Rutgers Bracketology on Selection Sunday

The day has come for Rutgers men’s basketball to have its fate decided. It’s been an up and down season filled with adversity. They enter Selection Sunday firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. I stated the case for Rutgers to earn a third straight bid here. There is also my Q&A with acclaimed bracketologist Brad Wachtel in regard to his final assessment on where the Scarlet Knights stand. Now let’s review how Rutgers stands with the hundred plus bracketology projections ahead of Selection Sunday.

According to the Bracket Matrix, Rutgers is included in 114 out of 118 brackets projected as of late Saturday. I’ll update this data on Sunday morning. As of now, there is real reason to be confident that RU will hear its name called for the NCAA Tournament.

Fun tidbit I like to bring out for Selection Sunday every year: The 95% rule

Every year since the Bracket Matrix expanded to 100+ projections, every team that has appeared in 95% or more of final projections has made the tournament.

— Bauertology (@Bauertology) March 11, 2023

Rutgers is currently projected in the field by 96.6% of projections. This stat should give RU fans some real hope as the long wait on Selection Sunday will likely test the wills of us most. Of those 114 out of 118 brackets projecting Rutgers, most were updated on Saturday. Of the 96 brackets updated since the Scarlet Knights fell to Purdue, 93 project them in the field. 21 of 22 brackets last updated on Friday include RU.

Let’s cover the big brands first. Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Rutgers as the last bye as a No. 11 seed, just missing having to play in the First Four in Dayton. Jerry Palm of CBS has Rutgers in the First Four in Dayton playing No. 11 seed Nevada. It’s notable in the sense that he had RU out of the field before the win over Michigan. Mike DeCourcy of Fox Sports has Rutgers as a No. 11 seed avoiding Dayton and playing No. 6 seed St. Mary’s in the East Region.

As for the rankings, the top bracketologist per the Bracket Matrix over the last five years has been Crazy Sports Dude. He last updated on March 10 following Rutgers win over Michigan. He has RU as last four in playing Arizona State in Dayton.

The No. 2 site has been Bracketometry. Updated on March 11th, they have Rutgers as a No. 11 seed playing Duke in the East region. That would be one of the last two byes and avoiding Dayton. That would be ideal.

The No. 3 site is Bauertologyand was updated on March 11. This site has Rutgers as last four in playing NC State in Dayton. The Jim Valvano Classic would be fun, but I’d still rather avoid Dayton. However, I’d love to see these two teams in a neutral court in November or December next season.

The No. 4 site is Nick Elam, who created the Elam Ending to basketball games. It doesn’t look like he’s in the bracketology game anymore.

The No. 5 site is Scott’s Bracketology. Updated on March 10, Rutgers is listed as the top team in the last four in. No bracket, just seed lines.

The No. 6 site is 1-3-1 Sports and was update on March 11. They also have Rutgers in the last four in. No bracket, just seed lines.

The No. 7 site is Weber and looks to no longer be active.

The No. 8 site is DRatings and was updated March 11. They also have Rutgers as the top team in the last four in Dayton. Just seed lines.

Primetime Bracketology ranks 9th and also has Rutgers in the last four in on their 11 seed line.

Our friend Brad Wachtel ranks 10th with his site Facts and Bracks. As he told The Scarlet Faithful on Saturday night, he also has Rutgers as the top team in the last four in.

Some interesting projections include Bucky’s Brackets, who lists Rutgers as a No. 10 seed as of early morning March 12. They’re counted in the last four bye group. This site ranks 39th over the last five years, so some reason for optimism here. The Bracketology Corral also lists Rutgers as a No. 10 seed in the last four byes group as of March 11. This site has RU playing No. 7 seed Missouri in Denver out of the West region. Their ranked 67th. Crashing The Dance also has Rutgers in the last four byes group as a 10 seed. They are ranked No. 145th. Novice Opinion’s Bracket has RU as a 10 seed playing Missouri in the East Region. This site ranked 23rd of all new sites last season.

Other notable brackets include NJ Bracketology who finished 10th out of 64 new bracket sites last year. This site has Rutgers as the No. 11 seed but avoiding Dayton and playing Missouri. As for the top new site listed, Richason Bros Bracketology, they gave Rutgers a No. 11 seed and the last bye in the field.

I’ll continue to update this post throughout Selection Sunday. For now, not only is there is reason to be optimistic that Rutgers will hear its name called for a third straight year, but there is also a punchers chance they avoid Dayton. Stay tuned!

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