The news is mixed for Rutgers basketball in the latest updates of the Basketball Power Index from ESPN. This as the Scarlet Knights closed out the regular season on Sunday night with a disappointing loss to Northwestern.
Rutgers is down in the latest Basketball Power Index (BPI) update from ESPN, slipping eight spots to No. 27. The Scarlet Knights enter the Big Ten Tournament with three losses in their last four games.
They finished the season 18-13 (10-10 Big Ten).
What is encouraging for Rutgers, however, is that they are favored on Thursday in their Big Ten Tournament opener against Michigan. According to ESPN BPI, Rutgers is favored at 60.5 percent to win over Michigan.
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When these two teams met in late February, Michigan pulled off a strong 58-45 win at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
The ESPN BPI projection is encouraging for Rutgers to say the least, even as BPI favored Rutgers in each of their final four games. The Scarlet Knights only won once in that stretch. A win would go a long way towards the Scarlet Knights solidifying an NCAA Tournament bid.
In the latest projections from ESPN insider Joe Lunardi, Rutgers is a No. 11 seed and would play fellow No. 11 seed Nevada as part of the ‘First Four.’
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