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Bracketology 2021: Ohio State, USC, and St. John’s among big winners

By Joey Loose

Feb 3, 2021; Queens, New York, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Collin Gillespie (2) and St. John’s Red Storm guard Posh Alexander (0) fight for a loose ball in the first half at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 3, 2021; Queens, New York, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Collin Gillespie (2) and St. John’s Red Storm guard Posh Alexander (0) fight for a loose ball in the first half at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology Rutgers Scarlet Knights Ron Harper Jr. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology Rutgers Scarlet Knights Ron Harper Jr. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Rutgers

As we just eluded to, the Big Ten is a battle. The league is packed with talent from top to bottom. Even the best teams in the league have had their fair share of struggles and its impossible for any team to run the gauntlet without some poor play. Sometimes, a poor stretch can unhinge a season, but that hasn’t been the case for Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights lost five straight games at the beginning of January, but their results this past week have run their current winning streak to four. On Sunday, they took care of business in Evanston, securing a road win at a Northwestern team that had played great earlier in the conference season. Geo Baker’s 16 points (half of which in the final stretch), helped put the Scarlet Knights over the top on Saturday, toppling Minnesota.

With these victories, Rutgers is now 11-6, and back above .500 in conference play at 7-6. Rutgers was really struggling there for a couple of weeks, but the last two weeks have greatly turned the tide for this team. The Scarlet Knights are right there in the middle of a tough Big Ten, and already have wins over Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State on their resume.

There’s no doubt that Rutgers needs to keep winning tough games to stay above water in the Big Ten. Looking ahead, there are some challenging games looming but some very winnable ones as well. The bottom line is that the Scarlet Knights are back in contention for a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament, avoiding the kind of collapse that Northwestern suffered after a hot start.

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