Rutgers Basketball: Scarlet Knights are no longer a pushover in the Big Ten

Rutgers basketball has slowly (but steadily) improved since joining the Big Ten. This could easily be the year that the Scarlet Knights move up the rankings.

Heading into the 2017-18 season, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights planned to improve. With their star player, Corey Sanders, returning, it didn’t seem like improvement was that farfetched. When current head coach Steve Pikiell left his post at Stony Brook to come to Rutgers, he knew he would have his work cut out for him. Former head coach Eddie Jordan left the program in shambles, and Coach Pikiell was left to pick up the pieces.

There was no fear that Pikiell would turn around the Rutgers’ program, but many figured it would take a few years. Pikiell had to find a way to infuse this program with talent and find a way to do it quickly. Rutgers already had a solid start with a potential NBA player in Corey Sanders as well as a solid JUCO transfer in DeShawn Freeman on the roster when Pikiell took over. Pikiell then chose to infuse the program with junior college transfers, foreign-born players, and local kids.

In the latest recruiting class, Rutgers was able to secure one of their best classes in a long time. Geo Baker and Mamadou Doucoure were the gems of the class and have already started playing major minutes for the team. Baker was able to push incumbent starter and senior guard Mike Williams to the bench. Baker is averaging 12.5 points so far this season and has shown he can handle the bright lights of college basketball.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Basketball

In Rutgers’ most recent game against Florida State, Rutgers showed the country that they are not a team to be taken lightly this season. They showed more athleticism and have players who can complement Corey Sanders and DeShawn Freeman. With Sanders and Freeman able to distribute the ball more and not have as much of the scoring weight on their shoulders, it will make those two players better as the season goes on.

One thing is evident with Pikiell-coached teams: he preaches defense and his teams play a lot of it. Rutgers may not be able to hide their offensive inefficiency behind their defense all year, but their defense can keep them in games. Rutgers has shown they are committed to playing defense and shutting down the opposition. If they continue to defend like they currently are, defeating Rutgers is not going to be an easy out for anyone in the league.

With as poor as the Big Ten has looked early on this season, the league is ripe with opportunity for the former bottom feeders. After Michigan State, Purdue, and Minnesota, the rest of the Big Ten could finish in any order. Rutgers is going to win at least five games in the league this year and based on their early season performances, it should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Rutgers is equipped with athletic guards, a dominating forward, and depth for the first time since they became a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten Conference Tournament is in their neighborhood this year as well (Madison Square Garden). Rutgers was able to get their first win in the tournament last year and with a stronger roster and a down year for the league, Rutgers may finally finish closer to .500 than they have in a while.

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The Scarlet Knights have arrived quicker than expected and if Steve Pikiell is their head coach, they may be here to stay. The Big Ten needs to take notice as there are now no easy outs in this league. Rutgers is not far from finishing above .500 overall. The next step after that is a return to the NCAA Tournament. Steve Pikiell is building this program the right way and the Scarlet Knights are giving the state of New Jersey a reason to watch basketball again.