In head coach Steve Pikiell’s debut at Rutgers last season, the team improved in multiple areas on the court. While the defense exceeded expectations, it was hard not to expect some improvement there after such a dismal performance on that end of the floor the season before. Their adjusted defensive efficiency wildly improved, finishing 69th in the country, 166 spots better than the previous season. However, the area they improved in the most was rebounding.
Rutgers finished 13th out of 351 Division I teams last season in rebounds per game, averaging 40 per contest. They were 37th in rebounding margin at +4.