The last time the Youngstown State Penguins visited Moon Township, there was a palpable buzz inside the building. It was one of the best regular season atmospheres for a Robert Morris basketball team in quite some time as the Penguins, Colonials rivalry has generated steam over the past few seasons.
In the past two years, the rivalry series has seen some significant matchups, including a Colonial victory on the road two seasons ago in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament and in the penultimate game of last season where RMU defeated YSU 83-64.
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Youngstown State makes its return to the UPMC Events Center on Saturday as Robert Morris opens its conference home slate.
RMU’s OUTLOOK
Robert Morris (2-5, 0-1) made the long bus ride home after falling in the Horizon League opener Wednesday evening at Truist Arena against Northern Kentucky, 77-59.
Even though Northern Kentucky was selected to repeat as the conference champions, the Norse, at times, looked vulnerable. However, the Colonials could not capitalize after tying the game at 33 apiece early into the second half. The Norse would subsequently go on a 24-4 run that ran the Colonials out of the building, leading to the biggest margin of defeat for RMU against NKU.
Days after RMU dropped down 11 triples, the Colonials fell flat from behind the arc, connecting on only 4 of 22 shots.
After serving a one-game suspension, Markeese Hastings was inserted back in the lineup and was for stretches the lone scorer for the Colonials. Hastings drained the first six points for RMU on the way to a team-high 14 points as the Colonials did not add a secondary scorer until Josh Corbin finally hit a three 12 minutes into the game after missing his first three attempts.
Just as the Colonials expected to be back to full strength for the first time since the season-opener at Xavier, RMU was without guard TJ Wainwright, who was a late scratch due to an unknown injury. There is no update on Wainwright’s status for Saturday’s contest against YSU.
Robert Morris is scoring at a clip of 68.6 points per game with Justice Williams leading the offense, totaling 15.2 points a game. Corbin is not too far behind, averaging 14.5 points a night. Hastings 9.8 rebounds per game leads the Horizon League.
While the Colonials have struggled shooting the ball from the floor (40.9% — 302nd in the nation), they have been composed at the free throw line, hitting 79.7% of their shots, 10th best in the country.
SCOUTING YSU
Youngstown State (4-3, 1-0) started off Horizon League play with a statement as the Penguins defeated their Northeast Ohio rival, Cleveland State, with a resounding 94-69 victory.
The Penguins shot 51.6% from the field in the victory and controlled the glass with a firm 43-30 edge in rebounds, including 27 on the defensive end.
Similar to the Colonials, the Penguins has some stiff non-conference opponents on its schedule that led to three losses. Michigan, Louisiana and Dayton all disposed of the Penguins.
Entering the matchup, the Penguins average 77.1 points per game. The Penguins +5 rebounding differential is the second-best in the Horizon League and within the top 100 in the country.
HEAD COACH
Jerrod Calhoun (Seventh season)
The Penguins are coming off of the high-water mark in the Calhoun era after putting together a 24-win campaign and a 15-5 in the Horizon League. Although Youngstown State fell to the eventual champs, Northern Kentucky, in the semis, they still earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament. YSU hosted a first-round matchup against Oklahoma State at the Beeghly Center, however, they would fall 69-64.
The Penguins’ win over Cleveland State marked win No. 100 for Calhoun at YSU.
TOP PLAYERS
#0 Brandon Rush – 6’3” G
The fifth-year senior has stepped up filling the void for some of the departed players from last year. Rush paces the Penguins with 13.3 points per game and averages 5.4 rebounds a contest. The Horizon League Preseason Second-Team selection adds a viable threat from beyond the arc as he tallies 2.7 makes per game from that range, fifth-best in the conference.
#11 Bryson Langdon – 5’9” G
Langdon remained in the Horizon League after transferring from Northern Kentucky to YSU. The graduate senior brings a valuable veteran presence to the Penguins’ backcourt. After averaging just north of eight points per game with the Norse, Langdon has started this year’s campaign with 11 points a night.
#1 Ziggy Reid – 6’6” F
The third of five graduate seniors on the roster, Reid joined the YSU program after four seasons at Merrimack. Reid has notched 10.7 points per game for the Penguins and shoots 44.1% from the floor. He has also adds a shooting touch from outside with nine 3-pointers on the season.
METRICS
Youngstown State is the third-highest ranked Horizon League team in the Kenpom.com rankings, chiming in at 164. Robert Morris has slipped to 288.
GAME TIME
Tip is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the UPMC Events Center between the Colonials and Penguins.
STREAMING
Saturday’s game can be found on ESPN+ and listened to on the RMU Gameday app.
