The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represents

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

competition and competes in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. Rutgers made the NCAA Final Four in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. Rutgers has appeared in the NCAA tournament eight times, most recently appearing in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Rutgers has produced many

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players, most notably

Roy Hinson Roy Hinson (born May 2, 1961) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. Hinson attended Franklin High School in Franklin Town ...

, John Battle, and James Bailey.

History

The history of Rutgers men's basketball dates back to 1906 when they began their first season of play. Their first recorded game was a loss to New York University by a score of 38–16. The team was dissolved following the 1907-1908 season, only to be reformed in 1913 where they remained intact uninterrupted until the 1943 season. The team played in the Final Four in the 1976 NCAA tournament and ended the 1976 season ranked fourth in the nation, after a 86–70 loss against the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in the semifinal round and a 106–92 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 Big Ten 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, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 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 62–55. 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. After the hiring of Head Coach

Steve Pikiell Stephen Christopher Pikiell ( ; born November 21, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and since March 16, 2016, the head men's basketball coach at Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball, Rutgers. Prior to Rutgers, Pikiell was the head ...

in 2016, the program began to see renewed success. In the 2019–20 season, led by guards Geo Baker and

Ron Harper Jr. Ronald Harper Jr. (born April 12, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League. He played college ba ...

, the Scarlet Knights reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2003-04 season, including an 18–1 home record and four wins against ranked opponents. That year, they ranked in the top 25 of the AP men's college basketball poll for the first time since 1979. Experts widely predicted Rutgers' inclusion in the 2020 NCAA tournament, but the event was cancelled before the field was announced as a result of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. The following season, the team would officially break its 30-year tournament drought when it earned a 10-seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament, where it would also achieve its first tournament win since 1983 in a first round win over Clemson. The Scarlet Knights returned to the tournament again the next season, becoming the team with the lowest NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking at 77th overall to receive an at-large bid since the NCAA has utilized the NET to inform tournament selection choices. After disappointing back-to-back seasons of missed tournaments, the Scarlet Knights now anticipate the arrival of their 2024 recruiting class, which ranks among the best of all collegiate basketball programs for the year, headlined by two

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

players: forward Airious "Ace" Bailey and guard

Dylan Harper Dylan Harper (born March 2, 2006) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class. Early life and high school caree ...

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 The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) 15 times. Their combined record is 16–15.

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 The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. 15 Rutgers alumni have played at least one game in the

, including: * Bob Lloyd, 1968–1969 * Bob Greacen, 1970–1972 * Phil Sellers, 1977 *

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan (30 March 1948 – 20 March 2025) was an Irish motorsport executive, broadcaster, racing driver and businessman. From to , Jordan served as founder and team principal of Jordan in Formula One. Born in Dublin, Jordan in ...

, 1978–1984 * Hollis Copeland, 1980–1982 * James Bailey, 1980–1988 *

, 1984–1991 * John Battle, 1986–1995 * Charles Jones, 1999–2000 *

Dahntay Jones Dahntay Lavall Jones (born December 27, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for t ...

, 2004–2017 * Luis Flores, 2005 *

Quincy Douby Quincy Douby (born May 16, 1984) is an American-born, naturalized Montenegrin former professional basketball player. At , , Douby played shooting guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Sacramento Kings made him the 19th selection of the 2006 ...

, 2007–2009 * Hamady N'Diaye, 2011–2014 * Eugene Omoruyi, 2022–2023 *

, 2023 * Caleb McConnell, 2023

Players in international competition

Junior Etou Luc Tselan Tsiene Etou (born June 4, 1994), also known as "Junior" Etou, is a Congolese basketball player who last played for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Personal life Etou was born in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo. ...

(born 1994), Congolese basketball player for

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Steve Kaplan,

American-Israeli Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference men's basketball navbox