Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team has accepted an invitation to take part in the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). The Colonials will be making their second appearance in the CIT in program history and their first since 2012.
"As a coaching staff we felt it was an exciting opportunity for our student-athletes to take part in a postseason tournament," head coach Andrew
Toole said. "It gives our seniors another chance to put on the uniform, and I think it will be a big boost to the younger student-athletes in our program. We had a great experience when we played in the CIT in 2012, and we're excited about getting another opportunity to compete."
RELATED: 2019 CIT Homepage
RMU's opponent will be announced later this week. It marks the eighth postseason appearance for the Colonials in the last 12 years, which includes three automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament (2009, 2010, 2015) and three appearances in the NIT (2008, 2013, 2014).
In the 2012 CIT, Robert Morris advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to pair of road victories. The Colonials opened the tournament with a 67-60 win @ Indiana State (3/13/12) before posting a 69-51 victory @ Toledo (3/17/12). The Colonials fell in the quarterfinals of the 2012 CIT with a 67-61 setback @ Fairfield (3/21/12).
RELATED: CIT History
The Colonials own an overall record of 17-16 (.515) entering the 2019 CIT and are led by senior guard
Josh Williams, who is averaging 13.9 points per contest. Williams, named to the 2019 All-Northeast Conference Third Team, has knocked down 96 three-pointers on the season, an average of 2.91 per game that leads the NEC.
Senior guard
Matty McConnell has provided Robert Morris with averages of 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest and is the program's active leader in points (1,119), rebounds (510), assists (301) and steals (234).
McConnell, named to the 2019 All-NEC Tournament Team, leads the NEC in steals with an average of 1.79 per contest and needs a trio of three-pointers to join former guard Jeremy Chappell (2005-09) as the only student-athletes in program history to accumulate career totals of 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 steals and 200 three-pointers.
Sophomore forward
Charles Bain is also averaging 10.2 points per game for RMU to go along with an average of 4.6 caroms per contest. Bain has shot 46.7 percent (121-for-259) from the field in 2018-19, which ranks
15th in the NEC.
Since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, Robert Morris has compiled an overall record of 240-170 (.585), averaging exactly 20 victories a season over the last 12 years. In nine seasons under
Toole, RMU has compiled an overall record of 167-139 (.546), including a mark of 102-58 (.638) against NEC foes.
Under
Toole, the Colonials have finished first or second in the NEC in scoring defense a total of six times. Robert Morris will enter the 2019 CIT as the top defensive unit in the NEC, allowing an average of 67.8 points per game.
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