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PrintRobert Morris men's basketball coach Mike Rice is taking a head-on approach to tonight's game against Mount St. Mary's.
• Game:
• TV, radio, Internet: PCNC; WPIT-AM (730); RMUColonials.com.
• Robert Morris: Trailed for most of the game in 77-61 loss to Albany Nov. 22. ... Sophomore guard Velton Jones leads team in scoring with 10.6 points per game. ... Has not lost to Mount. Saint Mary's in home regular-season game since 2006.
• Mount St. Mary's: Blown out by No. 16 Georgetown, 83-62, Monday. Lost two players from last season's team that finished second in NEC. ... Guards Jeremy Goode and Jean Cajou lead Mountaineers in scoring with 14.7 points per game.
• Hidden stat: Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's have met in the past four NEC tournaments. The Colonials are 2-2 in that stretch.
Then again, it's difficult to treat the Mountaineers of Emmitsburg, Md., like any other opponent. For four consecutive years, the two teams have met in the Northeast Conference tournament, ending one another's NCAA tournament hopes twice each.
"When you play somebody three times every year, it's going to get heated," said Mount St. Mary's coach Milan Brown.
Mount St. Mary's (3-3) and Robert Morris (1-4) will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Sewall Center in Moon to open NEC play.
Rice said he does not need to say much to inspire the Colonials' upperclassmen. But he and his staff have tried to explain to the younger players how important tonight's game is.
"This is as competitive a team as they're going to face all year, and they have to be ready to be locked in and focused," Rice said.
For the second consecutive year, NEC coaches picked Mount St. Mary's to win the conference.
"I think they would have a slight advantage," Rice said, considering Mount St. Mary's returns its top four scorers from a team that advanced to the NEC title game last year.
Mount St. Mary's leads the series, 24-22, but Robert Morris has owned a recent edge, beating the Mountaineers eight out of the past 10 times. Those two losses, though, knocked the Colonials out of the NEC tournament.
In a league the size of the NEC, Brown said, it's odd to develop a rivalry with a team 41/2 hours away. But that's what happens when two teams play so often with so much on the line, he said.
Robert Morris denied Mount St. Mary's bid to become the first NEC team in 15 years to win back-to-back tournament titles last season. The Colonials beat the Mountaineers, 48-46, in the NEC tournament championship game, their third victory against their rivals last season.
Robert Morris is trying to find consistency this season, having lost last season's top scorer and NEC player of the year, Jeremy Chappell, to graduation. The Colonials lost four of their first five games and are trying to avoid their worst start to a season since 2000. Robert Morris lost its first seven games that season.
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