Ranking in AP Top 25 poll signals near end to Rutgers rebuild
The rebuild is officially ahead of schedule.
The Rutgers men's basketball team has won 7 of its last 8 games, boasting a 5-2 Big Ten record and its first AP Top 25 ranking since 1979. As if that wasn’t enough, it is also 1 of just 4 teams to be undefeated at home, winning all 13 of its contests at the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC).
It wasn’t supposed to happen this quickly. Six weeks ago, the No. 24 (!) Scarlet Knights (14-4, 5-2) had lost their first two Power Five games against Pitt and Michigan State, and it looked as if Rutgers would struggle to build on last year’s 14-win season to contend for a postseason spot.
But, the Knights showed some signs of life in a 72-65 win over Wisconsin and followed it up with a 20-point thrashing of a ranked Seton Hall. Since then, Rutgers has taken care of business at home, with its only loss coming on the road at Illinois.
Even more importantly, the Knights managed to get a Big Ten road win, albeit against a basement-dwelling Nebraska team. Road games in college basketball are always tough, but the Big Ten is a different animal this season, with conference teams winning just 23.5 percent of their road games (16-52 record).
Rutgers has just a 1-3 road record itself, but that could change when the team faces Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night. The Knights have a chance against the No. 19 Hawkeyes (13-5, 4-3), if recent history is any indicator: They spoiled Iowa's Senior Day last spring with a decisive 86-72 win over the then-ranked No. 22 Hawkeyes.
Rutgers' hot start has confirmed the belief of it being an established tournament team, with most projections putting the Knights between a sixth and eighth seed with 12 games left to play before the Big Ten Tournament.
But, for head coach Steve Pikiell, the task at hand is solely to take care of the next game on the schedule. As he often likes to remind his players (and the media), Rutgers was predicted to finish 12th in the Big Ten in the preseason polls.
"The ranking is a testament to the hard work and sacrifices our guys have put forth this year,” Pikiell said. “We are enjoying this journey and we are excited to face the many challenges that lie ahead in the best conference in the country."
While there is still plenty of basketball left to play, it’s a testament to Pikiell and his staff that the Knights have been able to reach this point in year four of Pikiell's tenure at the Banks. Before he took over in 2016, Rutgers was the laughingstock of the Big Ten. The team finished Eddie Jordan’s final year with a 1-16 conference record and had a KenPom ranking of 279th.
Now, they’re in the Top 25, and it's largely thanks to the leadership of junior guard Geo Baker and the development of a young core of sophomores center Myles Johnson, guards Ron Harper Jr., Caleb McConnell and Montez Mathis.
"These guys were young (last year),” Pikiell said. “Now these guys have been there.”
Another factor behind their success is the trend of packed crowds at the RAC, which has sold out its last four games against Power Five opponents (and is sold out again for the Cornhuskers on Saturday). With a 13-0 record at home this season, some college basketball fans have dubbed it the “Trapezoid of Terror.”
“I think this venue has helped a great deal too,” Pikiell said. “It's loud and it makes it very difficult for the other team."
If the Knights can keep up this level of play for the rest of the season, they’ll not only make the NCAA Tournament, but have a shot at making some noise in March too.
When we look back on this season, it could go down as a turning point for Rutgers, much like 2006 was for the football program during Schiano’s first tenure on the Banks.
One thing is for certain: The Knights are back in business in college basketball.
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