First, let me address the title of this article, because I’m not exactly burying the lede here. What do I mean by elite, and how is Rutgers an elite college basketball team at this point in the 2020-21 season? Allow me to explain.
I build the analysis in these articles off the KenPom metric, and as of this writing, Rutgers is 18th overall in adjusted efficiency. This year’s Rutgers team would beat a replacement level D-1 college basketball team by over 20 points, on average, at a neutral site.
“Eighteenth in the country is pretty awesome, but is it truly elite?