Robert Morris has had an on-again, off-again relationship with focus.

The wins have been consistent, but the effort and the intensity have not. Coach Mike Rice said that concerns him as the second-seeded Colonials (22-11) head into tonight's Northeast Conference championship game at No. 1 Quinnipiac (23-8) with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line.

Junior guard Gary Wallace said his coach need not worry.

"We've had our ups and downs this season," he said, "but you don't work this hard to get to the championship to just shut it off.

"There are not going to be any letdowns."

The Colonials are seeking their seventh NEC championship, which would add to their conference record. The Bobcats are playing for their first title in their second championship game appearance.

The Bobcats and Colonials played just once this season, an 87-79 Quinnipiac win Feb. 20 at Robert Morris. The Colonials could have clinched the NEC regular-season championship on that senior night. Instead, they now share the crown with the Bobcats, who own the tiebreaker because of their head-to-head win.

Quinnipiac outrebounds opponents by an average of 9.5 rebounds per game, which is the best mark in NCAA Division I. Bobcats forward Justin Rutty, the NEC Player of the Year, is the only conference player to average a double-double (15.2 points per game, 11 rebounds per game), and he leads the league in rebounding. The next best rebounder averages 8.7 per game.

"They think they're the most physical team in the league," said forward Rob Robinson, the Colonials' leading rebounder. "We have to come in with our hard hats on."

Quinnipiac leads the NEC in field-goal percentage and offensive rebounds, which means if the Bobcats miss a shot, there is a good chance they will grab the rebound.

In the teams' meeting in February, Quinnipiac outshot Robert Morris, 50.9 percent to 46.6 percent.

Rice said the Colonials had a lot of defensive breakdowns in the February loss. They hold opponents to an average of 41.0 percent field-goal shooting.

Quinnipiac also outrebounded Robert Morris, 37-28, including a 14-10 advantage on the offensive glass. After the game, senior guard Mezie Nwigwe said the Colonials needed to improve their rebounding. In the four games since, Robert Morris has a combined 117-89 rebounding advantage against its opponents.

Tonight will be the first time in Rice's tenure that the Colonials are playing on the road in the NEC tournament. The past two years, the Colonials were the No. 1 seed in the NEC.

"You're still preparing the same way," Rice said. "Both teams know what we're playing for."

The Colonials got a boost from Robert Morris' academic calendar: This week is spring break, which allowed the team to leave town Monday night to get to Connecticut as soon as possible.

Also aiding the Colonials tonight is this statistic: Rice has not lost to the same team twice in the same season.

"I think it's because we're not afraid to change," he said.

But the formula to beat Quinnipiac is relatively unchanged from the previous time the two teams played, he said; the Colonials just need to execute better.

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