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As we wait for the Scarlet Knights to release their full schedule, the Big Ten has gone ahead and released the full conference schedule. You can view the whole thing right here.
Sunday Jan. 1 vs. Penn State
Wednesday Jan. 4 at Michigan State
Sunday Jan. 8 at Iowa
Thursday Jan. 12 vs. Northwestern
Sunday Jan. 15 at Indiana
Saturday Jan. 21 vs. Nebraska
Tuesday Jan. 24 at Maryland
Saturday Jan. 28 vs. Wisconsin (MSG)
Tuesday Jan. 31 vs. Iowa
Saturday Feb. 4 at Penn State
Feb. 8 at Ohio State
Saturday Feb. 11 vs. Minnesota
Tuesday Feb. 14 vs. at Purdue
Saturday Feb. 18 vs. at Northwestern
Wednesday Feb. 22 vs. Michigan
Tuesday Feb. 28 vs. Maryland
Saturday March 4 vs. Illinois
March 8-12: Big Ten Tournament in Washington, D.C.
Initial Reactions:
--The Big Ten is still a really, really good basketball conference. And Rutgers plays everyone. The ranked teams will come to the RAC, giving the Scarlet Knights a shot at the upset, but to me the road schedule is nigh impossible. Rutgers has never played well on the road, and this schedule is daunting.
--There are five home games Rutgers should win. Penn State, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska all come to the RAC, and they have been at the bottom of the standings with the Scarlet Knights. However, Rutgers won't win all of those. Five wins, coming off a 1 win conference season and learning a new system is tough. So, let's go with 5 being the ceiling and 3 wins being most likely. (Jeez, I originally wrote 2. How bad was last year?)
--There's always an upset. Always. Except last year.
--There is depth on this team and that should help. But will there be shooting? If Rutgers can hit from deep that changes things.
--The New Year's Day home opener is brutal. BRUTAL. It's the final week of the NFL regular season, and the game will probably be early. The odds of having a true home crowd will be nil, unless Rutgers is some how 14-0. It's a winnable game, but a quiet RAC won't help.
UPDATE: Rutgers released their non-conference schedule soon after the Big Ten portion. Click here to view.
Six weeks until practice begins. Can't wait.