5 overrated NCAA basketball teams that won’t be as good as you think next season

4. Most overrated NCAA basketball teams: Rutgers – FanSided Rank: No. 19

One of the true feel-good stories of the 2019-2020 season was the success of Steve Pikiell’s Rutgers team, tracking towards the school’s first NCAA Tournament selection since 1991. Sadly, it was not to be as last year’s season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.

On the surface, this is a roster that should be better than a year ago, returning four starters who gain a year of experience and adding local product Cliff Omoruyi out of Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, a four-star big man. The only departures from last year’s roster are Akwasi Yeboah and Shaq Carter, and Rutgers will look to replace those inside presences with Omoruyi, whose development could be vital in a Big Ten that has good size inside.

Last year’s road struggles need to be overcome, as Rutgers won only twice away from home, and the Big Ten is not getting any easier as a conference this year. Non-conference strength of schedule will go a long way to determine Rutgers’ overall success come NCAA Tournament time, as the 2019-2020 was towards the bottom of overall schedule strengths in the country.

Before Rutgers fans come out of the woodwork, I do believe this will be an NCAA Tournament team, and I do believe it will be so without having to sweat the Bubble as it might have last year. I do not, however, believe this is a top-25 caliber squad. I would welcome the chance to be proven wrong about that and see Rutgers soar to new heights as a program in 2020-2021, but I think it more prudent to scale back our expectations with this team just a tad.