Top 10 key moments that brought Robert Morris to 2025 NCAA Tournament

Entering the 2024-25 season, Robert Morris had a brand new roster filled with question marks. They were picked to finish 9th in the Horizon League. However, the Colonials won 16 of the last 17 games, including all three conference tournament games, to get the automatic bid and make the NCAA Tournament. 

There are plenty of reasons and moments that allowed the Colonials to be so successful this season. Here’s a look at the top 10 moments I found that helped Robert Morris the most.

10. Sweeping the Urban-Bennett Invitational MTE

The Colonials hosted its own MTE in November, beating New Orleans, Stonehill, and Lindenwood by 11+ points. All three teams were ranked in the bottom 20 of the country in kenpom, so even without Kam Woods, they were expected to win those games. Besides getting some D-I wins on their belt, this weekend allowed guards DJ Smith and Ryan Prather to take larger roles on the offense, which benefitted the team late when they came through in their own ways.

9. Kam Woods breaking out of slump vs Oakland

Before Woods became Horizon League Tournament MVP and an all-league performer, he struggled mightily coming back from an early ankle injury. At one point, the senior guard had a shooting split of under 30-20-50 while having a large usage. But he went for a season-high 29 points in a road win over Oakland, a game they needed to win after losing to Detroit Mercy in OT. They won 16 of 17 after that, with it being the first of many big outings for Woods.

8. Amarion Dickerson’s 8-block game

One of the biggest developments for RMU was the emergence of Dickerson, a 6’7 JUCO transfer forward who became the Defensive Player of the Year in the Horizon League. His big moment came with a program-record eight blocks in a home win over Detroit Mercy. Although Gabe Dynes of Youngstown State had more blocks in the Horizon League, the top defender on the league’s top defense earned the top prize on that end.

7. 86-76 road win over Cornell

RMU’s non-con schedule was fairly easy outside of the season opener against West Virginia. Their most challenging game was at Cornell, which finished second in the Ivy League standings and had a strong year overall. But RMU handled them in November, led by 19 points and 12 rebounds from Alvaro Folgueiras. This was the moment where the Colonials looked to be different from past teams and the first sign they had the potential to be a contender in the Horizon.

6. 28-0 run vs Green Bay

There were a few challenging moments during Robert Morris’ second-half run, but one many may not remember was falling down 17 points on the road at Green Bay, which, at the time, was winless in league play. The Colonials cut the deficit down to four at halftime before scoring the first 28 points in the second half and blew the Phoenix out of the water. RMU has a history of losing to the bottom teams in the Horizon, but that night wasn’t going to be one of them.

5. 97-93 triple-overtime win over Northern Kentucky

At 0-2 in the Horizon League standings, RMU couldn’t afford to lose to NKU at home to fall to 0-3. It was one of the wildest games in the conference, with 55 minutes needed for the Colonials to escape with the win. Despite Kam Woods shooting 4/26 from the field, Dickerson and Alvaro Folgueiras combined for 48 points, 34 rebounds, and seven blocks in the pivotal win. 

4. Kam Woods to Amarion Dickerson to beat Wright State

Another key moment that could’ve changed RMU’s season was the tight game late at home versus the Raiders, where they were 2-4 in the standings. But Woods made the late play and alley-oop to Dickerson in the final seconds to allow the Colonials to get the 75-72 win. Had they lost and went 2-5, it’s hard to imagine them being the 1-seed. 

3. Cleveland State road win

In the first meetup, Cleveland State handled RMU in Moon Township to go up by several games at the top of the standings. But as the Vikings faced a slump, the Colonials were playing their best ball of the year. In the Cleveland rematch, RMU returned from an early 10-point deficit to get the 68-59 win, allowing them to win the regular season title eventually. Now. the Colonials have one more game in Cleveland to play.

2. Folgueiras’ HL MVP performance

There was another huge road win RMU had in the last month that included a double-digit deficit. The Norse were up by 13 points in the second half after making a bunch of threes, but Folgueiras continued to make shots throughout the game to keep them in it before Woods took over at the end. The sophomore forward finished with a career-high 35 points and 10 rebounds in RMU’s 81-76 comeback road win. Folgueiras eventually won the Horizon League Player of the Year Award, with this being his signature performance.

1. Kam Woods’ clutch moment at the end

Even with the early efficient slump, Woods always played 36+ minutes for RMU and played a part in at least five game-winning or clinching plays. His last one was in the HL Tournament semifinals, making a key three-pointer down two possessions with a minute to go to keep them in the game before making a foul-and-basket play with just 20 seconds to go, tying it up with a free throw.

Woods finished with 23 points and seven assists in the OT win over Oakland before beating Youngstown in the championship game to go dancing. Folguerias was the rightful MVP of the Conference but a great case can be made that Woods was the ultimate reason why the Colonials are in the NCAA Tournament.