Men’s Basketball Punches Ticket To NCAA Tournament

Photo by: NCAA Photos

Men’s Basketball Punches Ticket To NCAA Tournament

Mar 14 | Men's Basketball

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Head Coach Steve Pikiell Guides Program to First Appearance in 30 Years

INDIANAPOLIS – Rutgers men's basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament, its first postseason trip in 30 years. The Scarlet Knights earned a No. 10 seed and will face No. 7 seed Clemson on Friday. The game will tip off at 9:20 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, airing on TBS. The game will mark the team's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since March 15, 1991, a matchup between No. 9 seed Rutgers and No. 8 seed Arizona State.

"Our guys are excited to be in the tournament for the first time in 30 years and to have a chance to play for a national championship," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We have a great group of guys that have worked very hard. It's a real challenging league. We navigated Covid. I'm thankful for a lot of people for all their hard work to get us to this point. I'm really excited for Rutgers nation. It's a great honor. It's a great opportunity and we're very excited about it."

The NCAA Tournament appearance is the seventh in program history. The Scarlet Knights last appeared in the NCAAs in 1991, and qualified in 1989, 1983, 1979, 1976 and 1975. Rutgers has a 5-7 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with the last victory coming in 1983 over Southwest Louisiana.

Rutgers compiled a 15-11 record during the 2020-21 season, with a 10-10 record in the Big Ten Conference, doing so with the eighth ranked strength of schedule nationally, while playing in the Big Ten Conference, which ranked as the toughest conference to play in since 2002. A record-setting nine Big Ten schools have been chosen to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights finished sixth in the league and spent 11 weeks nationally ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, reaching as high as No. 11 in the nation.

The selection to the NCAA Tournament is the culmination of a two-year journey for the Rutgers program. Last season, Rutgers compiled a 20-11 record, and was positioned to be selected for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the three seniors from that team (Shaq Carter, Joey Downes and Akwasi Yeboah) did not get to experience this part firsthand, they built the foundation for this team to achieve this moment.

The team responded to the disappointment with renewed vigor and dedication, subsequently compiling a second consecutive successful campaign to officially punch their ticket to March Madness. The Scarlet Knights compiled back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-1992, won double-digit conference games in consecutive season for the first time since 1989-90, and finished .500 or better in conference play for the first time since those 1989-90 and 1990-91 campaigns.

On March 22, 2016, head coach Steve Pikiell declared at his introductory press conference: "We want to dance here. That's our goal, to dance. I believe we will dance." Pikiell subsequently backed up that promise by doing exactly that, as the Scarlet Knights are going dancing.

Under Pikiell's leadership, he spearheaded a dramatic turnaround of the program in all areas, creating a winning team that Rutgers Nation could be proud to root for. After the team won just 16 games in its first five years as a league member, Rutgers has won 21 Big Ten games over the past two seasons to cement itself as a contender among the nation's best.

"When was saw our name got called, it was everything we dreamed up," Geo Baker said. "It felt like all our hard work had paid off. Everyone had a lot of emotions. We're excited to keep playing in March."

The team reached this point with a multitude of key contributions. Rutgers was one of just two Big Ten teams with four all-conference selections, as Ron Harper Jr. (Third Team) alongside Geo Baker, Myles Johnson and Jacob Young (Honorable Mention) were recognized for spearheading the team's success. Paul Mulcahy, Montez Mathis, Caleb McConnell, Clifford Omoruyi and Mamadou Doucoure made starts this season, and 17 student-athletes total saw game action, with each and every one making valuable contributions to the program to enable the team to reach the NCAA Tournament.

"Making history always feels good," Ron Harper Jr. said. "Doing it at the State University of New Jersey, where I was born and raised, makes it even more special. This is definitely a dream come true for me and all of my teammates."

"To finally hear our name, that feeling was bliss," Myles Johnson said. "Everybody jumped up. Sitting there and realizing you are going to play in March Madness is unbelievable. I'm just happy that it finally came true and we're getting to do it."

Tickets are available to purchase to the general public via Ticketmaster.