On Tuesday night, Robert Morris fans celebrated on their home floor after defeating the defending national champions. They lined up hours before tip-off, cheered for ESPN cameras and stormed the court when a win that seemed impossible wasn’t that impossible after all.
On Tuesday night, North Carolina A&T and Liberty opened the NCAA Tournament in a game that most don’t even bother to pick in their brackets. North Carolina A&T won and will move on to face No. 1 seed Louisville. A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Liberty’s NCAA Tournament experience ended without a game against a major-conference team.
LIU-Brooklyn will play in a similar game on Wednesday. That’s probably where Robert Morris wouldn’t been had it won the NEC tournament, instead of falling in the semifinals.
At the time, the loss was devastating. But as it turns out, the Colonials ended up somewhere better than Dayton, Ohio.
The NIT was supposed to be a consolation prize. But a game against Kentucky at Sewall Center? By the time the game ended, it wasn’t even a question anymore. This was the bigger prize.
Tuesday’s 59-57 win did more for the program than a date in the NCAA’s first round ever would. In a game televised on ESPN, the Colonials beat perhaps the most-storied program in college basketball. It was, without a doubt, the biggest win in Robert Morris history.
Pittsburgh had been buzzing about the matchup all week. For perhaps the first time, Robert Morris overshadowed Pitt, a team that left for its NCAA Tournament game on Tuesday while the city talked about John Calipari’s Moon homecoming and whether Robert Morris had ever played in a game this big, let alone on its home floor.
Not a lot of people noticed that North Carolina A&T defeated Liberty on Tuesday night.
But they noticed this.
Minutes after the game ended, while the student section was still celebrating the win at center court, coach Andy Toole’s name started trending nationally on Twitter. Robert Morris was the talk of the college basketball world.
Would a win over James Madison do that?
Senior point guard Velton Jones played in the NCAA Tournament. He was part of a team that almost won a game in 2010. But when asked if he thought Tuesday’s win meant more, he barely hesitated.
“I think so,” he said. “Just because Kentucky would never come here otherwise. So for them to be able to come here and us get a victory, it’s just great. It’s a great think for the University. It’s just crazy.”
Of course, Tuesday’s game was unusual. That’s what made it so special. The Robert Morrises of the college basketball world aren’t supposed to host NIT games or Kentucky, let alone at the same time. But now the Colonials are the team that beat Kentucky. That will be remembered. That will get the attention of potential recruits who want to be a part of a program so clearly on its way up.
Players dream about playing for a team like Kentucky.
They also dream about beating that team.
“I think it can do a ton of things, to be honest,” Toole said. “I’m more excited for the guys that are currently in the program and haven’t started to think about the future of the program, because those are the guys that earned that win. Those are the guys that did the heavy lifting and they deserve to enjoy it like crazy.”
Robert Morris University beat Kentucky on Tuesday night in a game that many thought would be a slaughter. Kentucky is the reigning national champions from 2012. RMU was not even supposed to host the game, but with Kentucky's gym being prepped for the NCAA tournament it got moved to Moon Township. RMU is not even know nationally, but with this win against Kentucky they are now a household name. This recognition will do great things for the program and the school in the future.
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