How Robert Morris Can Clinch the One Seed Over the Last Week of Season

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team has exceeded expectations this season and find themselves in first place of the Horizon League with just one regular season game remaining. The Colonials, after starting 2-4 in conference play, find themselves at 14-5 in the league and 22-8 overall.

The 22 wins are the most for a Colonials team since the 2013 season when they won 22 games in total. The all-time win mark for a Robert Morris squad is 26 and if the team can keep rolling, it may just have a chance to surpass that.

At 14-5, the Colonials have already clinched a first-round bye and a quarterfinal home game in the Horizon League Tournament as they can finish no lower than the second seed in the conference at this point. While banking a second seed would still be fantastic based off of their ninth-place preseason expectations, the Colonials are in the drivers seat in regard to claiming the top overall seed.

With just one game remaining against the IU Indy Jaguars, a win does not necessarily lock up the one-seed as Cleveland St. still has a path to the top seed. The tiebreakers are a bit confusing but the Colonials have multiple paths to clinching the one-seed.

The first scenario is the most simple, if Robert Morris beats IU Indy and Cleveland St. loses to either Wright St. or Purdue Fort Wayne, the Colonials will be the first-seed in the Horizon League Tournament.

Since Cleveland St. and multiple other Horizon League teams have two games left compared to the Colonials’ one, the tiebreakers past the first scenario get a bit fuzzy. The next possible outcome would be for the Colonials to defeat the Jaguars and for Purdue Fort Wayne to lose Northern Kentucky.

A Mastodons loss to the Norse coupled with a Bobby Mo victory would clinch the one-seed because Purdue Fort Wayne would finish below Milwaukee meaning the Colonials win the tiebreaker over Cleveland St. based off of head-to-head wins over the Panthers.

Another key Horizon League foe that Colonial fans should root against on Thursday is Oakland. A Golden Grizzlies loss coupled with a Cleveland St. loss would clinch the one-seed for the Colonials regardless of the outcome of their game against IU Indy.

In conclusion, the easiest path comes with winning on the road at IU Indy on Thursday evening while hoping for a couple of key losses from other teams.

The schools that Colonial fans should root against on Thursday is Cleveland St, Purdue Fort Wayne and Oakland. Then, if they don’t clinch by the end of Thursday but still walk away with a win in Indy, the Colonials will need Purdue Fort Wayne to take down Cleveland St. over the weekend.

Full list of clinching scenarios for Robert Morris on Thursday, per playoffstatus.com:

• RMU beats IU Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne loses to Northern Kentucky
• RMU beats IU Indy and Oakland loses to Milwaukee
• RMU beats IU Indy and Cleveland St. loses to Wright St.
• Purdue Fort Wayne loses to Northern Kentucky and Cleveland St. loses to Wright St.
• Oakland loses to Milwaukee and Cleveland St. loses to Wright St.