It is easy to say that it was the old ‘Rutgers screw.’ But on ‘Selection Sunday,’ Rutgers basketball was done wrong by the selection committee in being left out of the NCAA Tournament.
The resume for Rutgers basketball, who finished the Big Ten regular season 18-13 (10-10 Big Ten), seemed strong. Factor in the Big Ten Tournament where Rutgers had a second-round win over Michigan and then a tight 70-65 loss to eventual champion Purdue, and it all seemed to favor Rutgers getting in.
The Scarlet Knights finished No. 40 in the NET Rankings. They were a solid 4-7 against Quad 1 teams and 6-3 against Quad 2 opposition. They did have some bad losses including home to Nebraska and two weeks ago at Minnesota.
With all that being said, conventional wisdom held that at the very least, Rutgers would get a ‘First Four’ inclusion if not the field proper. So it was shocking to see Rutgers basketball not a part of ‘Selection Sunday.’
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Rutgers had a stronger resume than several of the at-large teams that were selected on Sunday. Especially when using NET Rankings, which are supposed to factor into the committee’s decision.
- No. 9 Auburn: 20-12 record, No. 32 NET, 3-10 Quad 1 record
- No. 11 seed NC State: 23-10 record, No. 45 NET, 1-6 Quad 1 record
- No. 11 seed Providence: 21-11 record, No. 56 NET, 4-8 Quad 1 record
- No. 11 seed Mississippi State (First Four): No. 49 NET, 4-8 Quad 1
Rutgers didn’t do itself any favors with a late-season loss to Nebraska and a bad collapse at Minnesota. But the selection committee should have taken into account Rutgers playing two solid games in the Big Ten Tournament, including knocking off a bubble team in the second round (a team that had beaten Rutgers in the regular season, no less).
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