Rutgers Scarlet Knights NCAA Basketball Betting
When head coach Steve Pikiell took the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2022, there were hopes that the program was ready to become a consistent contender in the Big Ten conference. But the historical gravity that has plagued Rutter throughout its history has proven difficult to penetrate. Additionally, the Big Ten is a difficult league to try and rebuild in. What was most interesting about the Scarlet Knights this season is that their normally stout defense went missing while the offense showed improvement.
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights Season Recap
Overall, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are 15-17 straight up, 15-15-1 against the spread, and 17-12-2 over/under the total. Rutgers has national metrics of 105th for scoring offense, 183rd for field goal percentage, 219th for 3-point field goal percentage, 208th for free throw percentage, and 183rd for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Rutgers is 313th for scoring defense, 306th for field goal percentage permitted, 267th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 281st for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Rutgers has covered four of its previous six games and gone over the total in five of its last six outings. Dylan Harper is first among Rutgers scorers with 19.4 points per game.
Heading into year nine of Steve Pikiell’s tenure at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights had taken a small step back over the past three seasons. The team’s defense under Pikiell has remained elite, but the offensive identity has been heavily lacking. To try to change that trend, Pikiell went out and landed the 6th-ranked recruiting class in the class of 2024. Gamblers remained skeptical about how the young core would fare throughout a full season, but Rutgers, at the very least, was an improving team to keep an eye on.
Desmond Claude scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 14 seed Southern California recovered after coughing up a 15-point lead to oust No. 11 seed Rutgers from the Big Ten tournament, 97-89, in Wednesday’s double-overtime contest in Indianapolis.
Capitalizing on a sluggish offensive start for Rutgers, USC jumped to an early 24-12 advantage in the last of Wednesday’s three opening-round games. The Trojans’ advantage swelled to 15 points and was as many as 13 points in the second half before the Scarlet Knights rallied.
Behind 13 second-half points from Dylan Harper, who finished with 27 points, and 11 points after intermission from Ace Bailey, Rutgers chipped away at the deficit before holding the lead for almost the entire final three minutes.
But trailing 73-71, USC sent Jeremiah Williams to the free-throw line. Williams, a 68.3 percent foul shooter on the season coming into the Big Ten tournament, missed both attempts.
USC took advantage when Claude went one-on-one to the basket, scoring what proved to be the overtime-forcing layup after Harper’s last-ditch fadeaway attempt on the other end air-balled.
Rutgers, playing the extra frames without Bailey, who fouled out, could not keep pace with the USC trio of Claude, Wesley Yates III, and Rashaun Agee. Yates scored 24 points and led the Trojans to a 10-of-23 3-point shooting effort with a perfect 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
Agee added 23 points. The three powered USC’s decisive push to open the second overtime, first on a Claude lay-in and then with back-to-back 3-pointers from Agee and Yates. The quick eight points gave the Trojans an advantage they held the rest of the way.
Agee also contributed on the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Chibuzo Agbo also posted a double-double for USC with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Harper flirted with a triple-double in the loss, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing eight assists. Bailey had 17 points when he fouled out, and his three steals helped fuel Rutgers to a 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Rutgers’ ability to score on takeaways nearly sent the Scarlet Knights to Thursday’s second round.
Latest NCAA Tournament Results
| YEAR |
RESULT |
| 2022 |
Lost First Four vs. (11) Notre Dame 87–89 (2OT) |
| 2021 |
Lost Second Round vs. (2) Houston, 60–63 |
| 1991 |
Lost First Round vs. (8) Arizona State 76–79 |
| 1989 |
Lost First Round vs. (4) Iowa 73–87 |
| 1983 |
Lost Second Round vs. (1) St. John's, 55–66 |
| 1979 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (10) St. John's 65–67 |
2024-2025 NCAA Basketball Top Teams
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