NEC TV Schedule: One more game for RMU on TV

The NEC released their TV schedule for the upcoming season (just two days away, and three away from the Colonials tipping off).

Some notes: RMU adds another TV game to the previous four that were known. They will play @ Kentucky on ESPN 2, @ Oklahoma State on ESPN U, home vs Bryant on ESPN U, and at LIU on ESPN U and the newly known game, at Wagner on MSG, Root, and FCS. For more on RMU's TV schedule, click here.

If the Colonials make the NEC title game, they will add two more to that tally (Semifinals and Finals).

Here is the schedule via the Northeast Conference:

2013-14 NEC Basketball Television Schedule

Date           Matchup                                    Time      Carriers
Sat., Jan. 4   Saint Francis U at Sacred Heart (w)        2:00 pm   ESPN3
Sat., Jan. 11  St. Francis Brooklyn at LIU (Barclays)(w)  12:00 pm  ESPN3
Thu., Jan. 16  Wagner at Mount St. Mary's (m)             7:00 pm   MASN, FCS, ESPN3
Mon., Jan. 20  Mount St. Mary's at Saint Francis U (w)    7:00 pm   ESPN3
Thu., Jan. 23  LIU Brooklyn at Bryant (m)                 7:00 pm   MSG+, FCS, Cox (CT/RI)
Sat., Jan. 25  Sacred Heart at Saint Francis U (m)        12:00 pm  CSNNE, Root, FCS, ESPN3
Wed., Jan. 29  St. Francis Brooklyn at Sacred Heart (m)   6:00 pm   MSG, FCS
Thu., Jan. 30  Bryant at Robert Morris (m)                8:00 pm   ESPNU, ESPN3
Mon., Feb. 3   CCSU at Mount St. Mary's (w)               7:00 pm   ESPN3
Thu., Feb. 6   Robert Morris at LIU Brooklyn (m)          7:00 pm   ESPNU, ESPN3
Thu., Feb. 6   Mount St. Mary's at Sacred Heart (m)       9:00 pm   FCS, MASN, ESPN3
Sat., Feb. 8   FDU at CCSU (m)                            11:30 am  MSG, FCS, CSNNE
Mon., Feb. 10  Sacred Heart at Robert Morris (w)          7:00 pm   ESPN3
Thu., Feb. 13  CCSU at St. Francis Brooklyn (m)           7:00 pm   MSG, FCS, Cox (CT)
Sat., Feb. 15  Saint Francis U at FDU (m)                 7:00 pm   MSG, FCS, Root (TD - 2/16)
Sun., Feb. 16  Bryant at Wagner (m)                       12:00 pm  CBSSN
Sun., Feb. 16  St. Francis Brooklyn at LIU (Barclays) (m) 4:00 pm   MSG, FCS
Mon., Feb. 17  Fairleigh Dickinson at Wagner (w)          7:00 pm   ESPN3
Thu., Feb. 20  Mount St. Mary's at CCSU (m)               7:00 pm   MSG, MASN, FCS, Cox (CT)
Sat., Feb. 22  Robert Morris at Bryant (w)                1:00 pm   ESPN3
Thu., Feb. 27  Wildcard Game (m)                          7:00 pm   ESPN3  
Sat., Mar. 1   Robert Morris at Wagner (m)                6:00 pm   MSG, Root, FCS
Wed., Mar. 5   NEC Men's Quarterfinal                     7:00 pm   MSG+2, FCS, Root
Sat., Mar. 8   NEC Men's Semifinal #1                     12:00 pm  MSG+, FCS
               NEC Men's Semifinal #2                     2:00 pm   MSG+, FCS
Tue., Mar. 11  NEC Men's Championship                     7:00 pm   ESPN or ESPN2, ESPN3
Wed., Mar. 12  NEC Women's Semifinal #1                   7:00 pm   ESPN3 (tentative)
               NEC Women's Semifinal #2                   7:00 pm   ESPN3 (tentative)
Sun., Mar. 16  NEC Women's Championship                   3:00 pm   ESPNU, ESPN3

Wednesday's countdown to tip-off

Did you know RMU basketball tips off this Saturday? The countdown is on. All week CTC will list a rundown of things related to RMU basketball. You can check out yesterday’s piece here. With three days until game day, here is a list of our three favorite things about the Charles L. Sewall Center.

When the Chuck is packed, there are few places I'd rather watch a game.
(many who watched RMU beat UK there would agree) 

Lee: First off, I wanna see this a few times this season.... Okay, okay I get it; RMU/Moon probably won't come out for a game like the UK contest until the year 2166 but that was awesome.

Chris: I’m with you Lee. The interest is there… we’ve sen it dozens of times before the Kentucky game. Hell, Lattitude 40 had over 400 people there for the RMU-Providence game. That was almost as much fun as the Kentucky game. Does this carry over? Lets hope. Anyway, lets get to our three favorite things about the Chuck...

3) Pack the Chuck: First of all, what an awesome, awesome saying. I have friends at home who chant this to me and probably don’t even know why or what a “Chuck” is. Besides that, we do have a true home court advantage when people, you know, decide to show up to the games. My favorite memory at the Chuck: My freshman year we hosted Monmouth in the first round of the NEC tournament and the Chuck was rocking before tip. I was in the second row and before our row started jumping up and down-- a normal thing to see at a college basketball game. Until the wooden bench we were standing on bent so bad we couldn’t stand on it anymore.

Never change, Chuck.

Actually do. 

Lee: When it's filled, you won't find many better places to take in a basketball game. It's small, old school (that UK upset looked like a Hoosiers movie set!!!), and a TERROR for visiting teams (RMU is 35-8 at the Sewall Center the past three years). Put 3,000+ in the building and it's as hostile a venue as you will find (I'm not kidding). It gets loud (after all, its small as hell), hot (it had to be 90 something degrees in that first round NIT game), and becomes a fortress. The key is actually packing it, and RMU hasn't been able to do that consistently for some reason (more on that later in the week).

......
(Thanks to the guys at Bar Stool for the photo.)

2) EVERYONE STORM THE COURT: This was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. The Kentucky game was awesome and the court storming was the icing on the cake. I never wanted to leave (and didn’t until security made me). Court storming is dangerous and I’m glad no one got *that* hurt. Lets do it again in March 2014.

Here are a few .gif's for your viewing pleasure

Lee: It's really easy to storm. There weren't many challenges to storming the court when we upset UK (the media table was for a bit until my man Paul Jones flipped it out of the way like it was a small defensive back). I mean right out onto the court you go! God bless this guy who made it onto the National TV for eating ittttt, he probably thinks a rubix cube is easier to solve than get all the way into the mosh pit in the center of the court. But seriously RMU we stormed that court like professionals, and many of you could have a shot at doing it again this March if RMU can win the NEC title at home.

1) The place we call home: The Chuck is a dump. Moon high has a nicer court setup then we do. But you know what? The Chuck is our dump.

As many of you know, I am a Mets fan. When the Mets built the beautiful Citi Field and left Shea Stadium I wasn’t sad… at first. Shea had horrendous orange seats with nothing in the outfield but a weird “picnic” area. Shea was a dump, but it was the Mets dump where so many memories were made.

My point? There will be a time in the near future where Robert Morris will not be playing in the Sewall Center any longer. They’ll have a place with bleachers that don’t bend and break, that’s a little smaller so attendance looks better, and maybe will even have seats underneath the hoop. And it’s going to be sad. I’ll miss the memories, the echo you can bring by simply stomping on the ground, and the two rows full of students that pour their hearts out ever damn home game.

Never change, Chuck.

Lee: The amenities are awesome!! From the food (which isn't bad, trust me, I've been to a lot more college arenas and had way worse) to the ability to use your freedom card to buy grub, to the hilarious mini bike race, and other timeout games, it has it all. Throw in you almost always get to boo a Colonial Crazy who airballs a half court shot (or cheer one on who makes it *fist pumps* for those that don't know, I nailed two halfcourt shots at RMU basketball events in my four years at RMU) and the awesome tee-shirt toss (guys, Chris finally caught one!!!) + impressive cheer leading squad (heyyyyy, hey babyyyy), and you cant beat it! Oh yea it's a short walk from the dorms, which isn't the case at some most universities.

Lee Kunkel -- @Kunkel5
Chris Cappella-- @C_Cappella

Tuesday's countdown to tip-off

Did you know RMU basketball tips off this Saturday? The countdown is on. All week CTC will list a rundown of things related to RMU basketball. You can check out yesterday’s piece here. With four days until game day, here is a list of the four things we love about head coach Andy Toole.

4) Chris: Everything from the Kentucky game: We’re not just talking about that incredible inbounds play design that eventually led to Mike McFadden’s go-ahead free throws (although it could warrant its own spot) but what about when he took the microphone and yelled at the crowd to stop throwing trash on the court? Or this awesome tweet from after the game? Toole was the architect of that massive upset.

Lee: Hammer meet nail head: That single game legitimized Toole as a big time college basketball coach. He had his guys prepared for a massive challenge, in the biggest game of their, and his life. Let me make this very clear. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO RMU AGAIN. They will never play a program like UK at home again. It's a once in a life opportunity, and he out coached Coach Cal, and beat a team with 4-5 NBA guys, with an undersized team. He had his guys running until their legs literally did not work. Oh, and the out of bounds call took massive kahuna's. 

3) Chris: The diversity: Toole might be an all-world basketball mind but he’s more then just a coach. The Jersey guy is a pretty big Giants and Knicks fan and will impress with his overall knowledge of the sports landscape.

Lee: There may not be a better interview in the NEC. 

2) Chris: His style: This goes a little deeper and creepier then his coaching style. Toole steals all the ladies hearts with his devilishly good looks and perfect hair. The Penn grad is always well-spoken and his intense nature can pump up his players and the crowd.

Lee: Sounds like Chris has a man crush.....

   

1) Chris: The winning: Since becoming a head coach, Toole is a measly 68-36 with two NEC finals appearances, an NEC regular season title, and an NIT victory over the defending national champions. Not a bad resume to put together in three years. Did we mention he’s still one of the youngest coaches in college basketball? There’s only one thing missing from his resume and CTC feels pretty confident about Toole capturing it this year.

Lee: Enjoy this Robert Morris because it's only a matter of time before he is scooped up by a program with double the athletic budget that RMU has (afterall, Duquesne and Siena showed some sort of interest the past two seasons). That's just the circle of life in college basketball. But for now, Toole will likely orchestrate another 20 win season, and should once again have the Colonials in the NEC title race. If he makes the NCAA tournament, there isn't a column on his resume that isn't checked off. He's already achieved a lot at RMU, everything else is gravy from this point on. When he does leave (it's going to happen people) he has left the program in great shape. They can compete with anyone, anywhere. There is a boatload of young talent on the roster, and he has the team on the map.

Chris: Never leave, coach.
Lee: If you do leave Coach, Just don't go to Duke ... :)

Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5) -- Chris Cappella (@C_Cappella) -- Tomorrow: the top three things we LOVE about the Chuck

Monday's countdown to tip-off

Did you know RMU basketball tips off this Saturday? The countdown is on. All week CTC will list a rundown of things related to RMU basketball. With five days until game day, here are five potentially awesome (and pretty unrealistic) rotations for coach Toole.

5. Chris: “The starters”: Anthony Myers-Pate, Karvel Anderson, Lucky Jones, Jeremiah Worthem, Mike McFadden

-These are the five guys I’m starting. Four of the five have seen serious time for Toole with Worthem being the exception… and he’s really good. Worthem brings an inside out game somewhat similar to what Russell Johnson had.

Lee: I'm with you Chris. This is not only the best five, but maybe the biggest (Hawk for Worthem?). I'm more intrigued by the end of the game 5, given no injuries or foul trouble. Last year after that under-4 media timeout,we knew Velton, Coron or Karvel (whoever had the hotter hand, or both given the amount of games Velton missed), Russ and Mike were on the floor, no matter who started. This year, I believe Toole goes with Ant, Karvel, Newton, Lucky and Mike as his "closers."

4. “Lets rebound”: David Appolon, Lucky Jones, Desjuan Newton, Aaron Tate, Stephan Hawkins

-It’s no secret RMU had some rebounding problems last year. Want to solve that for a few minutes? Put in these five. Appolon or Jones can handle the ball, Jones and Newton can do the bulk of your scoring, and everyone else can jump through the roof on misses.

Lee: That's a big unit, maybe RMU's biggest but no Mike? Come on! Give me McFadden any day when we need a board! I'm going Newton, App, Luck, Hawk and big Mike. 

3. “The defensive unit you put in to preserve a lead”: Britton Lee, David Appolon, Desjuan Newton, Aaron Tate, Mike McFadden

-Situation: There are four minutes left in a ten point game. Which five do you want to go out and get stops? To begin with, I’ve heard some crazy things about Britton Lee and his defense. He can give you nightmares on the perimeter. Speaking of nightmares, you think former Ohio guard D.J. Cooper still doesn’t have the occasional one about Dave Appolon? After that you have Desjuan Newton, maybe the most athletic kid on the team, and Aaron Tate, who has drawn comparisons to former Colonials Lawrence Bridges for his ability to guard four positions.

Lee: Happy Chris added "unrealistic" when describing these lineups. I might throw up if we're up four with less than 10 to go and this unit (Britton Lee, David Appolon, Desjuan Newton, Aaron Tate, Mike McFadden) is on the floor. Love you Chris, but give me Ant, Lee, App, Luck, and Tate for a must stop. I want a ball handler on the floor, and Luck might be the best defender on the team!

2. “MAKE IT RAIN”: Anthony Myers-Pate, Karvel Anderson, Chuck Oliver, Lucky Jones, Stephan Hawkins

-This is my favorite one. Toole can just go small and put four guys around the three point line to start cooking. I know my faith in Myers-Pate’s shooting will pay off this year. I can feel it. Besides that, Karvel has a good enough shot to play in the league and Chuck Oliver *only* shot 44 percent from three in JUCO last year. CTC has talked a ton about how great Lucky was in conference play last year and our expectations for him. Even Hawk has a nice jumper. I don’t think Toole would be thrilled with him taking three pointers though.

Lee: Love this lineup, hope we see it a lot against smaller teams. The spacing would be amazing, and Ant would chew up defenses with the open area in the paint. I'd probably prefer Mike over Hawk simply to give the defense a true post threat to worry about, but I won't complain with Cappela's lineup.

1. “Victory formation”: Kavon Stewart, Evan Grey, Chuck Oliver, David Appolon, Stephan Hawkins

-This is the best lineup! Although this one is light years behind last seasons victory formation that included Treadwell Lewis and Shane Sweigart, victory formation means emptying the bench and getting some guys who might not see the floor too much (and in the case of Grey, rarely ever) some playing time.

Lee: There is no bad victory formation. Hope we see it a lot this year.

Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5) --

Chris Cappella (@C_Cappella) -- Tomorrow’s countdown: The four best things about Andy Toole

10,000 Sims of NEC

There are many analytical sites that sim the NEC, but one of the best is the KenPom sim. Below is the table courtesy of Ken Pom, but I urge you to take a look at the full breakdown on NYC Buckets by John Templon, who throws is some other stats, and why CCSU finishes "first" but is behind both RMU and Wagner in the KenPom rankings.

Link: NYC Buckets Sim

Name	Outright %	Tie %	Avg. Margin	Avg. Wins
Central Connecticut State	17.8%	14.0%	1.7	10.4
Wagner	17.7%	13.8%	1.7	10.4
Robert Morris	16.0%	12.9%	1.7	10.2
Mount St. Mary’s	9.4%	10.0%	1.5	9.7
Bryant	6.7%	8.4%	1.5	9.3
St. Francis (NY)	2.1%	3.9%	1.4	8.2
Long Island	1.1%	1.8%	1.4	7.4
Sacred Heart	0.6%	1.1%	1.3	7.0
St. Francis (PA)	0.0%	0.1%	0.0	4.4
Fairleigh Dickinson	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	2.9

Colonials to play 4 games on ESPN networks

A lot of people wondered if RMU's win over Kentucky in the NIT would lead to more TV exposure for the program, and it appears it could have. One thing is for sure, it didn't hurt.

RMU will play four games on the ESPN Networks, including two NEC games, according to our friend over at colonialscorner.com Andrew Chiappazzi. (NOTE 11/6/13: The NEC released their full schedule today, and RMU will play a 5th TV game at Wagner on March 1st, their last game of the regular season.)

Officially 4 #RMU games scheduled for ESPN nets: 11/17 - RMU/UK, ESPN2; 12/30 - RMU/OKST, ESPNU; 1/30 - RMU/BRY, ESPNU; 2/6 - RMU/LIU, ESPNU
— Andrew Chiappazzi (@achiappazzi) October 31, 2013

"The rematch" against Kentucky will be featured on ESPN 2, and will surely give RMU more exposure. I have a feeling they will talk about that upset at Sewall Center once or twice on the broadcast.

RMU will be on ESPN U when they travel to Stillwater Oklahoma to take on future lotto pick Marcus Smart and his highly ranked Cowboys.

Two NEC games will be featured on ESPN U including one at home.

Because of the ESPNU broadcast, Robert Morris' home game against Bryant on 1/30 has been pushed to an 8 p.m. start. #RMU
— Andrew Chiappazzi (@achiappazzi) October 31, 2013

RMU and Bryant is becoming a good rivalry and will be
showcased on ESPN U from Moon on 1/30, at 8pm.

This will be a huge game in the NEC, and should give the Colonial Crazies plenty of reason to come out in force. Last year, Bryant upset the Colonials in Moon over christmas break, but the Colonials returned the favor at Bryant to win the NEC regular season title. The game broke numerous NEC Front Row records, and produced a wild, rowdy crowd. Expect the Sewall Center to return the favor.

RMU will also be on ESPN U when they play at LIU, a game that has garnered a lot of attention not only around the NEC but nationally.

One other note: All of RMU's home games will be broadcasted online on NEC Front ROW, as will all their NEC road contests. We will try to provide links for the nonconference road games if they are available.


Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5) --

RMCMB Links: 9 days until tipoff!

The Colonials will finally get things started in less than 10 days as they take on Savannah State at the Sewall Center next Saturday, November 9th at 7pm (#PackTheChuck!!). Me and Chris have wrote a ton of preview content and shared our thoughts, but just wanted to pass along some nice NEC coverage, including some nice RMU content, enjoy!

OLDER:
ESPN with a nice look at RMU, and Andy Toole... LINK

If you haven't checked out BBSTATE yet and you like college basketball, you need to. Here is RMU's page, but they have stats, info, athletic budget numbers and everything else on every D-1 school. Tons of information. You get 6 free page views a day, but it's only $12.49 for a year subscription.

There is a ton of great coverage on nycbuckets.com which you all need to bookmark (along with this site, and colonialscorner.com) for the best NEC coverage. They're currently doing some great team by team previews, and have a ton of other content. Here is their NEC Nation link. Today they released their preview on the three time defending champs, the LIU Blackbirds.

College basketball talk has some great NEC content from Kevin Doyle. His NEC preview, and his take on how RMU can capitalize on their win over Kentucky.

NEWER:
Paul Meyer offers his thoughts on what the Colonials may have learned after their exhibition victory over Cal U.

RMU offered a PG out of Philly.

Chris and I offered our ALL NEC team predictions, along with ALL ROOKIE team.

Craig Meyer of the Post Gazette took a look at where the Colonials stand in the KenPom ratings, along with the other NEC teams and RMU's non conference opponents.

Jon Rothstein (who drooped by the Colonials practice yesterday) listed his top-10 coaches on the rise. You can guess who made the list. Rothstein makes a point in saying that Mr. Toole probably won't be in Moon much longer, as bigger programs will be giving him a call soon.

The Colonials have adapted a new slogan for the 2013-2014 season. You have seen it in their tweets on on their shirts at "Meet the Colonials." Here is a mural reminding the team... #MOmentum (Courtesy of head coach Andy Toole).


Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5) --