There will be no third straight NCAA Tournament for Rutgers basketball as the program got kicked to the curb in favor of several teams with much lesser resumes.
It was a rough ‘Selection Sunday’ for Rutgers basketball, who were left out of the NCAA Tournament despite having a much stronger resume than a number of at-large kids.
Rutgers finished the Big Ten regular season 18-13 (10-10 Big Ten). In last week’s Big Ten Tournament, Rutgers helped their stock with a second round win over Michigan and then a tight 70-65 loss to Purdue, the conference’s top team in the regular season.
Had Rutgers been selected, it would have been three straight NCAA Tournament appearances which would have represented a first in program history.
The Scarlet Knights finished No. 40 in the NET Rankings. They were 4-7 against Quad 1 teams and 6-3 against Quad 2 opposition. Providence, for instance, a No. 11 seed, was No. 56 in the NET Rankings and 4-8 against Quad 1 opposition.
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Coming into the Big Ten Tournament, Rutgers was reeling a bit, having lost of three of their last four games in the regular season. But the win over Michigan helped the Scarlet Knights considerably, knocking off a bubble team and helping their own resume.
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