MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – RMU men's basketball is set to tip off the 2026-27 campaign on the road Monday night against Nevada in Reno. Tipoff from Lawlor Events Center is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.
ALL-TIME SERIES
RMU and Nevada are set to meet for the first time in program history. The Colonials own an 0-1 all-time record against current members of the Mountain West, with their lone matchup resulting in a 64-52 setback against Air Force.
TOUGH PLACE TO START
RMU will open the 2026-27 campaign in one of the tougher home environments out West. Nevada posted a 17-2 record on its home floor during the 2025-26 season, including victories over Boise State, Grand Canyon, UNLV, Utah State and New Mexico.
OPENING NIGHT
The Colonials own a 4-12 record in season openers under Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andy Toole. RMU will be searching for its first season-opening victory since the 2020-21 campaign, when the Colonials earned a 75-57 win over Point Park at the UPMC Events Center.
Monday marks the fifth consecutive season RMU will begin its campaign away from home. The Colonials have opened against Ohio State, Xavier, West Virginia and Iowa over the previous four seasons, continuing that challenging trend with a trip to Reno to face the Wolf Pack.
SCOUTING NEVADA
Nevada enters its season opener against the Colonials after securing a pair of exhibition victories, defeating Utah, 71-61, and Portland State, 77-71.
The Wolf Pack is coming off a 24-13 overall record and a 12-8 mark in conference play during the 2025-26 season. Nevada advanced to the Mountain West Championship game before falling to top-seeded Utah State, 79-66.
Nevada earned a postseason berth in the National Invitation Tournament, defeating Murray State, 89-75, and Liberty, 73-63, before falling to No. 1 seed Auburn in the NIT quarterfinals.
The Wolf Pack was selected third in the 2026-27 Mountain West Preseason Poll, receiving 148 points and trailing only New Mexico (179) and Grand Canyon (178). Nevada also returns two of the conference's top players in junior forward Elijah Price and senior guard Vaughn Weems, who were both named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team.
LOOKING AT RMU
RMU was selected to finish second in the 2026-27 Under Armour #HLMBB Preseason Poll, receiving 446 points. The Colonials finished behind defending Horizon League regular-season and tournament champion Wright State.
Representing RMU on the Preseason All-League Second Team are Darius Livingston and newcomer Ace Valentine. Livingston earned Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors in 2025-26 after averaging 9.6 points per game during his first season in Moon Township. Valentine arrives at RMU after spending last season at UMBC, where he averaged 12.0 points per game.
Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andy Toole enters his 17th season at the helm of the Colonials in 2026-27. Toole owns a 274-252 career record entering the season and continues to rank among the longest-tenured head coaches in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
VETERAN BENCHES
Monday's season opener features a wealth of experience on the sidelines, as RMU head coach Andy Toole and Nevada head coach Steve Alford enter their 17th and 36th seasons, respectively, as collegiate head coaches.
Toole enters his 17th season at the helm of the Colonials and is the longest-tenured head coach in RMU men's basketball history. Since taking over the program in 2010, Toole has guided the Colonials to seven 20-win seasons, highlighted by 26 victories and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024-25. RMU followed with 22 victories in 2025-26, giving the Colonials 48 wins over the last two seasons.
On the opposite bench, Alford enters his eighth season at Nevada and 36th overall as a collegiate head coach. Alford announced in September that the 2026-27 campaign will be his final season before retiring. He enters the year with a 724-386 career record, ranking 10th among active Division I head coaches in career victories.
Alford has led six different programs to the NCAA Tournament, joining Rick Pitino as the only coaches in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. His résumé includes 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, three trips to the Sweet 16 and head coaching stops at Manchester, Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and Nevada.
The two coaches enter Monday's matchup with 53 combined seasons of collegiate head coaching experience and 998 combined career victories.
NEW FACES ON BOTH SIDES
Monday's contest will feature plenty of new faces as both RMU and Nevada enter the 2026-27 campaign with retooled rosters.
The Colonials welcome 11 newcomers to Moon Township, highlighted by four transfers in Ace Valentine (UMBC), Jalik Dunkley (Nicholls State), KJ Garris Jr. (Cal State Fullerton) and KC Ugwuakazi (Merrimack). RMU's incoming class also features seven freshmen: Lukas Sloane, Will Occomy, Michael Parlow, Stefan Bozhinovski, Daniil Stolbetskiy, Dylan Donovan and Bolaji Oderinlo.
Nevada welcomes 10 newcomers to Reno, including six transfers and four freshmen. The group is highlighted by Styles Phipps, who started all 32 games at Pepperdine last season and averaged 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
VOICE OF THE COLONIALS
Fans can listen to the game live on the RMU Athletics Gameday App as "The Voice of the Colonials" Chris Shovlin, now in his 40th season with RMU Basketball, brings fans all the action both home and away.
The app serves as a one-stop location for exclusive content, including live audio, podcasts and fan guides, while also featuring promotional offers from various sponsors of RMU Athletics. Fans can download the RMU Athletics Gameday App by searching "RMU Colonials" in the App Store or Google Play. Live stats will also be available through SIDEARM.
UP NEXT
The Colonials will continue their road-heavy start to the 2026-27 season when they travel to Chicago on Friday, Nov. 6, to take on UIC. Tipoff against the Flames is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
