What Rutgers needs to do to get into 2022 NCAA Tournament

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights were up and down at times throughout the regular season but managed to hold its own through a tough Big Ten schedule.

Posting an 18-12 overall record, they’re considered a bubble team whose NCAA Tournament hopes are up in the air. We’ll go over what needs to be done, if anything at all, for them to make it into the big dance.

Bubble Watch

Rutgers managed to finish fourth in the regular season conference standings and have earned a double-bye in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. The team will take floor on Friday to face either Northwestern, Nebraska, or Iowa. The Hawkeyes would be the team they’d most likely draw, previously beating them in a low-scoring 48-46 affair on January 19.

Putting up another quality victory and getting into the semifinals of the conference tournament would most likely be enough to get the Scarlet Knight into the field of 68. Even if they lose in the quarterfinals, they’re still probably ok as long as they’re not ran off the floor.

As far as other bubble teams are concerned, it would be an added bonus if fellow Big Ten bubble teams like Indiana and Michigan were to lose early in their respective tournament matchups.

Will Rutgers get in?

Answer: Yes. At the end of the day, Rutgers will most likely get the benefit of the doubt of playing in arguably the toughest conference in the country while also having six Quad 1 victories to point to. As long the team puts up a spirited showing in Indianapolis this week, they should be good.