defender but the zone has also allowed him to become a more effective rebounder. Freshman point guard Kavon Stewart leads the team in steals per game.

“Kay is funny because he doesn’t even really follow our zone rules,” Anderson said. “He does his own thing but at the same time it’s the best thing he can be doing for the team.”

RMU, once renown as a scrappy, defensive team, is finding its way along in a different way.

But the success still remains. 

Senior Salute

Senior Salute: 

The career path's were different, but still so very impactful. For both Ant Myers Pate and Karvel Anderson, the ride is soon coming to an end. They will be missed, and they both deserve great support Saturday.

Senior days are always kind of weird at Robert Morris, because the team still has home games to play in the NEC tournament (hopefully three wins). It's still senior day though, and much like last year, the guys being honored have had one hell of a ride at Robert Morris.

Let's start with Ant. Not only is he an incredible point guard, but he's one of the coolest guys on campus. He acknowledges everyone and loves being a Robert Morris student. He's at all the other sporting events supporting his fellow athletes, he's never been involved in any off the court problems, and he's had an incredible career on the court. Simply put, he's a great ambassador for the program and the school.
Great career #5 and #15. Now lets go
dancing.

Myers Pate is also the first four year player under Andy Toole. That's saying something. There is a reason this program wins a lot. The expectations are set high, VERY HIGH. Andy Toole doesn't accept BS, he doesn't make excuses, and he's TOUGH. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least seven players that have transferred or quit the team. It's not easy. The coaches ask a lot of the players, and expect results.

Myers Pate hasn't made excuses, hasn't complained. He's worked. Hard. That work has paid off. He went 18-14 his first season and made the NEC title game. His sophomore year, the team went 26-11, made the NEC title game again, and went to the postseason. His junior year? 24-11, an NEC regular season title, and a win over Kentucky (a game in which Ant played so hard, his legs literally stopped working). Senior year? Another regular season title (hopefully outright after Saturday), and hopefully much more to come.

It's not easy being an RMU Colonial under Andy Toole. But it's worth it.

Then there is Karvel.

The guy got into a car crash on his way to the airport for his official visit, and he thought his chance at playing D-1 ball crashed in the process.

He eventually made it to Robert Morris, and I think we're all damn happy that was/is the case. Can you have a better two year career?

Last year, Anderson played with a broken wrist, came off the bench, and still led the team in scoring. This offseason, the wrist healed up, and Anderson got to work.

Known as a shooter, Anderson is now a complete player on both sides of the ball. His development from a good role player to a super star has been so damn fun to watch. Every game recap the last two months seems to be the same storyline. Karvel goes bonkers and leads Robert Morris to a win.

Will he make it to the NBA? Maybe, maybe not. But here's what I love about Karvel. I don't think that's remotely on his mind at the moment.  Maybe buried in the back, but this guy has one thing on his mind. Not the NEC player of the year, not making the first team, not scoring 20 plus a game....Making the NCAA tournament. That's why he came to Robert Morris. That's how he wants to be remembered.

Like Myers Pate, Anderson has represented the university and program the best he possibly could. His national story on NBC was heart warming. He's worked just as hard in the classroom to raise his GPA. He is always praising others, despite being the main man. How about retweeting almost all his fans after a big game?

Thank you to both for your dedication and hard work. Robert Morris basketball is at it's all time high, and these two are a big reason why.

Only one more thing is left to achieve, a trip to the NCAA tournament.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Senior Day: Robert Morris vs St Francis Brooklyn

Robert Morris (17-11, 12-1) vs St Francis Brooklyn (16-12, 7-6)
When: Saturday February 22nd, 4pm
Where: Charles L. Sewall Center, Moon Twp PA
KenPom: RMU 153, SFNY 216
Link: NEC Front Row
Storyline: As Karvel Anderson and Ant Myers Pate take the floor for the final time at the Sewall Center for an NEC regular season game, the Colonials look to win the NEC regular season title outright as they take on a St Francis team fighting for NEC tournament positioning.

Check out our Senior Salute here: CTC Senior Salute

Stupid Injuries: 

After Thursday night's sensational comeback, there were only three thoughts on my head as I watched Duke and North Carolina.

One: Karvel Anderson would be the best scoring guard on that Carolina team, the same team that beat number five Duke last night. He's sensational. 26 points in the final 16 some minutes of the game is absolutely insane. What a player. He could play at any level in college basketball.

Two: This teams heart is incredible. The adversity have they faced this season is enough to cover about four seasons, and all they do is over come it.

Hopefully Hawk isn't out too long.
(p/c RMU Sentry Media)
Three, and the longest lasting thought: Everything I said above this, and all year, could come down to something completely out of this teams control. Point blank, Stephan Hawkins injury could be a lethal blow. The severity is not known. Hell, he could ice that sucker up and play tomorrow against the Terriers. If that's the case, crisis avoided.

But what if he's out for two weeks?

What if he doesn't play for the rest of the season?

I hate to be the guy to bring up this negative news after such a GREAT comeback, in the midst of an incredible season, but what if the Colonials are down to just seven men the rest of the season, none taller then 6-5?

Ankle sprains (which is what this injury appears to be) are very funny. If they are low on the foot, they usually aren't too bad. Ice for a couple of days, and you're good to go. But if it is a high ankle sprain, it can take weeks to heal.

I certainly don't expect Hawk to play tomorrow with such a quick turnaround, so RMU might be down to seven men. The lack of height is obviously a big worry (especially if Aaron Tate gets in foul trouble), but so to is the amount of minutes certain guys might have to play. This is a bad time of year to tire out the legs. Robert Morris doesn't have the option of playing walk-ons or guys deep down the bench to suck up minutes, they only have seven guys left.

The odds were already stacked against the team with eight guys, but the great Andy Toole made it work. If he's thrown another curve ball, it will be awfully difficult for this team to achieve their only goal: making the NCAA tournament.

Best case scenario, Hawk misses this game, or even slugs it out and gives RMU a solid fifteen to twenty minutes.

Get well soon Hawk.

This update was tweeted by Craig Meyer of the Post Gazette:


Different Bunch:

When Robert Morris faced off against St Francis a few weeks back in Brooklyn, the Colonials blitzed the shell-shocked Terriers in route to a 72-50 win.

This was the first game in which St Francis was without a slew of players due to suspension for off the court troubles (some type of sexual assault case). Many players were affected including Brent Jones, Wayne Martin, Anthony White, and P.J. Santavenere. They all missed that game, and RMU took full advantage.

Getting Jones back is a big lift
for St Francis (Brooklyn Daily).
This time around, the Terriers have a few of their weapons back. The two most important players of that group, Jones and Martin, have returned.

While they will be without White, Santavenere, and Sheldon Hagigal (who played against RMU, but is now suspended), this is a much different team. They are still a threat to win the NEC, and are coming off a dominating performance, as they wiped out the Red Flash of St Francis PA, 73-44.

In the first matchup, Robert Morris clogged the paint, and made the Terriers make jumpers. Without Jones, St Francis just couldn't run any type of efficient offense, and Ben Mockford was the only perimeter threat. With Jones back, they will be much more efficient, and he adds another guy in which the Colonials D much pay attention to on the outside.

Look for Martin and stud forward Jalen Cannon to have a field day in the post if Hawk can't play. The Colonials hassled and frustrated Cannon the first time around, but I wouldn't expect him to struggle again against an undersized front line.

This was already a tough matchup for Robert Morris, and there will be little room for error.

Find that Stroke:

On Thursday night, the Colonials offense was quite stagnant for most of the game (then Karvel Anderson happened). A lot of that was from some rough shooting. Ant Myers Pate went 1-8 from the field, 0-5 from three. Lucky Jones went 3-13 from the field, 16 from three. Take away Karvel's 5-5 from three, and the team went 2-17. That's....not good.

Lucky, Ant, and others are better then that, and have been better then that in NEC play. Those guys will need to play to their potential in the NEC tournament if the Colonials are to win those three games and get to the dance. No better time to find that stroke then this game, when the Colonials could be down another man and will need contributions from everyone.

Crunch Time:

It's been well documented, but a win for RMU and the regular season outright title is theirs. In fact, any RMU win or Wagner loss clinches the one seed for Robert Morris.

For St Francis, who's 7-6, a home game in the NEC tournament is still very much up for grabs. It will come down to the Terriers and the Mount, who play at Wagner tomorrow, for that four seed. They probably won't be able to catch Bryant or Wagner for the three seed but it is still possible.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5