NCAA Tournament March Madness
#155 Rutgers
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Projection: need to automatically qualify
Rutgers' profile is built around a neutral-site win at UNLV and useful home victories over Oregon and Northwestern that show the roster can beat respectable opponents, but the resume is marred by damaging losses that will give at-large voters pause. The worst moments arrived in sizable defeats at Michigan and Illinois and an inexplicable home setback to Central Connecticut which dilute the value of tighter results like the close neutral loss to Notre Dame. With a shortage of road and neutral signature wins, upcoming trips to USC, UCLA and Michigan State offer little hope of a resume-defining victory while home dates with Maryland and Penn State represent the clearest opportunities to add a meaningful win. Given that mix of limited quality victories, high-profile losses away from home, and uneven nonconference results, the most realistic way onto the NCAA field is to capitalize on those remaining conference home chances or secure the conference automatic berth.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/5 | Rider | 355 | W81-53 |
| 11/10 | Maine | 345 | W72-60 |
| 11/14 | Lehigh | 305 | W84-72 |
| 11/18 | American Univ | 221 | W80-71 |
| 11/21 | Central Conn | 293 | L67-54 |
| 11/24 | (N)Tennessee | 21 | L85-60 |
| 11/25 | (N)Notre Dame | 79 | L68-63 |
| 11/27 | (N)UNLV | 134 | W80-65 |
| 12/2 | Purdue | 9 | L81-65 |
| 12/6 | @Michigan | 2 | L101-60 |
| 12/13 | @Seton Hall | 49 | L81-59 |
| 12/20 | Penn | 189 | W70-69 |
| 12/29 | Delaware St | 359 | W65-50 |
| 1/2 | Ohio St | 40 | L80-73 |
| 1/5 | Oregon | 98 | W88-85 |
| 1/8 | @Illinois | 4 | L81-55 |
| 1/11 | Northwestern | 62 | W77-75 |
| 1/17 | @Wisconsin | 41 | L96-87 |
| 1/20 | @Iowa | 23 | L68-62 |
| 1/23 | Indiana | 31 | L82-59 |
| 1/27 | Michigan St | 7 | L88-79 |
| 1/31 | @USC | 47 | 10% |
| 2/3 | @UCLA | 39 | 8% |
| 2/7 | Nebraska | 11 | 7% |
| 2/15 | Maryland | 122 | 53% |
| 2/18 | @Penn St | 125 | 32% |
| 2/21 | @Minnesota | 82 | 19% |
| 2/24 | Washington | 48 | 25% |
| 3/1 | @Maryland | 122 | 32% |
| 3/5 | @Michigan St | 7 | 2% |
| 3/8 | Penn St | 125 | 54% |