Time/Date: Saturday, March 6th 11:00 AM CT
Location: Williams Arena - Minneapolis, MN
TV: FOX
Radio: KFAN 100.3
Net Rankings: Minnesota 77, Rutgers 37
KenPom Rankings: Minnesota 59, Rutgers 32
KenPom Prediction: Minnesota 70, Rutgers 71
The Gophers are in an interesting spot heading into their final regular season game of the COVID affected 2020-21 hoops season. If we rewind three weeks, Minnesota was coming off a home win over a ranked Purdue team, their fifth ranked win of the season. They were sitting at 13-7, and likely only had to win three games in perhaps the easiest six-stretch they had all year.
Now as we sit here today, Minnesota took the stretch of games that included the current 10th place team in the conference, Indiana,13th place team Northwestern, and last place Nebraska. The Gophers lost all four of those games, plus a 12-point loss at Maryland, and a 31-point sleepwalking loss at home against Illinois. Since Liam Robbins injury, betting against the Gophers and the spread was, as my brother likes to call it, free money.
Three weeks ago I wouldn't have guessed this is where we would end up, but hey, we're here.
Right now, Rutgers is on Joe Lunardi's 10-seed line as the No. 39 overall seed with a 90% or better chance of making it to the Big Dance for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Rutgers was in the Atlantic-10 and coached by Bob Wenzel.
Rutgers Head Coach - Steve Pikiell
Alma Mater: UConn
Overall Record: 269-231
Record at Penn State: 77-75
Info: Steve Pikiell took the Rutgers job after winning 22 or more games at Stony Brook six out the last seven seven years of his 11-year tenure. Four of those years included Regular Season AEC Champion teams, but only his last year at Stony Brook was he able to reach the NCAA Tournament when his team went 26-7 in 2015-16.
The man they refer to as "Pike" these days was able to win 15-games at Rutgers in year one, the first time in five years, and then won 14 and 15-games in years two and three.
Year four was 2019-20, and the Scarlet Knights finished with a 20-11 record, and a 11-9 record, which was the first time they finished play in the Big Ten (joined in 2014-15) above .500. It was also the first time R-U had won 10-conference games since... 1990-91. They would have certainly made the tournament last year, but COVID delayed that feat for them.
This year, Rutgers started out hot and looking like a team that had aspirations of playing in the Sweet-16 or better. The Knights started off 7-1 with wins over (then) 13th ranked Illinois and Purdue. They lost there next five, including a two-point loss to Iowa in a game they shot 4-12 from the foul in.
Location: Williams Arena - Minneapolis, MN
TV: FOX
Radio: KFAN 100.3
Net Rankings: Minnesota 77, Rutgers 37
KenPom Rankings: Minnesota 59, Rutgers 32
KenPom Prediction: Minnesota 70, Rutgers 71
The Gophers are in an interesting spot heading into their final regular season game of the COVID affected 2020-21 hoops season. If we rewind three weeks, Minnesota was coming off a home win over a ranked Purdue team, their fifth ranked win of the season. They were sitting at 13-7, and likely only had to win three games in perhaps the easiest six-stretch they had all year.
Now as we sit here today, Minnesota took the stretch of games that included the current 10th place team in the conference, Indiana,13th place team Northwestern, and last place Nebraska. The Gophers lost all four of those games, plus a 12-point loss at Maryland, and a 31-point sleepwalking loss at home against Illinois. Since Liam Robbins injury, betting against the Gophers and the spread was, as my brother likes to call it, free money.
Three weeks ago I wouldn't have guessed this is where we would end up, but hey, we're here.
Right now, Rutgers is on Joe Lunardi's 10-seed line as the No. 39 overall seed with a 90% or better chance of making it to the Big Dance for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Rutgers was in the Atlantic-10 and coached by Bob Wenzel.
Rutgers Head Coach - Steve Pikiell
Alma Mater: UConn
Overall Record: 269-231
Record at Penn State: 77-75
Info: Steve Pikiell took the Rutgers job after winning 22 or more games at Stony Brook six out the last seven seven years of his 11-year tenure. Four of those years included Regular Season AEC Champion teams, but only his last year at Stony Brook was he able to reach the NCAA Tournament when his team went 26-7 in 2015-16.
The man they refer to as "Pike" these days was able to win 15-games at Rutgers in year one, the first time in five years, and then won 14 and 15-games in years two and three.
Year four was 2019-20, and the Scarlet Knights finished with a 20-11 record, and a 11-9 record, which was the first time they finished play in the Big Ten (joined in 2014-15) above .500. It was also the first time R-U had won 10-conference games since... 1990-91. They would have certainly made the tournament last year, but COVID delayed that feat for them.
This year, Rutgers started out hot and looking like a team that had aspirations of playing in the Sweet-16 or better. The Knights started off 7-1 with wins over (then) 13th ranked Illinois and Purdue. They lost there next five, including a two-point loss to Iowa in a game they shot 4-12 from the foul in.
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