Here’s the defense of Pikiell (prior to last year), and of his contract extension. When he was hired, Rutgers was coming off 10 losing seasons in a row, with a single top-100 finish on Ken Pom. By year 3, he had them more competitive - 78th on KenPom, 70 spots better than predicted. He followed that with a 20 win season to start a streak of four straight winning seasons, driven by elite defense. By Rutgers standards, being competitive in the Big Ten was a huge win! 2024 was bad, with a losing record and an anemic offense. To follow that with a losing season with Harper and Bailey was really bad for him, and the CCSU loss is a new low. All indications are he is a really good guy, it’s easy to root for a UConn alum, and he had success at Stony Brook. I just don’t know how he can restore fan confidence if he doesn’t turn this season around quickly.
View attachment 113504