Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) and will open play in the 24-team field Tuesday, March 13, 2012, with a 7:05 p.m. tip against Indiana State out of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
RMU is making its inaugural appearance in the CIT, and it marks the fourth time in the last five years the Colonials will participate in a postseason tournament. Robert Morris appeared in the 2008 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), followed by NCAA Tournament berths in both 2009 and 2010.
Led by second-year head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials own an overall record of 24-10 after advancing to their fourth straight Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championship game @ LIU Brooklyn (3/7/12) before suffering a 90-73 loss to the Blackbirds.
Indiana State is making its third consecutive postseason appearance, as the Sycamores appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2010, followed by an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011.
The CIT is a 24-team tournament that features 12 first-round games. Four of the teams that win first-round contests will advance to the quarterfinals, while the other eight teams will play for the right to advance to the quarterfinals.
In its fourth year, Santa Clara defeated Iona, 76-69, in the 2011 CIT championship game. Also claiming CIT championships were Missouri State (2010) and Old Dominion (2009).
Missouri State posted a 67-61 win over Pacific in the 2010 CIT championship game, while Old Dominion earned a 66-62 victory over Bradley in the inaugural tournament championship tilt in 2009.
Robert Morris is the third member of the NEC to appear in the CIT. Mount St. Mary's appeared in the tournament in 2009, followed by Quinnipiac in 2011.
The Colonials enter the 2012 CIT led by redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic), who leads Robert Morris in scoring (16.4 ppg), assists (149) and steals (65) and was named to the 2012 All-NEC First Team.
Jones, also a member of the 2012 All-NEC Tournament Team, has scored 559 points on the 2011-12 campaign, which ranks as the fifth highest total in RMU single-season history.
