Rutgers is in a must-win situation against Indiana
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are currently on a three-game skid, and are in a must-win situation when they tip-off against Indiana tomorrow night at Assembly Hall (7 PM ET; BTN). If Rutgers wants to grab the attention of the NCAA Tournament Committee and prove they are worthy of an at-large berth in the Field of 68, the Scarlet Knights must win against Indiana. There is no margin for error. The Scarlet Knights have their backs against the wall, and if they can pull out a victory in Bloomington tomorrow, they can find themselves back in the tournament discussion. If the Scarlet Knights lose tomorrow, it will be nearly impossible for them to make the NCAA Tournament. According to Bracket Matrix, Rutgers is only projected to land in the Field of 68 by 30 bracketologists, including ESPN's Joe Lunardi who has them as a 12-seed in the "Last Four In".
Currently, Rutgers is sitting at #82 in the NET Rankings, and if the Scarlet Knights can pull out the win tomorrow evening, their NET Ranking would vastly improve because of two things: A. Q1 victory B. Road-win. It will certainly not be easy tomorrow because the Indiana Hoosiers are desperate for a win to keep their NCAA Tournament chances alive. Indiana boasts a very good home record of 14-3, with losses only to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Hoosiers are currently 18-10 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten Conference (9th place). Indiana is currently ranked #43 in the NET but they are only 3-6 against Q1 opponents and are 3-7 on the road. However, Rutgers does not have a great road record this year as the Scarlet Knights are 3-9 away from home. Despite the poor road record, Rutgers is 6-5 against Q1 opponents.
With their backs against the wall, Rutgers will be under immense pressure to win in Bloomington tomorrow. The crowd is going to be fired up, and the atmosphere is going to be extremely intense. But Rutgers has played in these pressure situations before. During the 2019-20 season, the Scarlet Knights were on a three-game skid when they needed two massive wins against #9 Maryland (home) and Purdue (away) to receive a bid for the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights delivered and were able to upset the Terrapins and the Boilermakers. In the 2020-21 season, Rutgers lost 3 out 4 games before facing Minnesota on the road. Rutgers was desperate for a win after they were no-shows in a blowout loss to bottom feeder Nebraska. Rutgers battled Minnesota in overtime, and pulled out the stunning victory to earn themselves a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Looks familiar, right?
Even if Rutgers were to pull out a big win tomorrow in Bloomington, Rutgers will then have to face a tough, scrappy Penn State (Q3) team in what might be considered the biggest senior night in Rutgers college basketball history at The RAC. This is one game Rutgers will absolutely want to avoid losing if they want to keep their chances alive. But, first thing is first, Rutgers must win tomorrow against a tough, battle-tested Hoosiers squad. The Hoosiers will have revenge on their minds after Rutgers swept them in not only two games last season but three games. Rutgers clubbed Indiana at home last season and ran the Hoosiers out of their own building last year. Rutgers also picked up a decisive Big Ten Conference Tournament win against the Hoosiers last year. Rutgers owns a four-game winning streak against the Indiana dating back to the 2019-20 season.
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