Star-studded Rutgers is currently projected to miss the NCAA Tournament
By ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
Despite featuring two of the top three projected NBA Draft picks in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, the star-studded Rutgers men’s basketball team did not make the cut in the latest bracket forecast by Fox Sports analyst Mike DeCourcy.
Rutgers didn’t just barely miss out on the latest projections for the Big Dance, they were also not included in the “First Four Out” or “Next Four Out.”
“Their backs are against the wall,” Andy Katz said of Rutgers on the Big Ten Network following the team’s 91-64 victory over Columbia Monday night in which Harper posted the school’s first triple-double since Roy Hinson in 1983 with 16 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
“They have to have a sense of urgency because of the losses they have already incurred. They did not have a Quad-1 win, they have the bad losses…They have to take care of business. They did that this afternoon. Their big stars played big-time.”
Oregon, Iowa State, Auburn, and Tennessee led the way in DeCourcy’s bracket as the tournament’s No.1 seeds, with Mississippi State, Alabama, Duke and Marquette as his 2 seeds. Four of the top eight are from the SEC.
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The defending champion UConn Huskies were placed as a No. 3 seed while St. John’s and Columbia were placed as a No. 9 and a 15 seed, respectively, despite only dropping two games this season.
Photo: Rutgers Basketball
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