Fans and students give RMU an enthusiastic send-off as they head to the NCAA Tournament
Robert Morris is set to take on
Alabama on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
.
On campus in Moon Township on Wednesday, it was a big farewell for the Colonials as they headed to Cleveland for the matchup.
As you can imagine, fans and students were excited, hoping RMU would get that "one shining moment" but it will be a tough task, taking on one of, if not the toughest, offenses in college basketball right now.
"The principles and the terminology and the execution of what we need to do, they know what that is," said Head Coach Andy Toole. "You've got to be able to do it at the highest level that you've done it all year long. That's what's great about this tournament, and this season, the challenges just get bigger and bigger as the year goes on."
However, it's a good thing that Robert Morris has based a lot of its success this season on defense, finishing the season with a strong turnover margin and the best defensive player in their conference this year.
"It definitely is Alabama but at the end of the day, it is just another basketball game," said Josh Momjafo. "If you look at it like that, you start to think about different things, but like I said, it's just a basketball game. Same basketball we've played since we were kids."
"We wouldn't be here without our defense and I feel like that's a big part of why we've been winning," added DJ Smith. "To stop them, you have to play defense, the teams that have beaten them, they stopped them. We just have to get ready, lock-in, and be ready to guard."
Dickerson is a Cleveland native and said it'll be nice to get back home.
"To be able to showcase my defensive skills at a higher level, against a higher opponent, it's always a great opportunity," said Kam Woods, an Alabama native who added his phone has been blowing up since Sunday.
In all, the team said the support has been unbelievable.
Robert Morris and Alabama will tip off at 12:40 p.m. on Friday but they will have a practice on Thursday in Cleveland.
We'll be there on Friday to bring you all the coverage from Cleveland.
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