Robert Morris vs. Michigan State Preview

The NEC champion Robert Morris Colonials (24-10) get their first taste of NCAA Tournament action since 1992 on Friday night when they take on the second-seeded Michigan State Spartans (26-6) in Minneapolis (9:50 EST). The Colonials own an all-time record of 1-5 in NCAA Tournament play, with that win coming in 1983 in an opening round game against Georgia Southern. They face a much stiffer challenge on Friday with the regular season Big Ten champions on the schedule, and they'll need a Herculean effort from Jeremy Chappell in order to shock the college basketball world.

Chappell averaged 19.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the NEC Tournament, but look for the Spartans to try to stop him. "Chappell is a great player. He adds a lot to his game," said Michigan State forward Raymar Morgan. "He is very versatile, he is a strong guard, he shoots the 3 well and he goes off the dribble. So, like you said, he's a threat wherever you look at him, in every category. So we're just going have to have play him tough." With the Spartans knowing what Chappell can do, he'll have to work extremely hard for everything he gets.

Thus the onus falls upon the shoulders of guard Jimmy Langhurst and forward Rob Robinson to score points. Robinson was named to the NEC's All Tournament Team for his play on the way to the title, and Langhurst has been a perimeter threat all season long. But there is the matter of familiarity, with Langhurst and Morgan being teammates at the AAU level. And while Bateko Francisco is relied upon more defensively, he'll be needed to score some points as well. 

Essentially the Colonials will need more than a few players to play their best games of the season; the Spartans will not allow Chappell to go off and take over the game. Michigan State has big bodies inside and talented guards on the perimeter. RMU will compete, but they're running uphill in Minneapolis.