That Rutgers basketball was left out of the NCAA Tournament isn’t necessarily a shock given that the Big Ten program has been a bubble team for much of the last month. That they were overlooked for some of the other teams that did get at-large bids is what is truly puzzling.
Rutgers, despite having a better NET Ranking and a strong enough Quad 1 record, was shut out of the tournament in favor of teams like North Carolina State and Providence. Both programs were beneath Rutgers in the important NET Rankings.
The Scarlet Knights finished the regular season 18-13 (10-10 Big Ten). They won in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament over bubble team Michigan and lost by five points to Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue.
Saying “I thought we had a resume that stacked up with a lot of teams,” Rutgers basketball head coach Steve Pikiell sounded clear disappointment with the fallout from ‘Selection Sunday.’ Pikiell’s comments were made prior to Rutgers accepting a bid to the NIT.
“A tough day, our goal every year is to go every year to the NCAA Tournament. It felt like we certainly did enough. It’s a tough job, the selection committee has,” Pikiell told reporters on Sunday night.
The omission of Rutgers shocked the college basketball world, including ESPN analyst Dick Vitale who doesn’t understand the decision.
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On CBS following the ‘Selection Sunday’ show on CBS, Chris Reynolds said the season-ending injury to starter Mawot Mag played a role in the decision to leave Rutgers out. Following Mag’s injury, Rutgers lost six of their next eight games.
Reynolds is the chair of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
“They just felt like I guess we weren’t good enough – our resume wasn’t good enough,” Pikiell said.
“Obviously, that changed our team a little bit. I do think we did a lot this year, they’re supposed to take into consideration our entire schedule, our entire body of work.”
“They have a tough job, I don’t envy them at all. They felt like I guess like we didn’t do enough when I kind of felt like we were right there with everyone else in the field.”
Pikiell said his team was “disappointed – every bracket had them in.”
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