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Today is the day, as the Rutgers women’s basketball team will learn its fate regarding the NCAA Tournament. With an overall record of 22-9 and third place finish in the Big Ten, as well winning four of its last five games, RU is in very good shape. Their resume includes nine wins over teams ranked in the RPI Top 100, as well as an overall RPI ranking of 29, The Scarlet Knights are pretty much a lock to be in the field of 64 , it’s just a matter of seeding and draw.
There are six teams from the Big Ten that are unanimously projected to make the NCAA Tournament according to four sites with bracketology that I reviewed. They include Iowa (26-6), Maryland (28-4), Michigan (21-11), Michigan State (20-11), and Indiana (20-12), in addition to Rutgers.
Here are several projections for Rutgers as of Monday morning, with the selection show scheduled for 7 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN.
ESPN
Charlie Creme is the bracket expert for the women’s field for ESPN and he currently projects Rutgers as an 8 seed in the South Region. He has them slated to play 9 seed Clemson (19-12), with the winner playing top seeded Baylor (31-1).
Realtime RPI
As of Sunday, this site projects Rutgers as a 6 seed in the East Region. They are also projected to play Clemson (19-12), but as an 11 seed. That shows you the range of seeding possibilities for both teams. The winner would play the winner of 3 seed Mississippi State (30-2) vs. 14 seed Towson (20-12).
College Basketball Madness
This site lists Rutgers as a 6 seed in the West Region playing 11 seed TCU (20-10) in the first round. The winner would play the winner of 3 seed Miami (FL) (24-8) vs. 14 seed UC Davis (24-6) in the second round.
High Post Hoops
Rutgers is projected as a 7 seed playing 10 seed Rice (28-3) in the East Region. The winner would most likely play the 2 seed Mississippi State (30-2) in the second round.
Conclusion
UPDATE: Rutgers was selected as a 7 seed in the Albany Region. Full story here.
Rutgers looks to be seeded anywhere between sixth through eighth in any region and slightly ahead Big Ten teams Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana. Wherever the Scarlet Knights do end up, acting head coach Tim Eatman will remain in charge. Rutgers announced on Friday that head coach C. Vivian Stringer would remain out on a medical leave per the request of her doctors. She does plan to return to the program after the season. Her team will look to keep things going this weekend in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. We’ll have full coverage once the bracket is announced on Monday evening.
The Scarlet Knights have forced 106 Turnovers in the last 5 games, thanks in part to the 5️⃣5️⃣. We’re certainly looking to create more chaos and force turnovers in the NCAA Tournament!#DetermineRDestiny pic.twitter.com/JOJQKf61dF
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) March 16, 2019