Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris University will compete in the Horizon League in 10 of its varsity sports beginning in 2020-21. As the Colonials make the transition, stay tuned to RMUColonials.com over the next few months as it breaks down what to expect. Today, we look at women's basketball.
THE BACKDROP
RMU officially joined the Horizon League July 1, 2020, in 10 of its varsity sports. Sports that will compete in the Horizon League for the Colonials include men's and women's soccer, volleyball, cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, men's and women's basketball, golf, and softball. Men's hockey compete in Atlantic Hockey, women's hockey in College Hockey America (CHA), and rowing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Robert Morris football will join the Big South in 2021, while women's lacrosse joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
TO THE RACK
The Horizon League features 12 members, including Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Robert Morris, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wright State, and Youngstown State. In addition to RMU competing in its first season in the Horizon League in 2020-21, the same holds true for Purdue University Fort Wayne, which announced its move to the conference August 6, 2019.
RECENT CHAMPIONS
IUPUI snapped a nine-year run of either Green Bay or Wright State claiming the Horizon League Tournament crown by defeating the Phoenix, 51-37, March 10 in Indianapolis. The Jaguars, who joined the Horizon League July 1, 2017, also captured the conference's regular-season title by going 15-3 in league play and 23-8 overall. Wright State swept the regular-season and tournament championships in 2018-19 and also took home the 2014 tournament trophy. Green Bay had won at least a share of eight straight regular-season titles before 2018-19, and added a tournament championship in seven of those seasons, adding to its league record of 16.
THE HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
First round and quarterfinal games in the 2020 Horizon League Tournament were played at the home of the higher seed, with the remaining games played in Indianapolis, Ind., at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. In its march to the title, top-seeded IUPUI knocked off sixth-seeded Cleveland State in the semifinals, 71-54, before besting second-seeded Green Bay, 51-37, the next day. The 2021 and 2022 Horizon League Tournament champion will also be crowned at Indiana Farms Coliseum.
THE I-76 RIVALRY
Youngstown State will be Robert Morris' closest Horizon League trip, as YSU sits 58 miles from Moon Township. The Colonials and Penguins have faced each other 23 times in non-conference play, and RMU trails YSU by a 6-17 (.261) difference in the all-time series. Over the last seven meetings, however, the Colonials are 4-3 (.571) against the Penguins, with a 58-43 triumph on Nov. 11, 2019 in their UPMC Events Center debut being the most recent result. The farthest member in the Horizon League for RMU? That would be Green Bay, which is 657 miles away from the UPMC Events Center.
SOME NEW, SOME OLD
Amongst its new Horizon League foes, Robert Morris has never faced Detroit Mercy, Green Bay, IUPUI, Milwaukee, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, and UIC in its history. The Colonials own a 3-3 (.500) record against Cleveland State, 1-3 (.250) mark against Northern Kentucky, 2-1 (.667) record against Wright State, and a 6-17 (.261) mark against Youngstown State. RMU was victorious in its last meeting against NKU, a 59-50 win in the Bluegrass State on Nov. 21, 2017. The Colonials, however, haven't seen CSU or WSU in over a decade, last playing the Vikings on Dec. 28, 2005 (W, 65-54 at CSU) and the Raiders on Nov. 25, 2009 (L, 54-58 at WSU).
MARCH MADNESS
The Horizon League has had a long history of sending multiple teams to national postseason tournaments. Since 2010-11, the conference has had 34 teams compete in the NCAA Tournament, Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), or Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). Outside of the shortened 2019-20 season, the league has sent no fewer than three teams to a postseason tournament during this stretch, with 2015-16 and 2017-18 seeing a record five teams play in either the NCAA Tournament, WNIT, or WBI.
A MID-MAJOR POWER
The Robert Morris women's basketball program is in the midst of a historic run, and its Horizon League arrival shouldn't deter that. Since 2013-14 among mid-major teams, the Colonials rank second in conference tournament titles (4), third in NCAA Tournament appearances (4), fourth in conference regular-season titles (5), ninth in conference wins (101), 14th in conference winning percentage (.802), 15th in postseason appearances (5), 16th in overall wins (150), and 19th in overall winning percentage (.661). In the Horizon League, RMU ranks second behind Green Bay in overall wins, overall winning percentage, conference wins, conference winning percentage, and postseason appearances, and is tied for first in conference regular-season titles, conference tournament titles, and NCAA Tournament appearances.
HORIZON HISTORY
Rising seniors Nina Augustin, Laura Carrasco, and Honoka Ikematsu, and rising redshirt junior Megan Callahan have played four games against Horizon League teams – three coming against Youngstown State. Ikematsu has been efficient in her encounters, averaging 8.8 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 20.8 minutes per game, while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 56.3 percent on three-pointers. In the Colonials' lone defeat over this quartet – a 69-59 overtime blemish to open the 2019-20 season – Ikematsu came off the bench to pour in 15 points on 5-of-9 from three. Rising junior guard Isabella Posset dished out a career-best eight assists in that aforementioned matchup – her collegiate debut – and classmate Esther Castedo is coming off a 12-point effort versus the Penguins in last year's 58-43 victory to open the UPMC Events Center.
THE LEADER
Since taking over for his father, Sal, following the 2015-16 season, Colonials head coach Charlie Buscaglia has emerged as one of the top mid-major coaches in the country. Coach B, as he is respectfully called, enters the 2020-21 campaign with an overall record of 92-37 (.713) and 63-9 (.875) in conference play. He has guided RMU to four consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season titles, a pair of NCAA Tournaments, and the 2018 Postseason WNIT. Coach B tied the NEC record with four Coach of the Year awards – all consecutive – and set new school records in single-season wins (25, 2017-18) and conference wins (17, 2019-20). The 2020-21 season will be Buscaglia's 18th season on the Colonial coaching staff, as he served as an assistant from 2003-08 before being elevated to associate head coach in 2008-09.
THE NEW SQUAD
Robert Morris is welcoming back 10 letterwinners and five players who started 15 or more games from its 2019-20 team. The Colonials' roster features four seniors (Nina Augustin, Laura Carrasco, Holly Forbes, Honoka Ikematsu), four juniors (Megan Callahan, Esther Castedo, Isabella Posset, Natalie Villaflor), three sophomores (Dahomée Forgues, Sydney Palermo, Trinity Papamandjaris), and three freshmen (Mackenzie Amalia, Sol Castro, Yasmine Sifaoui). The 2020-21 squad is made up of six student-athletes from the United States and six international student-athletes spanning five different countries (Argentina, Canada, Finland, Japan, Spain).
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