The Cincinnati Bearcats will host the Robert Morris Colonials this season as a part of another very solid non-conference schedule, Jon Rothstein at CBS Sports is reporting.
Cincinnati will host Robert Morris on Sunday 11/15/15 as part of its non-conference schedule, source told @CBSSports.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 18, 2015
The Colonials famously knocked #1 seed Kentucky out of the NIT two years ago, making their school a household name with a nickname “Bobby Mo” to boot. But they’ve been a solid program for a while now.
Since 2005 Robert Morris has won half of the Northeast Conference championships. They’ve won the conference tournament in 2009, 2010, and most recently last season, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament in each. Unfortunately as a mid-major the Colonials have had the misfortune of never being seeded higher than 15th in the last decade. As a result they more often than not run into juggernauts in the opening round and haven’t advanced past the first day.
Overall Robert Morris has fared much better in the NIT but that’s not unexpected.
Last season, as mentioned, the Colonials won the Northeast Conference tournament and finished the season with a 171 RPI. That’s about where they’ll finish in any given year and that’s a good thing for Cincinnati. Remember, the name of the game for the Bearcats it to avoid RPI 250-350+ teams, which they were prone to playing earlier in the Mick Cronin era. Staying in the 150-250 range at a minimum ensures UC a solid RPI themselves come AAC play and Selection Sunday.
Robert Morris is just that kind of team. On top of that they’re a solid early test for the Bearcats. Cincinnati returns everyone from an overachieving team last season and should be primed for a deep NCAA Tournament run. But it all starts in November and if UC can wax the floor with the Colonials, a strong mid-major program, that will surely instill confidence in the fan base in this team’s ceiling.
Bring on Bobby Mo!