Rutgers Basketball did it. It wasn’t the prettiest game in the history of the NCAA Tournament, but the Scarlet Knights knocked off the 7-seed Clemson Tigers 60-56 late on Friday night in their first NCAA Tournament game in 30 years.
The players on the Scarlet Knights will always be able to carry Friday night’s victory with them. It was the first NCAA Tournament win for the program since 1983 when they beat Southwest Indiana by scoring … 60 points.
Winning one game was sweet, but winning two would bring Rutgers to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1979. Overcoming the 2-seed Houston Cougars is a tall task, but one the Scarlet Knights might be well-suited to meet.
See you Sunday night!
— Rutgers Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@RutgersMBB) March 20, 2021
We'll play No. 2 seed Houston in the Round of 32 at 7:10 pm on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will air on TBS#MarchMadness | #GardenStatement pic.twitter.com/0rrbOmS8Dm
Houston is coming off a convincing First Round victory. Cleveland State posed a legitimate threat to the Cougars, but one that had no problem brushing off in an 87-56 blowout win.
They didn’t come out of the game completely unscathed, though. One of their best players, DeJon Jarreau, suffered a hip pointer. His status will need to be monitored ahead of Sunday night’s tilt.
Houston is on the hunt for some history of their own in the coming weeks. While the program made a run of Final Four trips in the 1980s, they haven’t had sustained success since then. While the team made the Sweet Sixteen in the last NCAA Tournament, they haven’t advanced past that since 1984.
If Rutgers has their druthers, that Houston drought will last for at least another year. Here are three keys to a Rutgers victory in the Round of 32.