Rutgers Basketball Season on the Line in Washington

Harper and Bailey's Freshman Season Hasn't Lived Up to Expectations

Rutgers men's basketball will likely be playing for their postseason lives Wednesday night in the Pacific Northwest when they square off with Washington for the first time ever as Big Ten opponents, late night at 10:30 ET, which can be heard here on Fox Sports Radio New Jersey and Fox Sports Jersey Shore.

Rutgers, 12-14 on the year and 5-10 in the Big Ten finds itself in this predicament amid a season that has not lived up to expectations when two of the best young basketball recruits in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, committed to the program.

Expectations coming into the season were sky-high. Rivals.com predicted Rutgers would finish 22-9 with a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

When asked about it this summer, Pikiell said: "Our expectations have always been high since I took the job," Pikiell said at Big Ten Media Day. "We play in a league that competes for NCAA bids and national championships, so we're no different. I think we have the pieces with the veteran guys, and the good leadership to go with the energy and talent of the young freshmen, but our goals stay the same."

It hasn't gone as planned. Injuries and at times illness have robbed both Harper and Bailey more time on the court together, and, as was pointed out by the Bergen Record's Jerry Carino at midseason, Pikiell and his staff have had to speed up the process to develop the team around the two young stars, while also battling the hard realities of college basketball in the new world of the NIL.

When they have played, both Bailey and Harper have been spectacular. Both players are averaging just under 19 points per game. And if they keep it up, they could become the first pair of freshman teammates over the past 22 years to average 19+ points per game since Zion Williamson and R.J. Barret did it at Duke.

In many ways give Pikiell, his staff, and his team credit, they have battled despite the many issues that have plagued them this year. A few weeks ago they beat then No. 23 ranked Illinois to jump back over .500, and re-enter the postseason conversation.

However since they have lost three in a row, including a gut punch 84-73 loss to Iowa, a game Rutgers led by nine points with 15 minutes to go in the game.

"It's on me 100 percent. I didn't have these guys defensively where they needed to be. They made shots. They made plays. Our defense wasn't where it needed to be tonight to be a good Iowa team," Pikiell said on February 12.

As it stands Rutgers (5-10) is a half game ahead of Washington (4-10) for the final spot in the Big Ten Tournament. A win by Rutgers on Wednesday, and they almost assuredly will survive the regular season and make it to the Big Ten Tournament. A loss on Wednesday, and the road gets much harder.

Rutgers will face USC at Jersey Mike's on Sunday, and will then travel to No. 12 Michigan and No. 13 Purdue next week. In short, there is no time to waste.

RUTGERS WOMEN'S HOOPS

Meanwhile the Ladies might have seen their shot at the Big Ten Tournament come to a screeching halt on Monday night amid a 69-59 loss to Northwestern. Rutgers never led, trailing by as many as 13 after the first quarter.

The Lady Knights did cut the deficit to four-points, but Northwestern's Taylor Williams proved to be too much to deal with down the stretch as she nailed three consecutive jump shots to put the game out of reach at 10-points.

Rutgers (10-16) is now 2-13 in conference, which places them 17th in the Big Ten. With three games left, including two out west at Oregon and Washington, Rutgers would need to run the table and get help from outside to get into the Big Ten Tournament.

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