B1G Tournament Action
The crowd was sparse to start filling up the middle portions of the lower bowl as Iowa and Illinois tipped off on Wednesday eve. The upper deck and end zones were predominantly empty. Midwesterners draped in yellow and orange occupy the Mecca. Pitter pattering of arriving fans in during the opening act, are fans in big red Rutgers R sweatshirts reconnecting with their Garden past as members of the Big East conference, now trying to cut their teeth and be relevant in the Big Ten.
The move to the Big Ten for New Jersey’s premeir state university was a big financial score. It’s been the partner shares of the member schools from their Bowl success and NCAA tourney success that has helped fill Rutgers’ coffers.
Can Rutgers be relevant in the conference? This event will give us an idea starting with fan interest in tonight’s game.
For the B1G the move to New York City is an experiement to assess the strength of the conference’s brand. The cost was high moving the tournament up to carry the opening week of March before the ACC and Big East take the spotlight next week .
The move to NYC reinforces the conference’s committment to Rutgers and it’s growth. For Rutgers basketball, in its second year with Steve Pikiell under the helm, this opportunity comes a year or two too early to showcase the Rutgers, he hopes it could be.
The Scarlet Knights have made incremental progress in the conference winning three conference games in both of his seasons. Rutgers will tip in the headline game tonight vs Minnesota.
Rutgers is stuck in a cycle of dated facilities, a lack of recent success and an identity crisis in the conference.
The Scarlet Knights last NCAA appearance in 1991 while in the Atlantic 10, The late, Keith Hughes was the star of the team and conference player of the year. Rutgers also danced in 1989.
It’s that same Rutgers Athletic Center that Bob Wentzel coached out with banners celebrating the 1976 Final Four team being used today for a team competing with the most powerful state universities in the World..Ohio State, Michigan… Wisconsin. Rutgers’ place in the standings correlates to their standing of athletic investment within the conference.
Pikiell who delivered a conference tournament win last year will look to refind the magic. The team has lost a lot of close games including to it’s opponent tonight, Minnesota and with a win, it’s opponent tomorrow, Indiana.
Nothing would be better for the Big Ten than a relevant Rutgers program bringing in interest from the NY Metro area packed with alumns who spent their college years in Madison and Ann Arbor. The potential of a rivalry with Penn State could add an interesting dynamic.
Pikiell is a likeable, upbeat guy and the administration is taking steps to support the program. Last year, Rutgers upgraded it’s weight room and they have broken ground outside the RAC on a new practice facility that will be ready in summer of 2019.
Bringing the B1G to MSG is a bet on the conference’s basketball brand carrying enough relevance to fill the arena and be on a center stage. The gamble is that Rutgers one day can breakthrough.
