Alabama basketball’s first opponent of the 2025 NCAA Tournament is set. The Crimson Tide will face Robert Morris in Cleveland on Friday.

UA is a No. 2 seed in the tournament, and will be favored against the Colonials. As Nate Oats and company begin preparations to open the big dance, here’s what to know about Robert Morris.

How Robert Morris made the NCAA Tournament.

The Colonials, located near Pittsburgh, locked up their bid on Tuesday, winning the Horizon League tournament. RMU took down Youngstown State in that game.

“These guys have been unbelievable all year long,” head coach Andy Toole said in a news release after the win. “They’ve continued to improve all year long. They’ve continued to come together all year long and that’s how we became a championship level team.”

Robert Morris enters the tournament at 26-8. It was the Colonials’ first Horizon League championship.

The 2025 tournament will be RMU’s first appearance in the Big Dance since 2015. The Colonials had made the field in 2020, before the event was canceled due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coach

Toole took over at Robert Morris in 2010. He began his time as an assistant in 2007 before taking over the head coach job after Mike Rice Jr. departed.

Toole guided the program to the Horizon League from the Northeast Conference in 2020. Robert Morris won the NEC tournament in 2015 and 2020, and regular season titles in 2013 and 2014.

He has taken the Colonials to the NCAA Tournament just one time before, the 2015 run. Toole and company lost in the round of 64 that season.

Before joining the staff at Robert Morris, he was an assistant at Lafayette. Toole played his college basketball at Elon and Penn.

The connection

Robert Morris’ leading scorer has a connection to the state of Alabama. He played his high school basketball at Pinson, leading the team to a state championship in 2019, alongside future Alabama and NFL cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Woods played for NC State in the Final Four last season, though the Wolfpack did not face Alabama there.

“That’s my favorite school,” Woods told AL.com in Glendale, Ariz. “I’m not going to lie. Even when they play, I still cheer for them. Hopefully it’s us versus them in the championship.

Woods transferred to Robert Morris this offseason. He has also played at Troy, Northwest Florida State Community College and North Carolina A&T.

He has averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 assists per game for the Colonials in both categories. Woods had 17 points in the Horizon League title game.