Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University Colonials did pretty well on their journey through their non-conference schedule, amassing more wins than any other Northeast Conference team this season.

The Colonials won eight games on a schedule that included Lehigh, Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Xavier, Ohio University, Duquesne and Arkansas, among others.

So an 8-5 record at this point is nice. But it doesn't get the Colonials a trophy. Didn't earn RMU a plaque. Certainly doesn't get the Colonials an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. What it does is earn them is a pat on the back and leads to a sense of, "Yeah, but so what?''

"I think everyone plays difficult non-conference schedules,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "I think what you do in the non-conference is solely to prepare you for conference play. At the end of the year, if we have the most conference wins, then I'll say it was beneficial or it was a good thing. If we don't, I'll be disappointed.''

That's not to say Toole didn't see positives achieved during those 13 non-conference games.

"I don't think you ever truly like where you are,'' he said. "I think, as a coach, you're always looking for a little bit more. But I liked the way we improved during our non-conference schedule. I liked that we were able to kind of define our roles, and guys bought into their roles as we moved forward in non-conference play.

"I liked the progress we've made. I'm still going to continue to push them and drive for more progress and be more detailed. I told our guys the biggest improvement we can make from now until the end of the season is going to be more mental than anything else. Just the way we bring focus every day and pay attention to detail, which a lot of times ultimately decides who's successful in games and who's not.''

Toole noted some individual Colonials who stood out as pleasant surprises during the 8-5 non-conference run.

"Obviously, Karvel would probably be the easy answer to that,'' Toole said, referring to junior college transfer guard Karvel Anderson, "because he's done so much for us and he's adapted so quickly to what we're trying to do.''

Anderson is averaging 12.5 points per game in his first season at Robert Morris. In the final six nonconference games, Anderson averaged 15.8 points per game and was 25-of-44 (57 percent) from beyond the arc.

"I think Coron Williams is (a standout) because his personality is such that he just goes out and does his job every day (and) people fail to realize the last four or five games of the non-conference schedule he was shooting at a really high clip,'' Toole said. "He was scoring a quiet 17 points or 12 points on six shots. He was doing some good things.''

Williams, averaging 10.2 points per game, averaged 15.3 points per game over the final four non-conference games and shot 64 percent (16-of-25) from deep.

"I also think Mike McFadden had a really good first half,'' Toole said. "He's been asked to do some more things, and at times he's had to be out there a few minutes longer than would be perfect, and I think he's responded to that challenge really well.''

Because of the knee injury that sidelined Lijah Thompson for the season, McFadden is the Colonials' only experienced post player. He's averaging 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season.

The Colonials haven't played a game since they lost at Arkansas Dec. 20. That's by far the longest layoff of any NEC team leading to the beginning of conference play Thursday night. All other NEC teams played last weekend.

"It is a concern of mine that we haven't play a game in two weeks,'' Toole said. "I think it's really hard regardless of what you do in practice to simulate game situations. Sometimes we have short-term memory loss, so it's almost like we need to stay in a rhythm, so that's one of the things I'm worried about - how we'll come out of the gate.

"I think in a normal world, you should be super-excited to get back on the court because you haven't played in two weeks, but sometimes that doesn't always happen. I think it will be interesting to see how we respond. I hope we respond positively and have great energy to start the game.''

What also concerns Toole is the Colonials' opponent Thursday night. They play somewhat surprising Bryant in the league opener at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

The Bulldogs are 7-4, meaning they had the highest nonconference winning percentage among NEC teams. Last season, Bryant was just 2-28 overall and 1-17 in the NEC as they completed their transition from being a Division II toughie to Division I status.

In short, Bryant has gone from being a curiosity to a contender.

"That's something we talked about with our team -- that Bryant is a much, much improved team,'' Toole said. "They added some guys they had sitting out who have added a great deal to their team.''

Two of those transfers are sophomore guard Joe O'Shea, who's averaging 7.2 points per game, and sophomore guard Dyami Starks, who's averaging 16.9 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NEC, after transferring from Columbia.

"From sitting on the bench in a sweater vest and dress pants and boat shoes every game last year to being able to go out there and play, it's an unbelievable feeling,'' Starks said. "And then having success on top of it - it's a great feeling. I can't describe it.''

Starks and O'Shea have bolstered a team that includes holdovers Alex Francis, a 6'6" junior averaging 15.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and play-making guard Frankie Dobbs, who averages 12.7 points per game.

''I think their other players have improved,'' Toole said. "I think they're playing really well together. They don't really do anything to beat themselves. They take good shots. They play with great pace. They play with great understanding. I thought they would be much improved, and I think a lot of coaches in our league realized they were going to be a much better team than they were last year.''

The Bulldogs could be the most eyebrow-raising team in the NEC thus far.

However, Colonials fans should expect to see two teams highly pumped for Thursday night's game.

"I think you get excited for every game. You get fired up,'' Toole said. "But I think when you get to this part of the year, when you get to January and you know it's league play, there's just so much more at stake every time you go out on the floor. It just gets you a little more excited, a little more revved up and a little more focused on the decisions you're making and how you're preparing and how you're using your time.

"I think one of the biggest keys to January, February and March is using your time wisely and making sure you're making good decisions when you're on the floor and what you're working on and what you're practicing and making sure it's productive practice.''

Unlike in previous seasons, when NEC teams played two league games in early December, this season beginning Thursday night will be all-NEC all the time.

"It's different this year without having had those two games in December where it's kind of like you're putting everything else on hold and trying to rev yourself up for the two conference games for a weekend and then going back into your nonconference schedule,'' Toole said. "I think everyone has a clear and straightforward path about what they have for the rest of the year, and I think it helps you get into a great routine knowing you're going to play Thursday-Saturday (for the most part) all the way out. Right now, everybody's 0-0 and they control their own destiny and you get to go out and really - hopefully - perform at your best.''

NOTES: The Colonials were picked by the league's coaches in their preseason poll to finish second in the NEC. Defending champion LIU Brooklyn was picked to win the championship. However, the Blackbirds will be without standout Julian Boyd for the rest of the season. Boyd, last season's NEC Player of the Year who was averaging 18.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, sustained a knee injury in a game at Rice, Dec. 12 ... The Blackbirds also will be without starters Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner and reserve Troy Joseph this weekend for their games at Sacred Heart and against Quinnipiac ... All three, plus Boyd, were suspended for the first two league games because of their involvement in an incident, Sept. 15 ... Latif Rivers, Wagner's outstanding guard, last weekend returned from an injury and scored 15 points in the Seahawks' game against Penn ... Robert Morris is holding opponents to 66.7 points per game, second in the NEC ... The Colonials also are second in the league in free throw shooting percentage (76.0) ... McFadden is second in the league in field goal percentage (60.9).