On Tuesday, the Robert Morris men’s basketball team will travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take on the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
RMU is currently on a six-game losing streak and coming off an 83-65 loss at PFW on Saturday.
In the first matchup on Jan. 12, RMU won 91-88 overtime. The game’s story was PFW’s poor shooting in the first half. However, The Colonials shot 61% from the floor and 50% from three in the second half, allowing them to get a lead as large as nine.
But only being able to shoot 9-14 from the line was a massive story for RMU as they left 5 points at the line. Ultimately, a Josh Corbin three with three seconds left saved the day for the Colonials. RMU would get a layup from Stephaun Walker early into OT to take an 80-78 lead and never looked back.
As for the second matchup, it was not as kind to the Colonials, as they lost by 18. This time, RMU would be the team cold from the floor early, shooting 36% from the floor and 35% from three at the end of one. However, they were only down 38-32 and had to feel pretty good for how they played. But RMU would see much of the same shooting-wise as they would shoot 29% from three in the second and never really gave themselves a chance.
The story in this matchup will be who can have the better night from the floor. In the previous two games, the team shooting poor ended up losing. Keep an eye out for which team can get to their second or third option on plays, as these teams will be very familiar with each other and what they want to do. But the team that can be patient and get to their counters will win.
You should watch out for two guys on the Colonials: Josh Corbin and Markeese Hastings. Corbin has been on a hot streak in the past three games, scoring 17,14 and 13 points and shooting 42%, 40%, and 43% from three.
As for Hastings, he has scored 13, 8, and 4 in his past three. He was a hero in January when he hit the game-winning shot over the Mastodons.
If Corbin can continue his hot streak and Hastings has a good game, the Colonials should be in a good position.
Another thing that can help RMU will be their defense. Even if their shots are not falling, they will be in a perfect spot if they defend. RMU may have a rough night from the floor tomorrow, but if they can force PFW to have an equally rough night, that would be huge.
