From Jersey City to East Orange to Piscataway, it’s a triple-dip for the Garden State in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, as both Rutgers and Seton Hall earned at-large bids into the Big Dance and St. Peter’s earned entry by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.
Rutgers (18-13) earned an 11 seed as one of the final teams into the field of 68, and as such the Scarlet Knights will play Wednesday night in the First Four; they will take on Notre Dame, with the winner to enter the West bracket and face No. 6 seed Alabama in San Diego.
This year marks the second straight tourney bid for Rutgers, who last year made their first Big Dance since 1991 and earned their first tourney win since 1983 with a first-round victory over Clemson. The Scarlet Knights were just 18-13 overall but 12-8 in the Big Ten, at one point defeating four straight ranked conference foes. They ended up as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, but lost to eventual champion Iowa in the quarterfinals.
Seton Hall’s at-large bid was a little less hairy, as the Pirates earned they eighth seed in the South region after finishing 21-10 and reaching the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. They, too, will be headed to San Diego, where they will play No. 9 seed TCU on Friday, with the winner of that game likely headed for a matchup against top-seeded Arizona.
Kevin Willard’s team missed the tournament last year, snapping a string of four straight appearances from 2016-19 (there was no tournament in 2020), but the Pirates have just two tourney wins since their Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000.
As for St. Peter’s, the MAAC Tourney champs are the No. 15 seed in the East, and will play second-seeded Kentucky Thursday in Indianapolis. The Peacocks, who are led by former Seton Hall star Shaheen Holloway, are in the dance for the fourth time overall and first since 2011.
St. Peter’s has won seven straight games, including their MAAC Tourney run, but have never won a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch