NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket: Rutgers Scarlet Knights preview

Who? The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Not Lady Knights. Lady Knights are dames, and while there's nothing like a dame, it's not a terribly intimidating team name.

When do they play in the first round? Rutgers will play intra-state foe Seton Hall on Saturday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

What? They were Chanticleers before they were Knights.

Where? Piscataway, New Jersey. Or possibly New Brunswick. But they're both better than Hackensack, right?

Why? The TLAs are midrange for an at-large, but solid, and the record is good.

How? They were an at-large selection.

Surprise? We'll never know what the Big Ten expected of Rutgers, but they tied Northwestern for fourth, six games behind Maryland.

RPI: 42

SOS: 61

Record: 22-9 (12-6 Big Ten)

Good wins: At LSU.

Bad losses: At Michigan State.

Who's running this show? C. Vivian Stringer, since 1995. There are days I wonder if she's real.

Extra, Extra! The Newark Star-Ledger.

Athletic junior swingman Kahleah Copper leads the Scarlet Knights' charge with 16.3 points, but the player you'll see and hear the most of is senior forward Betnijah Laney, at 15.9 points and 10.9 rebounds. She has a phenomenal nose for the ball and is relentless in pursuit. Senior Syessence Davis has taken point guard duties this year, at four assists and 3.4 steals per game, allowing sophomore Tyler Scaife to move to shooting guard and showcase her ability to get to the basket. But Scaife may have to move back if Davis is unavailable.

This is not one of the slogging teams of Rutgers's past, though the offense still relapses when shooters can't find their stroke.

Random statistical observation that will only amuse me: wow, Rutgers does not take a lot of threes.