Rutgers Basketball: Keys to Scarlets Knights resurgence in 2019-20 season
Homecourt advantage
The Rutgers Athletic Center, AKA the RAC, has been rocking this year and is a huge reason for the Scarlet Knights success. It may only hold 8,000 people, but each and every one of those fans have come ready as the 6th man for Pikiell and company. This crowd has helped propel Rutgers to an undefeated home record that includes two top 25 wins over Penn State and Seton Hall.
The players and fans feed off each others energy, benefitting both and it can be seen when watching a game. The players hearing the crowds roars after each big defensive stop or made bucket and the crowd watching players such as Jacob Young, Geo Baker, and even Coach Pikiell point to them and wave their arms has been something to watch.
This brings me to my next point on what makes this season so special for the Scarlet Knights, they all believe in eachother and know their roles. They go 9-deep in their rotation and every player can be seen jumping up and down supporting their teammates from leading scorer Ron Harper all the way down the bench. This acceptance of their roles and team chemistry has really been what has seperated them from other teams this year. The transformation from winning games by turning them into rock fights, to winning games with a good balance of offense and defense has been mesmerizing to watch over these past three years.
Next. Big Ten power rankings. dark
The Big 10 is arguably the best conference in the country this year and it’s almost awkward to say that the Scarlet Knights are in the thick of things seven games into the conference part of the schedule, but here they are; ready to do something that none of the current players were even alive to witness, a Scarlet Knight NCAA tournament bid.