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.
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| Hopefully Hawk isn't out too long. (p/c RMU Sentry Media) |
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:
Stephan Hawkins is going to get his ankle checked out later today. Heard that the injury is likely not season-ending. #RMU
— Craig Meyer (@CraigMeyerPG) February 21, 2014
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.
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| Getting Jones back is a big lift for St Francis (Brooklyn Daily). |
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
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