The Field of 68 calls Rutgers, “The Virginia of the Big Ten”

The Field of 68 is national college basketball outlet led by Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster. Their podcasts are some of the best coverage of the sport. They’ve also added former Rutgers star Geo Baker to their roster of analysts this season as well.

On Sunday’s AFTER DARK podcast which covers all the top games of the day, there was some impressive things said about Rutgers following its 68-64 overtime victory against Ohio State. The show’s analysts on Sunday included John Fanta, Randolph Childress and Meghan McKeown.

McKeown is the first to heap praise on the Scarlet Knights. She states, “Rutgers is my favorite team right now in the Big Ten for a litany of reasons. One, I think Steve Pikiell is a hell of a coach. Two, they can defend.”

The ultimate pro and fan favorite broadcaster John Fanta, who appeared on The Scarlet Faithful last month, made the point that Rutgers dictates the terms of the game to its opponents. In speaking about the big picture of the conference, Fanta made a logical claim that is also somewhat bold coming from a national outlet like The Field of 68.

“When it comes to basketball, Rutgers has added value to the Big Ten Conference,” Fanta exclaimed.

As great as McKeown and Fanta’s comments were about Rutgers, it was Randolph Childress who said the best thing all night.

The former Wake Forest star and one of the top 50 ACC players of all-time, Childress compared Rutgers to a powerhouse team in his former conference.

“From an identity standpoint, they’re like the Virginia of the Big Ten,” Childress said. “If you try to force the pace and get them out of their system, it ends up hurting you. Rutgers is for real. They’re legit” –

That is quite the statement in comparing Rutgers to a recent NCAA Champion. Virginia has also won five ACC titles over the last decade. However, the defensive excellence and team mentality that Rutgers has displayed this season make it a pretty astute observation from a style standpoint.

It’s just very strange to hear so many positive comments from the national media regarding Rutgers men’s basketball. Years of losing, scandal and misery have passed and the present and future are now extremely bright. On the same night that RU lands its highest ranked recruit in modern program history, they’re getting compared to a national power. Thank you, Steve Pikiell.

You can watch the episode here as the three analysts have a lot more to say about Rutgers. They also discuss whether the Big Ten is the deepest conference in the country once again this season.

At the 42:40 mark, the panel begins to discuss Rutgers and their victory against the Buckeyes. It’s wort your time for sure.