Just 60 miles and the Pennsylvania/Ohio border separates Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center from Youngstown State's Beeghly Center.
The Colonials and Penguins are two mid-major teams that will always fly under the radar. In the Northeast Conference and Horizon League, success cannot be taken for granted. Robert Morris has become the marquee team in the NEC, while Youngstown State is a rising team in the Horizon.
Despite playing in separate states and different conferences, Robert Morris and Youngstown State have met once a year during non-conference play in every season since 2013-14. Youngstown State has hosted the meeting in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, while Robert Morris has hosted in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Youngstown State won the first four contests by scores of 84-76 (2013), 89-81 (2014), 65-58 (2015) and 75-74 (2016). Robert Morris bounced back, winning the next two meetings by counts of 81-74 (2017) and 76-56 (2018). In 2019, the Penguins got back on the winning end of the series, defeating the Colonials by an 81-70 tally.
While Youngstown State has dominated the series by winning five of seven meetings, Robert Morris has produced results come conference play.
In the seven seasons since the series began, Robert Morris has produced a staggering 78-48 conference record, which includes two regular-season championships (2014, 2020) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2015, 2020).
Fortunes in Youngstown have not been as good as they have been in Moon Township. In the same time-frame, Youngstown State has played to a dismal 43-78 Horizon League mark with no postseason appearances to show.
It is a very fair point that Robert Morris has had more success than their eastern Ohio counterpart because the Northeast Conference does not offer the same level of competition as the Horizon League.
Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center is not built to hold a Northeast Conference-level program. It is build for a Horizon League-caliber program. With their success over the past decade, the Colonials have proved that they are simply outgrowing the conference that welcomed them in during the conference's launching season of 1981-1982.
In the arena's inaugural season (2019-2020), Robert Morris lost just three of their 15 home games. The arena was showcased upon its opening, when RMU welcomed in Pittsburgh to open up the new venue, but also during the conference title game in which RMU dominated in-state rival Saint Francis(PA) en route to securing an NCAA Tournament berth before the coronavirus pandemic halted said tournament.
Robert Morris' 2019-2020 season, which consisted of a 20-14 record, a 13-5 conference record and both the regular-season and tournament championships only further emphasized what is already known: RMU is worlds better than their competition.
Under Jerrod Calhoun, the Penguins have made visible strides. His first season (2017-2018) saw the Penguins go 8-24 and 6-12 in conference play. In year two (2018-2019), the Penguins went 12-20 and 8-10 in conference action. By year three (2019-2020), Calhoun turned in an 18-15 overall record and a 10-8 mark in Horizon League competition.
The Penguins, who have never appeared in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level, were set to participate in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, which was cancelled due to the global pandemic. The Penguins also appeared in the CIT in 2012-2013, which was the last season in which YSU earned a winning record prior to 2019-2020.
Youngstown State's 2019-2020 campaign laid the foundation for where this program is heading in the coming years.
A mid-December battle at the city's primary entertainment venue, the Covelli Centre, welcomed Bob Huggins and the nationally-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers to town. Youngstown State led at the half, but lost by a 75-64 score. Nonetheless, Calhoun (a former assistant under Huggins at WVU) proved that he is building a blue-collar style team.
In late February, the Beeghly Center was treated to a gem of a performance by Penguin superstar Darius Quisenberry. The sophomore from Springfield, Ohio put up an eye-popping 41 points and led his Penguins to an 88-70 dissection of the league's eventual regular-season champion, the Wright State Raiders.
The Horizon League, at the moment, consists of 10 teams and five pairs, put together by geography.
The markets of Dayton, Cincinnati (Wright State, Northern Kentucky), Detroit (Detroit Mercy, Oakland), Cleveland (Cleveland State, Youngstown State), Indianapolis (IUPUI), Chicago (UIC) and Milwaukee (UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay) are all currently accounted for. Adding the Pittsburgh market to the mix would likely benefit the league.
Youngstown State and Cleveland State, based on proximity and pairing, are the league's "Cleveland rivalry." It is hardly a rivalry. Both teams have been basement feeders in the Horizon League for the past handful of years. Now, Youngstown State is on the rise, while Cleveland State still has a good number of years before climbing back to success under young head coach Dennis Gates.
Aside from Saint Francis(PA), which is located in Loretto, Pennsylvania (96 miles from Robert Morris), the next closest school in the Northeast Conference is in Emmitsburg, Maryland at Mount St. Mary's University (219 miles from Robert Morris).
By adding Robert Morris and their new gem of an arena to the Horizon League, one of the country's top mid-major conferences would only continue to grow. With that expansion comes a new, fresh rivalry for the league.
In 2020-2021, Purdue-Fort Wayne is set to depart from the Summit League and join the Horizon League. With their rival school (IUPUI) playing just two hours down the road in Indianapolis, the league will now have 11 teams, Robert Morris could become the 12th. Pair the Colonials with Youngstown State, while ultimately pairing Cleveland State with UIC in Chicago.
Robert Morris is most definitely testing the Horizon League waters. They played at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center in 2019, and the Vikings will be coming to play in Moon Township in 2020.
Make no mistake. The rivalry will not be Cleveland State vs Youngstown State anymore. It will be Robert Morris vs Youngstown State. In a few year's time, I think it could possibly even challenge Wright State vs Northern Kentucky as the conference's best rivalry. Both of these programs are steadily on the rise.
It will take some time, however. Northern Kentucky and Wright State, separated by just 72 miles, have claimed the league's NCAA Tournament bid each of the last four seasons, while claiming the conference's top two regular-season seeds in each of the last three conference tournaments.
The first Wednesday post-Thanksgiving has traditionally been the annual meeting date for these two schools, and this year is no different. Youngstown State is set to make their first trip to the UPMC Events Center on Wednesday, December 2.
One annual meeting is not enough for these two schools. As both programs grow, they could eventually become the showcase of the Horizon League, playing twice a year and possibly in dramatic conference tournament games as well.
Youngstown and Pittsburgh are cities that are frequently dominated by big-name schools like the Ohio State Buckeyes and Pittsburgh Panthers. Think about what a rivalry like this would do for the continued growth of basketball in the eastern Ohio/western Pennsylvania demographic.
December 2 is sure to be another competitive game in the series. Hopefully, it is one of the last before these two teams share a conference together.
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