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2013 NIT Tournament: Know Your Enemy: Robert Morris Colonials

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Mar 7, 2012; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Robert Morris guard Velton Jones (2) shoots during the first half in the 2012 NEC tournament against LIU Brooklyn at the Wellness Recreation and Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Robert Morris Colonials 23-10 (14-4), 1st in Northeast Conference

2013 National Invitation Tournament (NIT)

Charles L. Sewall Center, Moon Township, Pa.

ESPN 7:30 PM EST

2012-13 ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS SCHEDULE

DATEOPPONENTRESULT/TIME
Nov 9@ RIDERL79-54
Nov 12vs LEHIGH*L89-60
Nov 13vs FORDAM*W74-58
Nov 17@ XAVIERL61-59
Nov 19vs BGSUW71-60
Nov 20vs CLEVELANDW71-62
Nov 26@ SAVL61-52
Dec 1vs OHIOW84-76
Dec 4@ CAMPBELLW61-58
Dec 8@ HAMPTONW66-54
Dec 15vs DUQW91-69
Dec 18@ ULLW66-61
Dec 20@ ARKKANSASL79-74
Jan 3vs BRYL84-77
Jan 5vs CCSUL77-70
Jan 10@ FDUW88-54
Jan 12@ MONMW70-55

 

DATEOPPONENTRESULT/TIME
Jan 17vs SHUW66-62
Jan 19vs QUINW87-75
Jan 24@ SFPAW84-70
Jan 26vs MSMW76-68
Jan 31@ SFNYL71-61
Feb 2@ LIUW60-57
Feb 6vs SFPAW60-48
Feb 9vs WAGW83-79 OT
Feb 14@ QUINL63-61
Feb 16@ SHUW68-63
Feb 21vs MONMW77-65
Feb 23vs FDUW89-46
Feb 28@ BRYW77-75
Mar 2@ CCSUW81-61
Mar 6vs SFNYW75-57
Mar 9vs MSML69-60
Mar 19vs UK7:30 PM ET

 

* Game played at neutral location

2012-13 ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS

NONAMEPOSHTWTCLASSHOMETOWN
1Mike McFaddenF6-8220JRNewark,NJ
2Velton JonesG6-0170SRPhiladelphia,PA
3Coron WilliamsG6-2170JRMidlothian,VA
4David AppolonG6-3180SOPhiladelphia,PA
5Anthony Myers-PateG5-11170JRWashington,DC
10Treadwell LewisG6-1180SRShelton,CT
15Karvel AndersonG6-2190JRElkart,IN
20Stephan HawkinsF-C6-9205FRGary,IN
22Lucky JonesF6-6205SONewark,NJ
25Shane SweigartG6-4195SRHarrisburg,PA
34Russell JohnsonF6-6180SRChester,PA
45Keith ArmstrongF6-7230SORaleigh,NC

GAME STATISTICS

PlayerGPMINPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGTPGFG%FT%3P%
Karvel Anderson3125.012.72.81.10.80.21.2.481.837.441
Lucky Jones3228.411.86.11.51.30.11.7.456.815.430
Velton Jones2925.510.91.75.21.80.12.4.363.762.340
Russell Johnson2926.710.76.02.01.80.62.1.413.726.343
Coron Williams3324.69.22.21.20.90.10.8.430.758.423
Mike McFadden3125.38.43.60.81.10.41.6.558.6401.000
Anthony Myers-Pate3023.36.02.22.70.90.01.5.394.808.258
David Appolon2714.33.01.70.70.70.01.0.333.655.235
Stephan Hawkins3312.42.62.40.20.20.70.6.457.786.000
*Vaughn Morgan1514.42.32.30.20.51.41.1.385.267.000
Keith Armstrong108.91.01.50.00.40.10.1.308.500.000
Shane Sweigart72.90.30.30.00.30.00.4.250.000.000
Treadwell Lewis62.80.20.30.20.20.00.5.000.500.000
Totals337132149313.430.744.380

 *left the team for personal reasons

The Wildcats were seeded No. 1 overall in the NIT and will play No. 8 Robert Morris, which finished 23-10 and 14-4 in the Northeast Conference. Their two best opponents bested them by a narrow margin, as they lost by two at Xavier and by five at Arkansas. UK and Robert Morris will meet for just the second time in school history, with the Wildcats having won the only meeting, which was a 92-67 victory over the Colonials on December 30, 1993, at Rupp Arena.

Robert Morris’ campus is less than a mile down the road from Moon Area High School, where John Calipari went to high school, so this will be a homecoming of sorts for the 2012 National Championship head coach.

The Colonials are making their second appearance in school history in the NIT and first since 2008, when RMU dropped an 87-81 decision @ Syracuse

RMU is led by junior guard Karvel Anderson, who averages a team-high 12.7 points per game and leads the Colonials with 78 three-pointers.

Another player to watch is senior guard Velton Jones, the RMU career record holder for free throws (493), free-throw attempts (686) and consecutive games played (121),

The Colonials are a guard-oriented team, with no big men over 6″10″. Willie Cauley Stein and Alex Poythress have to assert themselves early and often and take advantage of the Colonials’ lack of size if the Cats hope to jump out to a significant lead early and silence what will be a rocking crown in a compact gym. Their leading rebounder is 6’6″ Lucky Jones, so there’s not reason the Cats should be giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, something they’ve struggled with all season long.

The ultimate factor that will decide this game is motivation. If the Cats play with the heart and passion they showed against Florida and Missouri, this game should be over by halftime. If they come into this game flat and disinterested, RMU will make this a 40-minute ball game that the Cats sweat-out until the final minutes.Ultimately, I see the Cats getting a 69-57 victory.