St. Francis, Robert Morris meet in NEC finals
No. 2 seed St. Francis (Pa.) (22-9, 15-5) vs. No. 1 seed Robert Morris (19-14, 15-5)
Northeast Conference Tourney Championship, UPMC Events Center, Moon Township, Pennsylvania; Tuesday, 6 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: St. Francis (Pa.) is set to square off against Robert Morris in the Championship of the NEC tournament. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 29, when the Colonials outshot St. Francis (Pa.) 50.9 percent to 38.6 percent and made five more 3-pointers on the way to a 10-point victory.
SENIOR STUDS: Robert Morris’ AJ Bramah, Josh Williams and Yannis Mendy have combined to account for 50 percent of the team’s scoring this season and have scored 54 percent of all Colonials points over the last five games.BRILLIANT BRAXTON: Keith Braxton has connected on 31.9 percent of the 113 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 2 for 9 over his last three games. He’s also converted 82.9 percent of his foul shots this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: The Colonials are 5-0 when at least five of their players score 10 or more points and 14-14 when any fewer than that achieve double-figures. The Red Flash are 13-0 when they hold opponents to a field goal percentage of 42.9 percent or worse, and 9-9 when opponents exceed that percentage.
THREAT FROM DEEP: St. Francis (Pa.)’s Isaiah Blackmon has made 42.5 percent of his 193 3-point attempts this season, and is 14 for 37 over the last five games. For Robert Morris, Josh Williams has connected on 41.5 percent of his 246 attempts from deep and is 16 for 40 over the last five games.
DID YOU KNOW: St. Francis (Pa.) is rated first among NEC teams with an average of 78 points per game.