The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represents

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

competition. Rutgers competes in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

History

The Rutgers men's basketball team played in the Final Four in the 1976 NCAA tournament and ended the 1976 season ranked fourth in the nation, after an 70–86 loss against the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

in the semifinal round and a 92–106 loss to the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

in the tournament's third-place consolation game. This was the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, who won that year's title, and Rutgers entered the tournament unbeaten. Rutgers went 31–0 during the regular season. The Scarlet Knights also played in the championship game of the 2004 NIT Final, losing to the Michigan Wolverines 55–62. The Scarlet Knights had a prolonged down period through the following decade, cycling through a number of coaches and routinely finishing at the bottom of the Big East standings. This period included a scandal in 2013 with then head coach Mike Rice Jr. being shown on video verbally and physically abusing players. The scandal resulted in the firing of Coach Rice as well as the resignation of then Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti. Rutgers basketball played their first season in the Big Ten conference in 2014–2015. Fortunes began to improve following the hiring of Head Coach

Steve Pikiell Stephen Christopher Pikiell ( ; born November 21, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and since March 16th, 2016, the head men's basketball coach at Rutgers. Prior to Rutgers, Pikiell was the head coach at Stony Brook for over a decade, ...

in 2016. The

2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team The 2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Pikiell and pla ...

saw their win total improve from 14 to 20 and included multiple wins over ranked teams, as well as an 18–1 home record, one of the best in the country. Experts widely predicted Rutgers's inclusion in the 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which was subsequently cancelled before the field was announced. Additionally, this season marked the first time since 1979 that Rutgers basketball was ranked in the top 25 teams. The team officially broke the 30-year tournament drought in 2021, when they earned a 10-seed in the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Another dry spell was ended when they beat Clemson in the first round, their first tournament win since 1983. The Scarlet Knights, led by guards

Geo Baker Geordano "Geo" Baker-Occeus (born July 21, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball, Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big Ten Conference. Early life and high school career Baker began playing b ...

and Ron Harper Jr., bowed out after a close loss to eventual Final Four participants

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

in the second round. Currently through Steve Pikiell’s 2022–23 season, the teams leaders revolve around senior point guard Paul Mulcahy, junior center Cliff Omoruyi, and last years Big Ten all defensive winner, super senior guard Caleb McConnell.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Scarlet Knights have appeared in the NCAA tournament eight times. Their combined record is 6–9.

NIT results

The Scarlet Knights have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 14 times. Their combined record is 16–14.

Retired numbers

Three Rutgers players have had their numbers retired:Rutgers Men’s Basketball Media Guide
(PDF), ''2020 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Men’s Basketball Media Guide”, Rutgers Sports Information Department, Pages 92–94.

Scarlet Knights in the NBA

23 Rutgers alumni have been selected in the NBA draft. 15 Rutgers alumni have played at least one game in the NBA, including: *

Bob Lloyd Robert E. Lloyd (born October 5, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA), even though he was drafted by the NBA's Detroit Pistons in the 7th round of the 1967 NBA draft. Lloyd ...

, 1968–1969 * Bob Greacen, 1970–1972 * Phil Sellers, 1977 * Eddie Jordan, 1978–1984 *

Hollis Copeland Hollis Alphonso Copeland (born December 20, 1955) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was a 6'6" (1.98 m) and 180 lb (82 kg) small forward who grew up in Ewing Township, New Jersey and pl ...

, 1980–1982 * James Bailey, 1980–1988 * Roy Hinson, 1984–1991 * John Battle, 1986–1995 * Charles Jones, 1999–2000 * Dahntay Jones, 2004–2017 * Luis Flores, 2005 * Quincy Douby, 2007–2009 * Hamady N'Diaye, 2011–2014 * Eugene Omoruyi, 2022–2023 * Ron Harper Jr., 2023

Players in international competition

* Junior Etou (born 1994), Congolese basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball ...

* Steve Kaplan, American-Israeli basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference men's basketball navbox