Following the loss to Wright State Saturday, Robert Morris secured the 10th seed in the Keeps Horizon League Tournament and face the 7th-seeded Youngstown State.

The two teams split their season series at one game apiece. In their first meeting, the Penguins defeated the Colonials 64-60 at the UPMC Events Center on Jan. 5.

RMU got their revenge with a 73-68 Super Bowl Sunday win at the Beeghly Center. Kahliel Spear scored his career-high 27 points in the win.

The Colonials make the 59-mile trek over to YSU for the final time this year in hopes of a repeat of what happened just over two weeks ago.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: ROBERT MORRIS

It’s been a roller coaster of a season for Andy Toole’s squad. After four games, Oklahoma State grad transfer Ferron Flavors Jr. left the program, and just after the new year, the leading scorer at the time Rasheem Dunn also left the program.

The Colonials did not get a Division I victory until Dec. 22 against former NEC foe St. Francis (PA). Toole’s team did not win in conference play until mid-January.

Later in the month, the team found success. The team strung three wins in four games in what looked like a late-season push waiting to happen.

The Colonials did anything but that, losing six of the last seven games, including a 10 point loss at home to NET’s worst team in Division I, IUPUI.

Kahliel Spear has been this roster’s bright spot, scoring a team-high 14.5 points per game. The senior is shooting at an effective 54 percent from the field.

Spear was recently named to the Horizon League Third Team.

As mentioned before, Spear scored his career-high 27 points in the last meeting. Another big game from him would be a recipe for an upset.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: YOUNGSTOWN STATE

The Penguins, meanwhile, finished 18-13, 12-9 in conference play. The Penguins started the season on fire, notching a 7-3 record to kick off the 2021-22 campaign, including a five-game win streak.

The team stumbled after, losing seven of 10 games, and an immediate surge of energy fueled them to a six-game winning streak and eight wins in nine games, separated by RMU on Feb. 13 as their only loss of a fiery run.

There is a two-headed monster for the Penguins, one in the frontcourt and one in the backcourt. Junior guard Dwayne Cohill and senior forward Michael Akuchie will be difference-makers come Tuesday night.

The two are the leading scorers for the Penguins, setting identical stat lines by scoring almost 14 points each game.

Akuchie in the backcourt is a threat on the boards too. In their meeting in Moon Township in early February of last season, he set a Horizon League record with 24 rebounds against the Colonials.

It should be an exciting matchup. Youngstown State has been hot down the stretch and RMU has struggled of late. However, the Colonials know how to beat this team and if they play their cards right like they did that Sunday afternoon, then the Colonials could live to see another day.

You never know what will happen when the calendar flips to March.