It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Wagner-Rutgers prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Wagner-Rutgers.
Steve Pikiell has done a good job at Rutgers, bringing the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. However, last season slipped through the cracks. Key injuries and a generally inconsistent roster dragged Rutgers under the .500 mark. It was a very disappointing campaign the Scarlet Knights will try to put behind them this season. They should have the resources needed to do exactly that. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated said this about Rutgers' 2024-2025 season outlook: “Rutgers (No. 32) will be the center of attention for NBA scouts in college basketball this season, with two potential top-three picks in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper on the roster. Many scouts believe Bailey has the best chance of anyone to unseat Flagg and go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft.”
If a team is pegged as a top-35 team, that's clearly an NCAA Tournament at-large team. If a team has two players which have top-three NBA draft-level quality, it's hard to see how such a team will miss the NCAAs, provided that the role players can surround the stars and be relatively decent and serviceable. It's not often that Rutgers has players with so much upside, but Bailey and Harper give Pikiell a rare combination of high-end ingredients. For a program which has won exactly one NCAA Tournament game since 1983, and which has not made the Sweet 16 since the 1970s, there is reason to believe Rutgers can climb higher this coming March. The journey begins against Wagner on the first Wednesday of the season.
Here are the Wagner-Rutgers College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Wagner-Rutgers Odds
Wagner: +19.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +1600
Rutgers: -19.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -4500
Over: 129.5 (-115)
Under: 129.5 (-105)
How to Watch Wagner vs Rutgers
Time: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Wagner Will Cover The Spread/Win
Rutgers has great talent on paper, but it might take a game or two for the talent to fully emerge. Bailey and Harper are stars, but the supporting cast has to be good enough to carry its share of the workload and enable the five men on the floor to function properly. Rutgers will be good in the fuller course of time, but in a first game, the end product could be a little rough around the edges. That might be enough to enable Wagner to stay close and cover the spread.
Why Rutgers Will Cover The Spread/Win
Rutgers is a good team, but it has two players who have the ability to become great. We can't really say that two players are great right now. They have to actually go out and prove it on the court. However, against a less athletic and physically imposing Wagner team, it's fairly reasonable to say that two players with very high ceilings can actualize their talent right away and make an instant — dramatic — impact on this game. Rutgers' upside is considerable, and it justifies the 19.5-point spread. Rutgers can easily blow the doors off this game and win by 27 to 30 points.
Final Wagner-Rutgers Prediction & Pick
If Rutgers' two best players play anywhere close to their projected NBA draft ceilings, Bailey and Harper will stuff the stat sheet. Notably, the presence of a talented duo — as opposed to just one star — will make it hard for Wagner to defend both. Wagner might take away one, but it will be very hard to take away two. That itself is a good reason to ride with Rutgers here.
Final Wagner-Rutgers Prediction & Pick: Rutgers -19.5
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