Robert Morris basketball backed up their regular season title, beating Youngstown State in the Horizon League Tournament Final to advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 2015.
General Information:
Team: Robert Morris
Location: Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Record: 26-8 (15-5)
Head Coach: Andrew Toole (15th season, all at Robert Morris)
What to know about Robert Morris basketball:
After a 10-22 record last year, the media preseason poll predicted Robert Morris basketball to finish ninth in the conference out of 11. How wrong they were, as Robert Morris would go 13-1 in their final 14 conference games and win the Horizon by one game.
In the Horizon tournament, they blew out Wright State, the eight seed, 83-62 before a tight battle against last year’s champions, Oakland in a game that went to overtime. They won thanks to Kam Woods, who made an and-one with 16 seconds left to force overtime, then scored the final basket of the game, to put them up four.
They then easily handled Youngstown State in the final, winning by nine. Kam Woods won tournament MVP, and was joined by Josh Omojafo and DJ Smith on the first team. One player who didn’t make that team was Alvaro Folguieras, who was the regular season Horizon MVP. This shows the depth of this team, especially the one through five.
This team plays a tight lineup of seven players, and it shows, with Robert Morris ranking 315th in the country. You want your best players out there at all times, and Andy Toole and Robert Morris basketball embody this. Plus, it helps when you’ve got an elite duo in Woods and Folguieras.
What Robert Morris does best is move the ball. They are ranked 31st in the country in assists per game and had 23 in the Horizon final. They also just can’t stop winning. The win streak is now at 10, and after a 9-6 start, they finished the season 26-8.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Robert Morris basketball: Round of 64 Exit
Actual seed: 15
This is Robert Morris’ first tournament appearance since 2015, although they won their conference tournament in 2020 before it was unfortunately canceled. Robert Morris, as a program, has made the tournament eight times, but have yet to win outside of the First 4. They do have easily the most well-known NIT win of all time though, beating Kentucky in the first round in 2013.
Speaking of Kentucky, everyone remembers when a fellow Horizon team, Oakland, beat the Wildcats last year, so winning in the first round and pulling off the big upset is definitely doable. Robert Morris played one projected tournament team this season, West Virginia, and lost 87-59. If they can stay out of foul trouble and keep their best players on the court, they can keep the game close and maybe even shock the world. But taking on Alabama, it may be hard for Robert Morris basketball to keep them under 100, possibly even under 120 points.