CORAOPOLIS - Robert Morris is headedd to the Midwest regional in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992, and it won't have to win a play-in game to get there.

Unlike two of the past three Northeast Conference champions, the 15th-seeded Colonials weren't relegated to the play-in game in Dayton. The Colonials (24-10) will meet second-seeded Michigan State (26-6) in an opening-round game Friday in Minneapolis.

"I was very excited to see our name up there," coach Mike Rice said. "The reaction of our players, it's priceless."

The Colonials beat 2008 champion Mount St. Mary's 48-46 in the Northeast Conference game Wednesday. A year ago, Mount St. Mary's was forced to beat Coppin State 69-60 to play its way into the 64-team field before losing to North Carolina 113-74.

"We've been waiting for this moment for the last couple of days, and it seemed like the longest days ever," guard Jimmy Langhurst said. "Now we know we're playing Michigan State in Minneapolis, and it's a great feeling."

The last time the Colonials played in the NCAA tournament, they lost to UCLA 73-53 in a 1992 first-round game. A year ago, they were competitive against Syracuse, losing 87-81 in a NIT game.

"Everybody's ready," said Jeremy Chappell, the Colonials' leading scorer with a 16.9 average. "Now that we finally found out who we're going to play, we're going to go to work the way we know how. We'll watch some film and get a game plan and figure out how to a win a game."