12. Rutgers (14-14)
Now what’s happened at Rutgers this season has been truly disappointing but isn’t surprising based on recent history. Steve Pikiell has helmed the Scarlet Knights for nearly a decade and has been a brilliant leader for this program, with recent trips to the NCAA Tournament. However, special things were expected this year with a pair of 5-star prospects on campus in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.
What has instead resulted has been a team falling short of expectations, without much talent beyond those blue chip pieces. The team’s most impressive nonconference win required overtime over Notre Dame out in Las Vegas, though their two stars shined in some riveting losses early on. The Scarlet Knights have picked up a few nice wins throughout Big Ten play but they just have not been consistently getting the job done.
Home wins over Illinois and UCLA really elevate this resume but clearly a team right at .500 isn’t heading to the NCAA Tournament. While the game has changed dramatically with NIL in recent years, we’ve seen players like Anthony Edwards and Markelle Fultz play at an incredible level both in college and the pros while failing to bring their teams to the postseason. The Scarlet Knights have dropped several tough games and may have run out of time to reach March Madness.
While their season finale will be against Minnesota, another team fighting near the bottom of the standings, Rutgers likely has a tough time ahead on the road against Michigan and Purdue, a pair of teams that already beat them in Piscataway. Sitting at 7-10 in the league, Rutgers is in decent shape to at least make the Big Ten Tournament but they’ll need to make an incredible impression once there.