As the regular season winds down, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the Big Ten standings to see where Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball stand with respect to the Big Ten Tournament. As only the top 15 teams make the women’s tournament and all 18 teams make the men’s tournament, the circumstances are different with each team.
Men in Good Position For Single Bye
Starting with the men’s team, the Scarlet Knights are in a favorable position to earn a single bye to Wednesday, rather than opening the tournament on Tuesday
in the bottom four. Even after Rutgers’ deflating loss to Minnesota, they sit in 14th place, ahead of Maryland, Northwestern, Oregon, and Penn State, each of which the Knights have defeated this season. Rutgers is currently 11-16 overall and 4-12 in the Big Ten.
If Rutgers can secure a few more wins, it will likely finish 14th or higher to end the regular season and get the single bye. Next up is a matchup against Washington, which is 5-11 in Big Ten play and lost to Penn State and Maryland, both of which Rutgers just beat convincingly. However, the Huskies took down Minnesota in Seattle, and Rutgers just fell handily to the Golden Gophers.
After that, the Knights will head to College Park for a rematch with Maryland, East Lansing for the second round against the Spartans, and wrap up the regular season at home against Penn State. Two of those three games are very winnable for Rutgers, and the only extremely difficult game out of the last four will be the trip to Michigan State. As you may remember, RU nearly stole a home win over MSU last month but snatched defeat from victory in a difficult 88-79 overtime loss. So the return game also may not be entirely out of the question.
Projection: Rutgers finishes 14th, gets a bye to Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament
Women Unlikely to Make Tournament
Rutgers women’s basketball last won a game on January 18th, defeating Penn State 76-72 in State College. Since then, it has been tough sledding as the Scarlet Knights have been on a nine-game losing streak. Many of those losses have not been remotely competitive, including a difficult homestand against Michigan, Washington, and Oregon, a humiliating road trip to USC and UCLA, and dropping more winnable games against Minnesota, Purdue, and Illinois with lackluster performances.
Facing the one Big Ten team they had beaten, Rutgers was outplayed in a close contest against the Nittany Lions, as Penn State shot 62 percent on field goals and 70 percent on threes. Former Scarlet Knight Kiyomi McMiller continued her sensational run with 37 points while Gracie Merkle dominated inside with 26 for the Lions.
Despite Rutgers cutting the lead back to single digits several times, it was not enough to secure a season sweep over Penn State. The Knights, who were already dead last in the Big Ten standings, squandered their best opportunity to make a last-gasp push for the Big Ten Tournament. They now have losses to Penn State and Northwestern, both of which are also sitting outside the tournament bubble.
Rutgers will have a decent chance to get at least one more win, as Indiana will visit Piscataway for the Knights’ final home game of the regular season on Wednesday. The Hoosiers, usually one of the best teams in the Big Ten, have just three conference wins and are 14-13 overall. The season finale will come on the road at Nebraska, which is 16-11 but just 5-11 in Big Ten play.
Even with two more conference wins, which would be an extreme longshot given the way Rutgers has looked against bottom-tier competition, Rutgers would not be guaranteed to make the Big Ten Tournament with just three conference wins. Both Indiana and Penn State already have three conference wins, while Northwestern sits with two.
Rutgers will instead look to finish the season on a high note and hope for an invitation to one of the postseason tournaments. Despite finishing 11-19 last season and 3-15 in the B1G, the Knights made a run to the WNIT’s Great 8 before falling to eventual champions Buffalo. There is always a chance they could end up repeating that this season, even if they do not make the Big Ten Tournament.
Projection: Rutgers finishes 18th, misses Big Ten Tournament
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