Better late than never.
Rutgers basketball clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday after No. 8 Michigan State defeated Iowa, a result that guarantees the Scarlet Knights earn a top-15 finish in the league standings.
After earning a slot in the conference tournament in the final week of the regular season, Rutgers (14-16, 7-12) now have a chance of making a miracle March Madness run.
With regular season games still to play across the league, the Scarlet Knights do not yet know their path in Indianapolis quite yet. But they are locked into the opening round of the competition, meaning their postseason journey will begin on Wednesday, March 12, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against one of the other bottom six seeds in the field.
In order to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament — its only remaining chance of making it to March Madness — Rutgers will need to win five consecutive games.
A run of that nature is unprecedented in the Big Ten Tournament’s first 24 editions — the highest seed to ever win the competition was eighth-seed Michigan in 2017 — but there is a recent example the Scarlet Knights can look toward for inspiration.
North Carolina State won the ACC Tournament last season as a 10-seed, winning five consecutive games — including two top-15 wins over Duke (No. 11) and North Carolina (No. 4) — to earn a stunning bid to the NCAA Tournament. Once they got to the Dance, the Wolfpack took advantage, winning four straight games to make a shocking run to the Final Four as an 11-seed.
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
