GAME 1
Robert Morris (0-0) @ USC (0-0)
2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 • 11:00 p.m.
Galen Center (10,258) • Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
TV: Pac 12 Network
Talent: Ted Robinson (pxp) & Bill Walton (color) 
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opens its 2018-19 regular season and 43rd campaign of NCAA Division I basketball Tuesday with an 11:00 p.m. EST tip against USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The contest is the first of four games for the Colonials in the 2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
 
- Led by ninth-year head coach Andrew Toole, RMU returns four starters and nine letterwinners from a 2017-18 squad that finished with an overall record of 16-17 (.485), including a mark of 9-9 (.500) in the Northeast Conference.
 
- The Colonials enter the 2018-19 campaign returning 62 percent (1,409-of-2,272) of their scoring, 61.4 percent (724-of-1,179) of their rebounding and 64.9 percent (248-of-382) of their assists.

- Robert Morris was picked fifth in the 2018 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Robert Morris has never been the preseason favorite in the poll despite owning a league-high eight NEC Tournament titles, the last of which came in 2015.
 
- RMU is one of 23 mid-major programs to average 20 victories over the last 11 years. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, the Colonials are 223-153 (.592), an average of 20.3 wins a year and tied with Oakland.
 
- Entering Tuesday's game against the Trojans, RMU owns a record of 20-22 (.476) all-time in season openers, including a mark of 3-5 (.375) under head coach Andrew Toole.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell enters his final season of eligibility in 2018-19 as the program's active leader in games played (94), starts (85), points (784), assists (204) and steals (175). Last season, McConnell averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while ranking third in the NEC in steals per game (2.00).
 
- Sophomore forward Koby Thomas was named the 2018 NEC Rookie of the Year in a vote of league head coaches. He produced averages of 12.0 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds as a freshman in 2017-18. He is the fourth student-athlete in the last 12 years and fifth overall to take home the top rookie honor in program history. In addition, Thomas was named to the 2018 All-NEC Rookie Team.
 
- Thomas and fellow rookie guard Jon Williams each started all 33 games for Robert Morris in 2017-18, establishing a school record for starts by a freshman. Williams posted averages of 6.7 points and 3.5 assists per game. He ranked fifth in the NEC in three-point field goal percentage (.433) and 10th in assists.
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams will make his Robert Morris debut Tuesday @ USC. The transfer from Akron who sat out the 2017-18 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules as well as the older brother of sophomore guard Jon Williams, Josh Williams will have two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Colonials. He played in 69 career games with the Zips, averaging 7.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

USC LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Kent State Tidbits - Robert Morris christened its 2018-19 with an exhibition game to benefit hurricane relief efforts @ Kent State (10/21/18) ... Freshman guard Jon Williams led the Colonials with 14 points and five assists against just one turnover ... Williams shot 4-for-10 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from beyond the arc, while going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line ... RMU owns a record of 7-4 (.636) when Williams dishes out at least five assists in a game, and included in that record is a perfect 4-0 mark when Williams finishes with at least seven dimes in a game ... Off the bench, sophomore forward Koby Thomas scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, converting four of his six shots from both the field and the free-throw line ... RMU shot 39.3 percent (22-for-56) and was just 5-of-22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Leader - RMU head coach Andrew Toole picked up career victory No. 150 thanks to a 60-56 win @ Mount St. Mary's (2/28/18) in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Northeast Conference Tournament. Toole enters his ninth season at the helm leading the Colonials in 2018-19 and has posted an overall record of 150-123 (.549), including a mark of 91-51 (.641) against league foes. Toole, the fastest coach in NEC history to reach 100 career wins in league history, is just eight victories shy of becoming the all-time leader for coaching wins at Robert Morris. Former head coach Jarrett Durham posted an overall record of 157-183 (.462) from 1984 to 1996.
 
The Senior - Matty McConnell enters his final season of eligibility in 2018-19 as RMU's active leading scorer with 784 points. The Pittsburgh, Pa., product will look to become the 25th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points this season. Based on a 31-game regular season schedule, McConnell needs to average just 7.0 points per game to become the first 1,000-point scorer at Robert Morris since 2016.
 
The Freshmen Become Sophomores - A quartet of Colonials enter the 2018-19 campaign with streaks attached. Sophomores Charles Bain, Chris Coalmon, Koby Thomas and Jon Williams each appeared in all 33 games for Robert Morris last season. Thomas and Williams, meanwhile, each started all 33 games for RMU in 2017-18, a record for starts by a freshman. Those two streaks remain intact as the Colonials get set to tip off their 2018-19 season Tuesday @ USC. During the 2017-18 campaign, freshmen supplied the Colonials with 1,175 points, or 51.7 percent of RMU's offensive production.
 
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THE EMERALD ISLE
 
For the first time in program history, Robert Morris took part in a foreign tour, traveling to Ireland in August of 2018 for a nine-day, three-game trip. The venture to Ireland marked the first time the Colonials have taken advantage of an NCAA rule that allows basketball programs to go on an international trip once every four years. RMU posted a perfect 3-0 record during its swing through the Emerald Isle, with sophomore forward Koby Thomas leading Robert Morris with averages of 25.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The Colonials took advantage playing under FIBA international rules, which include four 10-minute quarters and a 24-second shot clock. As a team, RMU posted a scoring offense of 101.7 points per game in their three victories. A breakdown of each of the three wins ...
 
Robert Morris 105, Neptune 66 (8/9/18) - Leading, 49-43, at halftime, RMU took control by holding Neptune to just 10 points in the third quarter in opening up an 83-53 lead in Cork, Ireland ... The Colonials hit seven three-pointers in the third quarter, including three each from guards Matty McConnell and Josh Williams ... Overall in the contest, Robert Morris drained 13 triples ... Four of RMU's five starters scored in double figures, led by McConnell with 21 points ... Sophomore forward Koby Thomas scored 20, sophomore forward Charles Bain added 19 and Williams finished with all 12 of his points in the second half.
 
Robert Morris 104, Moycullen 69 (8/12/18) - In the opening frame, Moycullen hit seven three-pointers in grabbing a 28-18 lead after the first quarter before eventually stretching its lead to 34-22 in Galway, Ireland ... The Colonials clamped down defensively, using a 28-8 run in the final six and-a-half minutes of the second quarter to grab a 50-42 lead at halftime ... RMU eventually stretched its run to 50-13 in the third quarter to own a 77-52 advantage entering the final stanza ... Sophomore forward Koby Thomas finished with 25 points to pace the Colonials, and he was joined in double figures by senior guard Matty McConnell (17), sophomore forward Charles Bain (15), senior forward Seth Rouse (11) and sophomore guard Jon Williams (10) ... McConnell added eight rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals ... Robert Morris finished the game with 20 assists and seven steals.
 
Robert Morris 96, Killester 84 (8/16/18) - RMU concluded its first foreign tour in program history with a win, grabbing a 30-20 lead after the first quarter in Dublin, Ireland ... Sophomore forward Koby Thomas scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half as the Colonials grabbed a 44-36 lead at halftime ... Twice in the third quarter Killester trimmed its deficit to five before RMU used a 17-4 run to open up a 72-54 advantage after three quarters ... Thomas scored 11 of RMU's first 15 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win and finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds in the victory ... Senior guard Matty McConnell scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half ... Senior guard Josh Williams scored 11 points, while sophomore forward Chris Coalmon contributed 10.
 
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Defense Wins Championships - The numbers bear out that following in the footsteps of defending is victories. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 167-48 (.777) when holding their opponent to under 70 points. Under Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 114-40 (.740) when turning the trick. Overall the last 12 years, Robert Morris has held its opponent to under 70 points 57 percent (215-of-377) of the time.
 
Close Out - Speaking of defense, six of the top 10 marks for scoring defense in the Robert Morris record book have come since Andrew Toole joined the staff, including three as an assistant coach (2007-10) and the last eight as head coach. The school record for scoring defense came in Toole's second season as head coach in 2011-12, when the Colonials yielded just 63.5 points per game. Last season, RMU allowed an average of 70.7 points per contest, which ranked second in the Northeast Conference. Under Toole, Robert Morris has finished in the top five in the NEC in scoring defense in each of his eight seasons on the sideline, including a first or second finish five times.
 
Start Me Up - Andrew Toole, who is in his ninth year at the helm of the Colonials in 2018-19, has averaged 8.5 starting lineups per year during his tenure on the sidelines. Toole, who has won 150 games as head coach at Robert Morris, has used 68 different starting lineups overall in the last eight years. That equates to an average of 2.21 victories per starting five.
 
The Steel City - Robert Morris has consistently been at the top of the Northeast Conference leaderboard in steals throughout head coach Andrew Toole's tenure, as the Colonials have led the league in steals in each of the last three years as well as six times overall under Toole. Individually, RMU returns the top picket in the league from last year in senior guard Matty McConnell. In 32 games in 2017-18, McConnell posted 64 thefts, an average of 2.00 per game that ranked third in the circuit.
 
Grand Theft Auto - Senior guard Matty McConnell enters his final season of eligibility in 2018-19 ranked ninth all-time at Robert Morris for career steals with 175. McConnell is looking to become just the eighth player in school history to eclipse 200 career steals. McConnell would join a list that includes Tony Lee (2004-08), Jeremy Chappell (2005-09), Velton Jones (2008-13) and Kavon Stewart (2013-17), each of which were either recruited or coached by head coach Andrew Toole. 
 
Board Games - Part of following the formula in regard to being successful for RMU over the last 11 seasons has been the program's ability to crash the boards. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, Robert Morris owns a record of 148-38 (.796) when the Colonials are even or better in rebounding in a game, including a 140-32 (.814) mark when outrebounding their opponent.
 
Close and Late - A common theme in the eight years that head coach Andrew Toole has been at the helm at Robert Morris has been playing close games late. During Toole's tenure, the Colonials have posted a record of 55-32 (.632) in games decided by five points or less, including a mark of 8-6 (.571) in games decided by a single point.

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