Homecourt on the line! Robert Morris vs LIU

Robert Morris (16-11, 11-1) vs Long Island Brooklyn (8-16, 3-8)
When: Thursday Febuary 20th, 7pm
Where: Charles L. Sewall Center, Moon Twp PA
KenPom: RMU 146, LIU 317
Link: NEC Front Row
Storyline: As LIU continues to battle for their NEC tournament lives (they currently trail FDU by one game for the last spot) the Colonials look to take a step forward to their second straight NEC Regular season championship.

BOBBLE HEAD GIVEAWAY:

BOBBLE HEAD!!!

For those that don't know, the Robert Morris athletic department is giving away 1,000 Andy Toole bobble heads. This is awesome, so get there early if you want one. Andy is an NCAA tournament berth away from doing literally everything at RMU, and he's only been here four years!

How long he will continue to be here is certainly up for debate, but where he stands in the RMU coaching pecking order is not. He's one of the best to ever man the sidelines of Sewall, and is still one the best young coaches in all of college basketball.

Living legend:

Though the two teams could still meet in the first round of the NEC tournament, this may be the last time the Colonials ever see the LIU great, Jason Brickman. The senior has had a near perfect career, as he continues to climb the ranks on the all-time assist list.

He's the best passing point guard to ever play in the league, and one of the best to ever represent the NEC. His career isn't ending as planned, but Brickman has made the NEC tournament all three years of his career and is hoping to make it four for four.

Blackbird Revival?

The last time the Colonials played LIU, just over a week ago, things looked bleak for the Blackbirds. RMU won the game 65-56 and it didn't look like the three time defending champs had a shot at making the NEC tournament.

Then last weekend happened.

A win over rival St. Francis Brooklyn in the "Battle of Brooklyn" at the Barclays Center has LIU just a game behind the suddenly ice cold FDU Knights for the last spot in the NEC tournament, and the Blackbirds are getting healthy.

Gerrell Martin, who missed the first game against RMU, is back and LIU also got the services of forward Gilbert Parga and Glenn Feidanga back after the two have been in and out of the lineup and practice.

Getting Martin back is big for LIU.
(Photo: Rob Abruzzese)

The new found health could be just what the Blackbirds need to get back to their winning ways. Martin is the key. His shooting is something that they have really missed the past few games, and it was very apparent in their loss to RMU. He's making over 40 percent of his attempts from three, by far the best on the team. That threat really opens the defense up, much like Karvel Anderson does for RMU. Martin isn't near the pure scorer that Anderson is, but he does have a pretty big impact on his teams offense.

They still really stink defensively, and that's something that Robert Morris could take advantage of. Long Island is giving up 115.2 points-per-100 possessions, that's dead last in the NEC. Count their non-conference play, and they're at 118.2, that's 346th in all of college basketball. That's REALLY bad.

Offensive Consistency: 

One thing many Colonial fans may have noticed is some inconsistency with in the Colonials offense. It seems like in a given half, only one of Anderson and or Lucky Jones can find their scoring touch, and against Mount last Saturday, neither could get going (both finished with eight). Thank God for Chuck Oliver. His career high 19 helped RMU pick up the win.

I don't know if the legs are getting a bit tired, and RMU is simply running offense for one at a time to keep the other fresh, but if Anderson and Jones don't become a bit more consistent, it could cost the Colonials down the road.

I wouldn't say RMU fans should worry yet, after all the team has won four straight and is 11-1 in the conference, and we have yet to see a half where Luck and Karvel are both cooking at the same time. They also have the second best offense in the league, according to KenPom with a 113.5 rating. It's just something to track, because truth-be-told, those two are the only consistent scoring threats for the Colonials. If they have a game of 16 combined points in the NEC tournament against say, Bryant, it could spell trouble.

Tournament Implications: 

With only four games left (five for LIU) there is a lot of the line for both teams Thursday night. As noted in our NEC Review, RMU can clinch the number one seed this weekend with two wins. They can clinch the regular season out right Thursday night believe it-or-not, but need Wagner (Sacred heart) and Bryant (FDU) to lose. That isn't likely, but a victory Thursday night plus a win Saturday and it won't matter what teams around the league do.

LIU really needs this win. Last night Central Connecticut picked up a huge win at St. Francis Brooklyn, and has yet to lose since the return of star guard Kyle Vinales. All things considered, it appears that CCSU is going to make it into the field of eight.

That would mean LIU's best chance is catching the FDU Knights, who own a one game lead over the Blackbirds and own the tiebreaker. LIU probably needs to win at least three games in their final five. It's not too tall of a task with a healthy roster, after all they play a fairly easy schedule, but the wins need to start coming now.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5