Preview: Robert Morris at St. Francis Brooklyn

Robert Morris (13-11, 8-1) at St. Francis Brooklyn (15-9, 6-3)

When: Saturday, February 8 at 2 p.m.

Where: Peter Aquilone Court

KenPom: RMU 171, St. Francis Brooklyn 195

Link: NEC Front Row

Storyline: RMU looks to get back on a win streak against a tough conference foe

Getting to know the Terriers

Thursday’s game on ESPNU at Long Island may have gotten more publicity but make no mistake about it, RMU-St. Francis Brooklyn is a more important game. The Terriers come into this game with an impressive resume of non-conference wins but could really establish themselves as a contender with a home win over Robert Morris, a team they’ve had nice success with in the past.

St. Francis is lead by forward Jalen Cannon. Quite frankly, Cannon is probably a top-5 player in this conference. The junior is averaging 15.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field. Stephan Hawkins and Aaron Tate are going to have their hands full.

Cannon (right) and Wayne Martin form
the NEC's best front court.
(Getty Images)

St. Francis has 11 guys that average over nine minutes a game. Due to some injuries, 11 guys aren’t consistently playing but the point remains: St. Francis is deep and legs are fresh.

Some names to know: guards Ben Mockford and Brent Jones will both play 25+ minutes a game and have complete games. Neither are outstanding shooters, but you certainly can’t leave either open. Freshman Sheldon Hagigal and Wayne Martin have been awesome finds for head coach Glenn Braica. I really like Hunters game: he’s not the biggest but is shooting 50 percent from the field and gets after it on the glass.

St. Francis has had a lot of success because of their defense. While it isn’t playing at the mark it was earlier in the year, the Terriers are 110 in defensive efficiency on KenPom and allow almost nothing at the rim. RMU is going to have to be on from three.

A tough past:

St. Francis Brooklyn is one of the few teams RMU has struggled with. Last year at Peter Aquilone Court, RMU was simply pushed around by a tougher team. While they got their revenge in the last weekend of the regular season, that was a game that still resonates with me. The year before, St. Francis came to the Chuck and dominated the Colonials in their only matchup and even in 2010-2011 the teams split in their two matchups.

Let the Hawk fly, or at least keep him out of foul trouble:

If sophomore forward Stephan Hawkins gets into foul trouble in this matchup, RMU is in big trouble. That is a huge worry because Hawk seems to get into foul trouble virtually every game. He needs to stay disciplined, and keep those arms straight up.

St Francis is going to attack inside with Cannon and Wayne Martin, along with a few other options. They already are a good rebounding team compared to RMU, and taking Hawk out of the game would make the Colonials life that much tougher on the glass. He must stay in the game and give Robert Morris some type of protection at the rim, while collecting a few boards in the process.

Complete control: 

Robert Morris blew an opportunity to really pull away from the rest of the Northeast Conference when they lost to CCSU on their homecout last Saturday, but righted the ship with that win Thursday over LIU. They now have another opportunity to put some major distance between them and the rest of the conference.

One could argue that the Terriers of St Francis actually have the best chance to catch RMU, because they play a fairly easy schedule and still play RMU twice. Bryant, trailing RMU by one game and team closest to RMU in the standings, has already lost to RMU twice and plays a difficult schedule down the stretch.

If Robert Morris finds a way to win this game Saturday, the Colonials would pull three games ahead of St Francis, and would remain at least one game up on Bryant (with the tiebreaker, and easier schedule), and three (if not more) on the rest of the league.

If the Terriers win, the Colonials will likely be tied with Bryant in the standings, and more importantly, the Terriers would trail by only one game with another matchup between the two teams coming up in a few weeks.

Got all that?

Just know this. A win, and Robert Morris is in GREAT SHAPE moving forward. A loss, and that finish against CCSU will start to haunt the Colonials.

Recap: RMU tops LIU

Robert Morris began their three game roadtrip by defeating rival Long Island 65-56 tonight, boucing back from their first NEC loss, moving their record to 13-11, 8-1 in the NEC.

The first half of play was ugly to say the least. RMU jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead due to some nice extra passing and even better defense. LIU had to call a timeout just 3:55 into the game. LIU was like a different team after the timeout, tightening up on defense and forcing RMU into a lot of bad shots. Also of note: Toole went with a lineup that was voided of Lucky Jones and Karvel Anderson. Anderson picked up a quick two fouls and was not a factor in the first half, scoring zero points.

RMU did whatever it took to keep LIU alive in the first half. They turned the ball over a ton; mostly at the hands of Kavon Stewart, who had three of the ten total turnovers. With all that being said, RMU lead 27-24 at half.

Then Karvel Anderson happened. After being held scoreless in the first half, Anderson hit two quick three's to start the second half and never looked back. He finished 6-13 from the field and 4-8 from three with 16 total points. As we noted earlier in the week, the Colonials have had trouble finishing opponents and LIU was looking like they were going to make a run just down seven but Anderson re-entered the game with around six minutes left and four fouls and promptly nailed a three pointer ALL IN THE GRILL OF A BLACKBIRD DEFENDER and it was amazing. After that, the game was pretty much over.

Analysis:
-What a nice bounceback win for RMU. Karvel always talks about being like Kobe Bryant and he had that type of performance tonight. He was a killer out there with 16 second half points. If you didn't get a chance to see the three pointer I was referring to in the recap, please do. One thing I love about Karvel is his footwork: it's superior to anyone I've watched play this year. No matter where he is facing when he shoots, his feet are always set. Outstanding.

Aaron Tate played a big part in RMU's win.

-The second best game played by a Colonial was Aaron Tate. Tate was a workhorse in another big game that found Stephan Hawkins in foul trouble (Hawk did score ten points on 4-7 shooting when he got to play). Of Tate's eleven rebounds, five were offensive. That's incredible. Podium game for Tate.

-Credit should be given to Lucky Jones. He got shutout in the second half, but when RMU needed him to step up and score in the first half with Anderson on the bench he did.

-Its been a tough season for LIU. They had no Gerrell Martin tonight, who is probably their best perimeter scorer, due to a sprained shoulder. Jason Brickman had some trouble driving against the zone defense of RMU, but still finished with 11 assists. He is on pace for a record setting year.

-Nice win for RMU. Not much more to add at this point, this is about what I expected (albeit a little more high scoring) from this game. I fully expect the Colonials to go 3-0 on this roadtrip.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Nice win after that confusing/bad/ugly loss Saturday. It was really important that RMU not only win, but finish strong, and they did just that. Karvel Anderson was once again fantastic. Foul trouble kept on on the bench for most of the first half, but it didn't slow him down in the second frame. That's impressive, and I really enjoy watching Karvel show off his skills on National TV. He deserves the recognition.

Aaron Tate gets my game ball. He got a career high (I think) 11 rebounds and brought a ton of energy to the table. He scored five points, had a nice assist passing out of a double-team, and played maybe his best game yet in a Colonials uniform. That's good to see moving forward.

Kavon Stewart didn't have his best game, but we need to remember he's just a freshman. I like the aggressiveness, and he once again was a major threat on the top of the zone. He has some crazy active hands.

I'll maintain that Stephan Hawkins is the most important player for RMU going forward. He once again played well, but got in foul trouble. Luckily it didn't cost the team, but Hawk has to do a better job staying on the court. Some of the fouls he committed were avoidable.

When Luck finds his shot, the league better watch out. Lucky once again was a huge reason the Colonials won, and he did it without his jumper making a huge impact. History tells us Jones is a better shooter then his current rate, so expect his numbers to increase moving forward.

Good win, huge game Saturday at St Francis Brooklyn, preview up tomorrow on CTC.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Box via ESPN

Game day: Robert Morris at Long Island

Robert Morris (12-11, 7-1) at Long Island University (7-14, 2-6)
When: Thursday, February 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Wellness Recreational and Athletic center
KenPom: RMU 174, LIU 305
Link: ESPNU, ESPN radio 970 AM
Storyline: RMU will look to bounce back from an upset loss as they kick-off a three game road trip at Long Island

Getting to know the Blackbirds
It's been a rough go of things for Long Island. The three time defending NEC champions are no longer with player of the year Jamal Olasewere due to graduation. Forward Julian Boyd was about a week away from returning for his sixth year before tearing his ACL for the third time. A rash of other injuries and graduations has put LIU in a funky situation: they're still dangerous but not being taken too seriously to compete for a championship.

The star of LIU is point guard Jason Brickman. Brickman, who has somehow never finished first team all-NEC, is first in the country in assist rate. Brickman is averaging an astounding 11.6 points and 10.0 assists per game. While he is not shooting at the percentages he would probably like, Brickman is still dangerous.

LIU has other guys who can score. Forward E.J. Reed will see a lot of touches in the high post and is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. "Center" Landon Atterberry might not be the biggest guy (he is listed at 6-6) but he is shooting at a very good percentage and is leading the team with 12.2 points per game. RMU also has to pay attention to guard Gerrell Martin who can knock it down from behind the arc.

When you have a point guard as good as Jason Brickman, offense won't be much of an issue. KenPom has LIU as very much an above-average offense. Defense, on the other hand, is a huge problem. The Blackbirds don't rebound too well and definitely don't defend the three point line. RMU should be able to get some good looks.

Road test
RMU will play their next three games on the road after a rare four game homestand. The Colonials are 5-9 on the road this year.

Role Players
It's hard to argue that David Appolon and Stephan Hawkins are not playing their best basketball in an RMU uniform right not. In the last homestand, Hawkins averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. Appolon averaged 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

Getting Lucky
Congrats to junior forward Lucky Jones on passing the 1,000 point plateau in his carer. Lucky was in a bit of a shooting slump before exploding for 22 points on 7-12 shooting Saturday.

--Chris Cappella
-@C_Cappella

RMU is not finishing strong

RMU is having a heck of a time finishing off teams. Last Thursday against Bryant, the home crowd saw the Bulldogs erase an eleven point second half deficit and cut it to one before the Colonials escaped with a win. Earlier in conference play, Robert Morris blew a double digit lead to St. Francis (PA) before mustering up a comeback of their own to win. 

Those games were a little different because of the end result. No matter what happened, RMU found a way to escape with a win.

Then last Saturday happened. Central Connecticut State, arguably the worst team in the NEC, erased an 18 point lead over the last 7:38 and shocked the home crowd by winning 74-73.

To begin with, good for CCSU: they're down their two best players and couldn't get anything going consistently. They could have easily rolled over and called it a day, but didn't and won a huge game. They did a really good job on Karvel Anderson, who struggled getting to the basket.

You have to wonder if there were some tired legs on the floor at the end of games now with an eight man squad. I didn't really think this would be a huge problem because a lot of teams only go eight deep, but the play of the Colonials would say otherwise. CCSU got some good looks towards the end of the game, including two nice looks from three and multiple ones beating the zone and getting to the rim.

Sometimes teams get hot but RMU couldn't hit a free throw at the end of the game. Kavon Stewart, Karvel Anderson, and Lucky Jones combined to go 4-8 the last 1:55. Between getting beat off the dribble, giving up open looks from three, and missing free throws, it's hard to argue legs weren't tired after two games in three days.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Women’s Action: Lady Colonials’ seven game win streak snapped

by Aaron Hartman, contributor

Monday night marks the first game of the second half of conference play, the part of the season that is most crucial towards postseason success.

The second half of the season is extremely important for a number of reasons. Teams can build up a lot of momentum to make a huge postseason run (See: The Mount Men’s team last postseason), teams can work to clinch the regular season conference championship, and teams can fix the mistakes they may have made in the first match up earlier in the season. Monday night, Wagner’s women’s team seemed to fix every mistake they made in their match up against RMU earlier this year.

Wagner beat RMU for the first time since 2005 in a game that they pretty much dominated. Although the game was close up until the very end--when Wagner ended the game on a 15-1 run-- the Colonials never seemed to be in close contention to win. Artemis Spanou was held to only five points all game, and Ashley Ravelli was 2-19 from the floor and 0-7 from behind the arc before fouling out with roughly four minutes left in the game.

When RMU met up with Wagner last time, the Colonials won by forcing Wagner to turn the ball over and making free throws. They did neither of those things Monday night as they recorded eight steals (compared to Wagner’s ten) and were 7-13 from the line (compared to Wagner’s 16-25).

I think that the Colonials were victims of being on the road, having just played a game that they won at Mount St. Mary’s, where the ladies win a pretty big game. The Colonials were also outcoached. It’s really the first time this year that the game plan just felt off. Wagner has as many, if not more, weaknesses as any team in the NEC and the Colonials didn’t really take advantage of them. We have the best rebounder in NEC history in Artemis, but yet we still allowed Jasmine Nwajei to collect 24 rebounds that game.

The other teams in the NEC will look at this game and realize that there is a definite formula to beating RMU. That formula definitely includes spending as much man power as possible on Artemis. I have faith that Coach Sal will be able to figure out a way to get the pressure off of Arty.

On a positive note, Freshmen Cassie Oursler and Anna Niki Stamolamprou both had very good games. Every time the announcer would praise an RMU player, he would be saying one of their names. I feel very good about their future at RMU. I still stand behind my prediction earlier this year when I said that Stamolamprou could win NEC Rookie of the year.

The women’s team is now in danger of conceding the first place spot in the NEC for the first time all season. Sacred Heart will be playing LIU Brooklyn tomorrow night, and if they win, Sacred Heart will hold the tiebreaker against us. This makes the home game against Sacred Heart on February 10 very crucial for the postseason picture.

It looks like at least one team found a way to exploit the weaknesses of our team, but that doesn’t mean we cannot adjust. The number one overall seed in the conference tournament is very much within our reach, and if I were to bet, I would bet on the Colonials to win the regular season Conference Championship.

Monday hate day: Where did it go wrong?

If you're like me, you believe in omens. Want to know when I knew things were going to go wrong in Saturday's loss to CCSU? Halftime. I took this shot for free books next semester. The results are cringe-worthy:

So forget the fact that RMU couldn't hit a free throw or play a lick of defense in the final ten minutes against the worst team in the NEC. Forget the fact that CCSU celebrated like they won the national championship then taunted the fans despite their irrelevant 6-15 record.

I'll take the blame on this one.

(Real analysis to come later)

--Chris Cappella
--C_Cappella

Robert Morris vs. CCSU preview: Avoiding a letdown

Robert Morris (12-10, 7-0) vs. Central Connecticut State (5-15, 1-6)

When: Saturday, February 1, at 4 p.m.

Where: The Charles L. Sewall Center

KenPom: RMU 159, CCSU 325

Stream: NEC Front Row, RMUradio.com

Storyline: RMU looks to avoid dropping a letdown game and improve to 8-0 in conference for the first time in school history

Getting to know the Blue Devils

It’s been a tough go of things for Central Connecticut State this season. Before the season started, many (myself included) thought CCSU was poised for a run at the NEC title. Things started off bad and never really got better. Star player Kyle Vinales, an NEC player of the year candidate, broke his hand a few weeks ago and if he comes back it’ll only be for the NEC tournament. If the Blue Devils get there. Then, senior wing Matt Hunter became ineligible and will also be out the remainder of the season. Losing your two best players generally isn’t a winning formula.

CCSU still has some talent. Two JuCo transfers I really like are Faronte Drakeford and Khalen Cumberlander. Drakeofrd leads the team with an average of 13.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while Cumberlander averages 6.5 points per game. Malcom McMillan, Matt Mobley, and Brandon Peel are also names to know for CCSU.

KenPom statistics reveal below average offensive and defensive efficiency ratings for CCSU. Going into the season, just about everyone expected a porous defense but figured a high powered offense could hide that flaw enough to win some games. Now with Vinales and Hunter gone, CCSU can’t score and still can’t play defense.

Avoiding the letdown

While RMU is playing some good ball, there was a game two years ago that was eerily similar to what we’re facing now. In 2011-2012 RMU was fresh off a huge win on national television against LIU. The game after? RMU dropped a home game against a clearly inferior St. Francis Brooklyn squad. There was no energy in the building and the players had zero life. RMU has to avoid a similar letdown today.

Getting Lucky?

Lucky Jones is going through a cold streak right now, but the junior guard still remains only seven points away from the 1,000 point mark.