RMU asking fans to pack UPMC Events Center for Horizon League Tournament quarterfinal game
The Robert Morris University basketball team has March Madness aspirations this season and fans are being asked to pack the campus arena tonight for their quarterfinal game against Wright State in the Horizon League Tournament.
The Colonials won the Horizon League regular season championship this year and will host Wright State in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament.
"I think these guys are hungry and our goal is to continue to try and push them and drive them to be able to continue to make this season last as long as it can," said RMU head coach Andy Toole.
Robert Morris flipped the script in just one year, going from a team that lost 20 games to a team that won 20 games, finishing in first place in their conference.
A lot of new faces on the roster helped the team reach the new milestones this season and Toole says the players had an incredible ability to quickly buy in and create chemistry with one another.
"They decided to come here for whatever reason," Toole said. "Now are you going to come here and make the most of it, make the best of it? Try to give your all to it? And I think these guys have done that."
"Just having one goal as a team and as a unit," said junior guard Amarion Dickerson. "That's obviously, at the end of the season, to be Horizon League champions."
Dickerson was named the Horizon League's defensive player of the year and sophomore forward Alvaro Folgueiras was named the league's player of the year.
Senior guard Kam Woods has flown under the radar a bit this season, leading RMU in points and assists this year.
Woods says he's proud of the team for the run it's on, especially considering they started the season with a 2-4 record.
With home court advantage, the team is asking fans to pack the UPMC Events Center to help spark what they hope is a long postseason run.
"It's huge," Toole said. "Obviously to create a great home court environment would be enormous. You know our guys, I think would respond really well to that. I've been trying to tell people all year long they're a really fun team to watch. The way they play the game, the passion they play the game with, the joy they play the game with, some of the highlights they've been able to make have been really spectacular during the course of the year. And it'll be great for everyone to come out and support them for all the work they've put in.
Tipoff against Wright State is set for 8 p.m.
