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Shortly after wiping a pair of moist palms on his jeans, Robert Morris freshman guard Velton Jones turned around in his chair.
"Am I the only nervous one here?" he asked his teammates, gathered Sunday night on the third floor of the Sewall Center.
At that time, yes. It was only 6:05 p.m. and the CBS selection show had barely started.
Thirty minutes later, all the Colonials were sweating.
The team expected a No. 16 seed. That's where most of the pundits had pegged the Colonials (23-11, 15-3) since winning the Northeast Conference tournament Wednesday and clinching an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Robert Morris' RPI was among the lowest of teams in the tournament.
But with three No. 16 seeds named by 6:35, there was just one spot left for a 16 seed -- the play-in game.
"Some people say the play-in game doesn't really count unless you win," said senior forward Dallas Green. "Whoever wins the play-in game, that just means they made the tournament. Whoever didn't doesn't mean they're in the tournament."
The Colonials were spared those fears.
Robert Morris was awarded a No. 15 seed in the South Region and will play No. 2 seed Villanova in the first round at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Providence, R.I.
The Colonials believe it is a favorable matchup, relatively speaking.
PDFPITT: vs. Oakland, approximately. 2:55 p.m. Friday, Milwaukee.
WEST VIRGINIA: vs. Morgan State, 12:15 p.m. Friday, Buffalo, N.Y.
ROBERT MORRIS: vs. Villanova, 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Providence, R.I.
"If you're happy with a matchup like Villanova," Robert Morris coach Mike Rice said.
He is familiar with Villanova and coach Jay Wright, having been an assistant at St. Joseph's, another Philadelphia school, and Pitt. He recruits the Northeast and has scouted several of the Wildcats.
"[Rice] was our neighbor, lived right down the street from [us] when he lived here," Wright told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He's done an incredible job there. They're a tough team.
"They were good [in the NEC championship game]," Wright said of Robert Morris. "So that's good because I know that will permeate through the team. That gives me a little more confidence. I can sleep better tonight not worrying about [Villanova] looking through the tournament."
A number of Robert Morris players were teammates with or played against Villanova players, either in AAU games or high school.
And the Wildcats' style suits the Colonials well, Rice said. Villanova is a guard-oriented team that relies on speed, much like Robert Morris, and the Colonials will not face as great a low-post height disadvantage as they would against other high-seeded teams.
"We've made history here," Rice said, a nod to his team's consecutive NEC titles. "But you want everybody to know your history, you know, shocking the world."
Rice said he is pleased the game is in Providence, which is a good location for Robert Morris and its fans. And he appreciates the respect his team is receiving.
"A 15 seed speaks that the NCAA thought something of this team and something of this program because when you look at the numbers and you look at all the Bracketology going on, you would think it would be a 16 seed," Rice said.
Robert Morris was a No. 15 seed last year in the tournament, losing in the first round to eventual NCAA runner-up Michigan State.
The Colonials might have gotten a boost when two teams they beat this season -- Morgan State and Ohio -- won their respective conference tournaments, upping Robert Morris' record against NCAA tournament teams to 2-2. That and the fact Robert Morris is in the tournament for a second year in a row might have given it a little more credibility with the selection committee.
All that working in the Colonials' favor, that didn't stop a group of coaches and players from freaking out about the prospects of the play-in game.
In the play-in game, two teams meet Tuesday in Dayton for the right to join the 63 other teams in the first round.
"There's no way," Rice said as he watched the selection show. "They gotta put us as a 15 seed."
He yelled across the room to assistant coach Jimmy Martelli, asking what low seeds were left.
Greg Gumbel answered seconds later, announcing that Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Winthrop would compete in the play-in game.
"You all, not us," senior guard Mezie Nwigwe screamed, pointing at the Winthrop players pictured on TV. "You all, not us. You all, not us."
The Colonials were more excited to see that they weren't heading to Dayton than they were about seeing their school name on national television.
"Had me nervous there for a while," Rice said.
At least Jones wasn't the only one.
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