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2008 Rutgers Basketball Picks & Predictions

Fred Hill is bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in school history, but the 11-20 overall and 3-15 in the Big East team won’t become a contender over night. The Scarlet Knights bring in McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario and heralded center Greg Echenique. Such a talented recruiting class has Rutgers’ fans expecting big things from this team that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1991 and has won more than three Big East games only twice in the last five years. Keep reading our college basketball predictions to find out if we think this Rutgers team will turn things around under third year coach Fred Hill. Check out BetUS where the Scarlet Knights are 30-to-1 odds to win the Big East Conference this season. Check out our college basketball lines feed for the spread on Rutgers games every night of the season.

The Knights have lacked an offensive post presence for years now and returning center Hamady Ndiaye is more of a shot-blocker and rebounder. Echenique and fellow incoming freshman Christian Morris could provide some interior scoring. Echenique graduated from high school early to enroll in Rutgers a year ahead of schedule and spent the summer playing with the Venezuelan Junior National Team. Morris, 6’9” and 280-pounds, made national headlines for shattering two backboards two summers ago. Small forward Patrick Jackson will also be an interesting part of the frontcourt mix as he is versatile and can score. The Scarlet Knights also have two senior frontcourt players who are accustomed to starting in JR Inman, the Knights leading scorer and rebounder last year, and small forward Jason Griffin. Inman because of his versatility and athleticism will be tougher to phase out than Griffin, but the bottom line is these guys have had three years to elevate the program and have failed to do so.

Mike Rosario led St. Anthony’s of Jersey City to the nation’s No. 1 prep ranking and was the New Jersey Player of the Year. Rosario brings an offensive mindset and a winning attitude to a team that was among the nation’s worst in offense last season. Rutgers ranked 15th in the Big East in scoring last year and 292nd nationally, but Rosario should improve both numbers immediately. Hill will have options with the rest of the backcourt after Rosario. Anthony Farmer and Mike Coburn are both returning starters and sophomore Corey Chandler has star potential and will have an expanded role after averaging 11.9 points last season. Coburn actually played better against Big East competition than he did against the non-conference schedule. Earl Pettis, who can play point guard or wing, will also get some minutes.

Final Analysis

This freshman class could very well take Rutgers back to the NCAA tournament, but even when Hill brought in Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Jason Fraser, and Curtis Sumpter to Villanova six years ago it took three years to get to the NCAA tournament. The Big East is extremely tough, and this team is going to experience some growing pains due to a lack of experience. There is no doubt that this team will be better this season than it was last even if the win-loss record doesn’t reflect it. There offensive numbers should increase with Rosario in the backcourt, which should also allow Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn to have impressive sophomore campaigns. With our basketball picks we don’t expect the Scarlet Knights to make the postseason this year, but they will be more fun to watch. BetUS has Rutgers at 500-to-1 odds to win the NCAA Championship this season, and we would recommend taking that with your basketball betting since we have them spending the postseason in class.

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