Moon Township, Pa. - This might sound preposterous.

Let's be clear at the outset here. Yes, Robert Morris University is off to an 0-2 start in the Northeast Conference but has 16 league games yet to play. So, OK, it's really early.

But they lost those two games at home, and now they're on the road for the next two games.

So ... is Thursday night's game at Fairleigh Dickinson already a "must win'' game for the Colonials?

"Oh, for sure,'' senior point guard Velton Jones said. "We have to win. Got to.''

You can go ahead and include Saturday's game at Monmouth in this, too.

"We've got to win those games,'' Jones said. "We're already in the hole, but if we go to Jersey and lose two more, man, we're in a deeper hole. We have to stop it. We have to, well, not have a short memory, but we have to learn from (the first) two games and just keep working. Keep working. We have to play some defense and rebound the ball. If we can do that in New Jersey, I think we have a good chance to start digging ourselves out of the hole we're in.''

But what if the Colonials lose these two Jersey games?

Then they can probably forget about winning the NEC regular-season championship and could be forced into "scramble mode'' simply to make the league tournament, for which eight of the 12 teams qualify.

Amazing, isn't it?

"We have to start defending, just have to,'' Jones said. "In the past, that's what we relied on - defense. We'd keep teams to 40 points, 50 points, 60 points. We're not a team that goes out and scores 80 points in victories. That's not what we do. That's not what Robert Morris basketball is. We have to play defense. Everything we work on every day in practice is what we have to (take into) into the game.

"That's what we try to emphasize - defense, defense, defense. And we (stink) at it - defense and rebounding. Those are the two major parts we have to improve in, and if we don't, we won't be a good team. We won't win games.''

The Colonials were second in the NEC in rebounding margin last season at +5.1 per game. In their first two league games this season, they were outrebounded by an average of 4.0 per game. They had 67 total rebounds in losses to Bryant and Central Connecticut State. As an aside, sophomore Earl Brown of Saint Francis University had a total of 40 rebounds by himself in games against Central Connecticut State and Bryant last weekend.

RMU coach Andrew Toole shouldered the blame for his team's shortcomings last weekend, saying he had to figure out a way to restore the Colonials' "edge.''

"The (opposing) guys go wherever they want,'' Toole said. "That's on me.''

However, most coaches - in any sport - take the blame for their teams' failings. Shouldn't the players realize it's their fault for a lot of this? That the coaches can only do so much?

"If the players could have figured it out, (they) would have figured it out already as a player. Maybe I was blind to it - inconsistency, some lack of focus stuff. Maybe I thought it was ... I don't know. We have a lot of issues defensively. I mean, we gave up 73 points to three players (against Bryant). We gave up a 34-point spot (to CCSU's Kyle Vinales). As I look down the roster of our guys, I feel like we have guys who are willing to defend, but we got beat time and time again.''

"It all goes back to defense,'' Jones said. "That's what we have to start doing. If we don't defend, we're not going to win. Point blank. Period. That's something we just have to start doing.''

Now, granted an 0-2 start isn't a season-breaker. After all, defending NEC champion LIU Brooklyn also is 0-2, albeit with some caveats. For one thing, the Blackbirds played their first two league games on the road. And for another - and more significant thing - LIU Brooklyn is without last season's NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd, who's out for the season because of a knee injury. And the Blackbirds also played last weekend without starters Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner and reserve Troy Joseph, who served two-game suspensions as a result of a brawl in September.

Plus, there's sentiment around the league that this season might not feature a super team record-wise and that, say, a 14-4 league record might get a team a regular-season championship.

"I don't know enough yet,'' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said, "but I think Robert Morris is the favorite to win this league -- still. I really believe that -- even though they're 0-2. There are still 16 games to be played and (Saturday night) for whatever reason we were just the better team.

"When LIU gets its act together and gets everybody back, and I know they have a major loss in Boyd, but they still have a terrific point guard (Jason Brickman) and they're going to be right in the hunt. I don't know who the top four teams are going to be. I could maybe guess, but I could be wrong on three of them. Every game is a challenge for every team. League play is great. The intensity rises because we're playing for something. The league is going to be topsy-turvy.''

Of course, at this early stage for the Colonials, it's been more turvy than topsy.

At FDU Thursday night, Robert Morris will play a team that was far more turvy than topsy in the past two seasons.

Two seasons ago, the Knights were 5-24 overall and 3-15 in the NEC, which ranked 12th. Last season, FDU finished 3-26 overall and finished 11th in the NEC at 2-16.

At 6-8 overall this season, the Knights already have more wins than in either of those seasons.

Kinu Rochford, a 6'6" senior, is one reason for the improvement. He's averaging 17.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and shooting 57.8 percent from the field. In his past four games, Rochford has totaled 90 points and 53 rebounds.

Melquan Bolding, the transfer from Duquesne, is averaging 14.9 points per game for the Knights.