By Chilekasi Adele, Josh Taylor
March 21, 2025 / 3:05 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh
Robert Morris fell to Alabama 90-81 on Friday, knocking the Colonials out of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 15 Robert Morris put up a tough fight at Rocket Arena in Cleveland but ultimately lost to No. 2 Crimson Tide.
Robert Morris punched their ticket to the dance after winning the Horizon League tournament 89-78 over Youngstown State.
The Colonials last qualified for the tournament in 2020, when they won the Northeast Conference tournament championship, but that tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so this is their first appearance in a tournament game since 2015.
RMU came close to a big upset in 2010, when they lost to No. 2 seed Villanova in overtime.
RMU students head to Cleveland to watch the game
Friday morning, some students boarded a bus to go watch the game at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, which is only a few hours from Pittsburgh. A strong contingent of RMU fans was expected. Their ticket allotment sold out on Monday.
For some of the students, the early wake-up call was no match for them.
“Oh, I’ve been up since 5 in the morning,” RMU sophomore Gianna Canova said.
Canova and Julia Klonowski were part of a group riding to the game. It was them and over a hundred of their fellow students.
“I’ve been really wanting to go because I’ve never seen a basketball game,” Klonowski said.
Earlier Friday morning, RMU’s band and cheer squads made the trip to Cleveland.
“It’s a whole new generation of people getting a chance to do this,” said Marty Galosi, RMU’s deputy athletic director and chief of staff.
The students wouldn’t have been able to go without some help.
“We had a generous RMU alum who purchased some tickets and t-shirts and buses to send our students to go have a memorable experience,” said RMU chief experience officer John Locke.
They were hoping the “memorable experience” would end with an upset win.
“I remember the game versus [University of Kentucky] whenever we beat them in 2013,” Canova said. “I really hope we get that same feeling tonight.”
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