Despite 2 straight losses, Rutgers ready for NCAA run

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After 31 years of coaching, Steve Pikiell is looking forward to the time when he can roll a basketball onto the court, sit back and watch Rutgers win game after game.

As soon as the words came out his mouth Thursday, the 54-year-old Scarlet Knights coach started laughing. It was almost as if he remembered his team plays in the Big Ten Conference.

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The league is stacked with some of the best teams in Division I. Five Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, and Michigan State and Rutgers (16-11, 10-7) nearly got enough votes to be part of the poll this past week. Nobody wins them all.

Rutgers is at the end of a three-week buzz-saw schedule that has featured six of seven games against ranked teams.

What's remarkable is the Scarlet Knights have used the run to thrust themselves into the NCAA Tournament picture. They won four straight over ranked opponents before losing at now-No. 4 Purdue on Sunday and at Michigan on Wednesday. Up next is No. 13 Wisconsin Saturday at home.

"I don’t know in the history of college basketball if anyone has played six ranked teams in seven games," Pikiell said Thursday. "I mean, these teams aren’t just ranked. They’re in the top 15. It’s not just the Top 25. It's the top 15."

Though the recent run has been eye-opening, many expected good things from the Scarlet Knights after they went 16-11 last season and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. Tenth-seeded Rutgers knocked off No. 7 seed Clemson in the first round and had a nine-point lead over No. 2 seed Houston before falling 63-60 in the second round. The Cougars ended up reaching the