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Fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago, Rutgers women’s basketball has certainly disappointed in their 4-4 start to the season. For interim head coach Tim Eatman, however, it is all building towards conference play.
Rutgers lost all three games in last week’s Paradise Jam, capping the event with an 80-44 loss to Arizona. The Scarlet Knights have now lost four of their last five games.
Eatman says these are good things that Rutgers is going through early in the season.
“What you saw tonight, a great tournament for us. We found out a lot about our team [in] this tournament,” Eatman said after the loss to Arizona.
“Now we know we got to do we have to do – go back home and work on those things. But it was a great tournament plus we played against a team that presses every possession in DePaul. Played against the team that played us all zone in Vanderbilt. Played against a team in Arizona that played a half-court tough, tough, tenacious, half-court, defense.
“All those things we’re going to have in the Big Ten. So now we have experience, now we have good footage to show our players how to execute and so we’re thankful for that.
Rutgers opens Big Ten play on Dec. 5 against Maryland.
Last season, Rutgers went 14-5, losing in the opening round of both the Big Ten Tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament.