RMU/Mount St. Mary's - Round Three

Doesn't this seem familiar?

Robert Morris (21-11, 15-3) faces Mount St. Mary's (16-14, 12-6) on Sunday for the chance to play for the NEC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Colonials defeated Central Connecticut State 71-63 behind 16 points from freshman Karon Abraham while the Mountaineers got 13 points and nine rebounds from Kelly Beidler in their 65-50 win over St. Francis (PA).

These two squads know each other far too well. Sunday will be the third time they've played this season and it will also mark the third time in a row they've matched up in the NEC Tournament.

In 2008, the Colonials came into the semi-finals of the NEC Tournament as the conference's number one seed. However, the fourth seeded Mountaineers rode a 54% shooting performance from the field (including 50% from behind the arc) as they obliterated Robert Morris, 83-65.

But there would be revenge...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8MVZ1D8WDY

In 2009, the same two teams met up against at the Charles L. Sewall Center; this time for the NEC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. With just seconds remaining, NEC Player of the Year Jeremy Chappell lost the handle trying to dribble in between two Mountaineer defenders and it was a loose ball. However, Dallas Green picked it up and hurried a shot, which calmly fell through the basket, giving the Colonials their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.

In a game full of smack talk and technicals, Robert Morris got the best of Mount St. Mary's in their first match-up, 63-57. Senior Jimmy Langhurst led the Colonials with 11 points, but just a few weeks later the guard blew out his knee and his collegiate career was finished. The Mountaineers never held a lead the entire game, though it was close throughout the contest.

Then in a game played just last Saturday, the Mountaineers got a lay-up from junior Shawn Atupem to give Mount St. Mary's a 63-61 win over the defending NEC champions. Although the Colonials shot a much higher percentage than the Mountaineers (49% to 32%), the home team shot 35 foul shots to the visitor's 22, which made the difference.

Atupem and the Mountaineers come in on an 11-game winning streak while the Colonials have lost two of their last four. The stage is set for another great game and the victor should have all the momentum going into the NEC title bout against Quinnipiac or Long Island.

SEMI-FINAL PREDICTIONS
[2] Robert Morris over [3] Mount St. Mary's
[1] Quinnipiac over [4] Long Island