Bracketology 2020: Utah State, Rutgers and Wisconsin among biggest winners
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When it comes to being on the bubble, there are a number of things a team has to check off in order to be viable. For Rutgers, they have just about everything on the positive side. A good overall record, doing well in a difficult conference, a soild NET ranking (31) and overall metrics, along with big wins over Maryland, Seton Hall, Wisconsin and Penn State.
What they didn’t have yet was a big win away from home. They had just one, and it was against lowly Nebraska. That more than anything seemed to have weighed them down and have them in position to possibly missing the NCAA Tournament. So even though the Scarlet Knights beat Maryland earlier this week, it was the Saturday matchup at Purdue that everyone was paying attention to.
It was a close game throughout, ultimately going into overtime. But in the end, it was Rutgers who got the 71-63 win to improve to (20-11, 11-9 Big Ten). Guaranteeing an above .500 record in conference play along with a true road win has many saying that Rutgers has all but secured a bid to the NCAA Tournament. It also likely put Purdue out of range, falling to 16-15 overall to end the regular season.
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As long as Rutgers can avoid a loss to either Nebraska, Northwestern or Minnesota, they should be going to the Big Dance for the first time since 1991. And the fact that this was accomplished in quite possibly the deepest season in talent in Big Ten history just makes it all the more impressive.