The last few weeks have been awful for Rutgers basketball, both men's and women's. The women's team has plummeted in the standings, losing by double digits to multiple teams, including some they should have beaten.
The men's basketball team played as they were expected to play throughout the season. Inconsistent basketball.
Rutgers is twelfth in the Big East right now after losing four straight to Providence, Louisville, Seton Hall, and Notre Dame, all of whom are Big East teams. At 12-14 overall, Rutgers would be lucky to finish the season above .500.
The goal is to finish above .500, though, and it's still possible. The remaining teams on the schedule are Syracuse, Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova, and St. John's.
Obviously a win over the #2 seed in the nation, Syracuse, would be shocking, but crazier things have happened. After the Syracuse game comes the three biggest games of the season.
A road game vs. #12 Marquette is of course a tough one, but Rutgers still needs that signature road win (Georgetown had the potential to be that) and this is their opportunity to get that.
Seton Hall in the Prudential Center will be a loud, wild affair that will likely be won by the more disciplined team.
Villanova is just plain awful this season, so the matchup is going to be all about who is more desperate and fights harder to win.
Finally, St. John's is a very similar team to Rutgers. Led by mainly freshmen, this game will be decided by who is more disciplined and avoids making freshmen mistakes.
My prediction is that Rutgers loses to Syracuse and Marquette, then finishes the season with three straight victories, which would sadly be below .500.
What do you think?