2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (0–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Steve Pikiell (10th season);
Associate head coach	Brandin Knight
Assistant coaches	T. J. Thompson; Marlon Williamson; Jay Young; Steve Hayn;
Home arena	Jersey Mike's Arena

2025–26 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 15 Nebraska	2	–	0	1.000	11	–	0	1.000
No. 2 Michigan	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	0	1.000
No. 9 Michigan State	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	1	.909
No. 6 Purdue	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	1	.909
UCLA	2	–	0	1.000	8	–	3	.727
USC	1	–	1	.500	11	–	1	.917
Iowa	1	–	1	.500	9	–	2	.818
Ohio State	1	–	1	.500	8	–	2	.800
No. 18 Illinois	1	–	1	.500	8	–	3	.727
Indiana	1	–	1	.500	8	–	3	.727
Wisconsin	1	–	1	.500	7	–	3	.700
Washington	1	–	1	.500	7	–	3	.700
Minnesota	1	–	1	.500	6	–	5	.545
Penn State	0	–	2	.000	8	–	3	.727
Northwestern	0	–	2	.000	7	–	4	.636
Maryland	0	–	2	.000	6	–	5	.545
Oregon	0	–	2	.000	6	–	5	.545
Rutgers	0	–	2	.000	5	–	6	.455

† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner As of December 17, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represents Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights are led by 10th-year head coach Steve Pikiell and play their home games at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season

The Scarlet Knights finished the 2024–25 season 15–17, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 11th place. They lost to USC in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Following the team's loss, the school announced that they would not play in any postseason tournament.^[1]

Offseason

Departures


Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Jordan Derkack	0	G	6'5"	205	Senior	Colonia, NJ	Transferred to Dayton
Tyson Acuff	5	G	6'4"	210	GS Senior	Detroit, MI	Graduated
Ace Bailey	1	F	6'8"	210	Freshman	Powder Springs, GA	Declared for 2025 NBA Draft, selected 5th overall by the Utah Jazz
Dylan Harper	3	G	6'5"	205	Freshman	Ramsey, NJ	Declared for 2025 NBA Draft, selected 2nd overall by San Antonio Spurs
PJ Hayes	23	F	6'6"	215	GS Senior	Waconia, MN	Graduated
Zach Martini	99	F	6'7"	235	GS Senior	Warren, New Jersey	Graduated
Lathan Sommerville	24	C	6'10"	275	Sophomore	Peoria, IL	Transferred to Washington

Roster

2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Tariq Francis	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	NJIT	Pittsburgh, PA
G	1	Jamichael Davis	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	McEachern	Chattanooga, TN
G	2	Lino Mark	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Notre Dame	Los Angeles, CA
G	3	Kaden Powers	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Rainier Beach	Seattle, WA
F	4	Bryce Dortch	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Brimmer and May	Somerville, MA
G	5	Darren Buchanan Jr.	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS Jr	George Washington / Virginia Tech	Washington, D.C.
F	9	Dylan Grant	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Michigan Collegiate High School	Mississauga, Canada
F	11	Chris Nwuli	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Dynamic Prep	North Las Vegas, NV
G	13	Harun Zrno	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	KK Slavija	Sarajevo
C	15	Gevonte Ware	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Fr	1 of 1 Academy Center	Roosevelt, NY
C	21	Emmanuel Ogbole	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Sr	Monroe College	Aune-Adoka, Nigeria
G	22	Dorian Jones	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Richmond Heights	Cleveland, OH
G	24	Max Fradkin (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	The Taft School	Southbury, CT
F	27	Denis Bădălău	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Centro Studi Alessandro Manzoni	Giurgiu, Romania
C	32	Baye Fall	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Kansas State / Arkansas	Guédiawaye, Senegal

Head coach

Steve Pikiell (Connecticut)

Assistant coach(es)

Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh)
T. J. Thompson (George Washington)
Marlon Williamson (Youngstown State)
Jay Young (Marist)
Steve Hayn (Stony Brook)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 5, 2025* 6:00 p.m., BTN	Rider	W 81–53	1–0	20 – Francis	10 – Ogbole	3 – Davis	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 10, 2025* 6:30 p.m., BTN	Maine	W 72–60	2–0	19 – Bădălău	10 – Grant	5 – Buchanan Jr.	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 14, 2025* 6:30 p.m., B1G+	Lehigh	W 84–72	3–0	28 – Grant	10 – Ogbole	4 – Francis	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 18, 2025* 6:30 p.m., BTN	American	W 80–71	4–0	22 – Grant	11 – Grant	5 – Davis	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 21, 2025* 6:30 p.m., B1G+	Central Connecticut State	L 54–67	4–1	19 – Francis	10 – Ogbole	3 – Tied	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 24, 2025* 1:00 p.m., TNT	vs. No. 17 Tennessee Players Era Festival Game 1	L 60–85	4–2	14 – Zrno	6 – Ogbole	2 – Tied	MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, NV
November 25, 2025* 1:00 p.m., TNT	vs. Notre Dame Players Era Festival Game 2	L 63–68	4–3	21 – Davis	7 – Grant	3 – Davis	MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, NV
November 27, 2025* 4:30 p.m., TruTV	vs. UNLV Players Era Festival Consolation Game	W 80–65	5–3	21 – Ogbole	13 – Ogbole	6 – Davis	MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, NV
December 2, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 1 Purdue	L 65−81	5−4 (0−1)	13 – Tied	6 – Ogbole	5 – Davis	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
December 6, 2025 4:00 p.m., BTN	at No. 3 Michigan	L 60−101	5−5 (0−2)	13 – Tied	7 – Grant	3 – Francis	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
December 13, 2025* 8:00 p.m., FS1	at Seton Hall Garden State Hardwood Classic	L 59–81	5–6	15 – Zrno	8 – Ogbole	2 – Tied	Prudential Center (11,153) Newark, NJ
December 20, 2025* 8:00 p.m., BTN	Penn						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
December 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., BTN	Delaware State						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 2, 2026 8:00 p.m., Peacock	Ohio State						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., Peacock	Oregon						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 8, 2026 8:30 p.m., BTN	at Illinois						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 11, 2026 5:00 p.m., Peacock	Northwestern						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., BTN	at Wisconsin						Kohl Center Madison, WI
January 20, 2026 8:30 p.m., BTN	at Iowa						Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
January 23, 2026 6:00 p.m., FS1	Indiana						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 27, 2026 6:30 p.m., FS1	Michigan State						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
January 31, 2026 7:00 p.m., Peacock	at USC						Galen Center Los Angeles, CA
February 3, 2026 9:30 p.m., BTN	at UCLA						Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN	Nebraska						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
February 15, 2026 12:00 p.m., FS1	Maryland						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., BTN	at Penn State						Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA
February 21, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN	at Minnesota						Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
February 24, 2026 6:30 p.m., BTN	Washington						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
March 1, 2026 12:00 p.m., FS1	at Maryland						XFINITY Center College Park, MD
March 5, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1	at Michigan State						Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
March 8, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN	Penn State						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** — = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

^ "Rutgers basketball makes postseason decision: Will it accept invite to NIT, College Basketball Crown?".

[1] "Rutgers basketball makes postseason decision: Will it accept invite to NIT, College Basketball Crown?".

[1]

Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
Venues	Original College Avenue Gymnasium (1906–1931) College Avenue Gymnasium (1931–1977) Jersey Mike's Arena (1977–present)
Rivalries	Princeton Seton Hall
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics