Obviously, the NCAA women's basketball tournament selection committee wasn't impressed by Robert Morris' Northeast Conference championship.

Or its 23-9 record.

Or its school-record 17-game winning streak.

Or its demanding non-conference schedule that took the Colonials on the road around the country to play at a number of schools from high-profile leagues.

That's why coach Sal Buscaglia used the words "disappointed and shocked" when he first heard the Colonials were seeded 15th in the Greensboro Region when bids to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament were handed out Monday.

And he had to catch his breath when it was announced the opponent would be second-seeded Rutgers and its iconic coach, C. Vivian Stringer.

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Scouting report

• Matchup: Robert Morris (23-9) vs. Rutgers (24-6), 2:30 p.m. today, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa.
• TV, Radio, Internet: ESPN2, WPYT-AM (660), www.sports.yahoo.com.
• Robert Morris: Is coming off an 86-75 victory against Long Island University in the NEC championship game. ... Led by Sade Logan (25.4ppg), the NEC Player of the Year, and Chinata Nesbit (15.6 ppg), the NEC tournament MVP.
• Rutgers: Is coming off a 57-56 loss against Louisville in quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. ... Allow 51.3 points per game to rank third nationally ... Leading scorers are Matee Ajavon (12.3 ppg), Epiphenny Prince (13.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Essence Carson (10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Kia Vaughn (9.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg).
• Hidden stat: Rutgers is 17-0 all time against teams from the Northeast Conference.

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"We don't deserve a 15th seed. We deserved no lower than a 13th or 14th seed," he said Wednesday before he hopped in his Chevy Impala to make the 12-hour drive to Des Moines, Iowa, where Robert Morris will meet Rutgers (24-7) at 2:30 p.m. today in the first round. "I really would like to know their rationale when it comes to mid-majors. We didn't get the respect we deserve."

Robert Morris was a 13th seed last year when it lost at North Carolina State, 84-52, in its first appearance in the tournament.

Buscaglia said he does a lot of homework on his computer during the long drives, when either his brother, George, or Matt Kirk, who does radio color commentary for the Robert Morris games, are behind the wheel.

It took them 16 hours to go the 1,090 miles to New Orleans and 17 hours for the 1,140-mile trip to Boca Raton, Fla., earlier this season.

"I had a bad flight," Sal Buscaglia said. "I'd much rather drive, but I plan to get back on a plane."

Buscaglia will have a lot of time to think about Rutgers, the seventh-ranked team The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls. The Scarlet Knights, in the tournament for the 10th time in Stringer's 13 seasons, feature All-Big East first-teamers 5-foot-8 Matee Ajavon (12.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and 5-9 Epiphenny Prince (10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Big East defensive player of the year 6-4 Kia Vaughn (9.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg). They allow 51.3 points per game to rank third nationally.

Robert Morris will challenge that defense with 6-0 Sade Logan (25.4 ppg), the second-leading scorer in Division I, and 6-2 Chinata Nesbit (15.6 ppg).

"When you think of a team coached by Stringer, you think of great athletes and great defense," Buscaglia said. "This is a great defensive team. She's a very disciplined coach and teaches her kids discipline."

Asked what he thinks first about Stringer, he answered, "Winner."

Stringer, a graduate of Slippery Rock and a native of German Township in Fayette County, has an 801-266 record in her 37 years as a head coach at Cheyney University (251-51, 12 seasons), Iowa (269-84, 12 seasons) and Rutgers (281-131, 13 seasons). She has the third-most wins of any women's basketball coach in Division I.