2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represents Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights are led by fifth-year head coach Steve Pikiell and play their home games at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as sixth-year members of the Big Ten Conference.

2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
2020–21 record11–6 (7–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRutgers Athletic Center
2020–21 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 4 Michigan81 .889  131  .929
No. 12 Illinois93 .750  135  .722
No. 7 Ohio State94 .692  154  .789
No. 24 Purdue85 .615  137  .650
No. 19 Wisconsin85 .615  146  .700
No. 8 Iowa75 .583  136  .684
Rutgers76 .538  116  .647
Indiana56 .455  108  .556
Minnesota47 .364  117  .611
Penn State47 .364  78  .467
Maryland48 .333  109  .526
Michigan State37 .300  97  .563
Northwestern39 .250  610  .375
Nebraska06 .000  49  .308
2021 Big Ten Tournament winner
As of February 7, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2019–20 season 20–11 and 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. Following the regular season, the Big Ten Tournament and all subsequent postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, effectively ending the Knights' season.[1] In January 2020, Rutgers was nationally ranked for the first time since 1979.[2]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Akwasi Yeboah1G/F6'6"235RS SeniorChigwell, EnglandGraduated, signed with Saint-Quentin of the LNB Pro B.[3]
Joey Downes10G5'11"175SeniorEast Sandwich, MAWalk-on, graduated
Shaq Carter13F6'9"250SeniorHollywood, FLGraduated
Peter Kiss32G6'5"200RS JuniorNew York, NYGraduate transferred to Bryant[4]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Clifford Omoruyi
#10 C
Benin City, Nigeria Roselle Catholic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Mar 29, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Mawot Mag
#42 PF
Melbourne, Australia Prolific Prep 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nov 20, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Dean Reiber
#78 PF
Greensboro, NC Northwest Guilford 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Aug 31, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Oskar Palmquist
#75 PF
Kinna, Sweden Marks Gymnasieskola 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 8, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Aiden Terry
PG
Mount Washington, KY Bullitt Central 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Aug 21, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2018-09-08.

    Roster

    2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Geo Baker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrProctor Academy Derry, NH
    F 1 Oskar Palmquist 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS FrMarks Gymnasieskola Kinna, Sweden
    F 2 Daniel Lobach (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrMoravian Prep Durham, NC
    F 3 Mawot Mag 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrProlific Prep Melbourne, Australia
    G 4 Paul Mulcahy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoGill St. Bernard's Bayonne, NJ
    C 5 Clifford Omoruyi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)240 lb (109 kg) FrRoselle Catholic Benin City, Nigeria
    G 10 Montez Mathis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrThe John Carroll School Baltimore, MD
    F 11 Mamadou Doucoure 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)250 lb (113 kg) RS JrOur Savior New American School Bamako, Mali
    C 15 Myles Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)255 lb (116 kg) RS JrLong Beach Poly Long Beach, CA
    F 21 Dean Reiber 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrNorthwest Guilford Greensboro, NC
    G 22 Caleb McConnell  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrSPIRE Academy Jacksonville, FL
    G 23 Nick Brooks (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SrVermont Academy
    West Virginia Wesleyan
    Somerset, NJ
    G/F 24 Ron Harper Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)245 lb (111 kg) JrDon Bosco Prep Franklin Lakes, NJ
    G 25 Aiden Terry (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)150 lb (68 kg) FrBullitt Central Mount Washington, KY
    G 42 Jacob Young 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SrYates
    Texas
    Houston, TX
    F/C 55 Luke Nathan (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)235 lb (107 kg) RS JrRandolph Randolph, NJ
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Roster

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    November 25, 2020*
    7:00 p.m., BTN Plus
    No. 24 Sacred Heart W 86–63  1–0
     16  Harper Jr.  11  Omoruyi  8  Young  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    November 27, 2020*
    7:00 p.m., BTN
    No. 24 Fairleigh Dickinson W 96–75  2–0
     30  Harper Jr.  8  Mulcahy  7  Young  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    November 29, 2020*
    4:00 p.m., BTN
    No. 24 Hofstra W 70–56  3–0
     17  Young  9  3 tied  7  Mulcahy  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    December 8, 2020*
    9:30 p.m., ESPN2
    No. 21 Syracuse
    ACC–Big Ten Challenge
    W 79–69  4–0
     26  Harper Jr.  12  Johnson  10  Young  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    Big Ten regular season
    December 14, 2020
    6:00 p.m., BTN
    No. 19 at Maryland W 74–60  5–0
    (1–0)
     27  Harper Jr.  16  Johnson  4  Tied  Xfinity Center (0)
    College Park, MD
    December 20, 2020
    1:00 p.m., ESPN2
    No. 19 No. 13 Illinois W 91–88  6–0
    (2–0)
     28  Harper Jr.  9  Harper Jr.  5  Baker  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    December 23, 2020
    4:30 p.m., BTN
    No. 11 at No. 23 Ohio State L 68–80  6–1
    (2–1)
     20  Harper Jr.  6  Harper Jr.  5  Mulcahy  Value City Arena (0)
    Columbus, OH
    December 29, 2020
    7:00 p.m., FS1
    No. 14 Purdue W 81–76  7–1
    (3–1)
     25  Mathis  8  Johnson  4  Tied  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    January 2, 2021
    2:00 p.m., ESPN2
    No. 14 No. 10 Iowa L 75–77  7–2
    (3–2)
     17  Young  10  Johnson  5  Tied  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    January 5, 2021
    9:00 p.m., ESPN2
    No. 15 at No. 23 Michigan State L 45–68  7–3
    (3–3)
     13  Harper Jr.  7  Johnson  4  Mulcahy  Breslin Student Events Center (0)
    East Lansing, MI
    January 9, 2021
    12:00 p.m., BTN
    No. 15 Ohio State L 68–79  7–4
    (3–4)
     19  Young  8  Johnson  3  McConnell  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    January 15, 2021
    9:00 p.m., FS1
    No. 9 Wisconsin L 54–60  7–5
    (3–5)
     19  Young  12  Johnson  3  Young  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    January 21, 2021
    7:00 p.m., BTN
    at Penn State L 67-75  7-6
    (3–6)
     18  Harper Jr.  7  Johnson  5  Mulcahy  Bryce Jordan Center (209)
    University Park, PA
    January 24, 2021
    12:00 p.m., BTN
    at Indiana W 74-70  8-6
    (4–6)
     19  Baker  12  Harper Jr.  5  Baker  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0)
    Bloomington, IN
    January 28, 2021
    7:00 p.m., FS1
    Michigan State W 67-37  9-6
    (5–6)
     13  Johnson  14  Johnson  5  Baker  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    January 31, 2021
    7:30 p.m., BTN
    at Northwestern W 64-56  10-6
    (6–6)
     19  Young  6  Johnson  5  Mulcahy  Welsh–Ryan Arena (0)
    Evanston, IL
    February 4, 2021
    9:00 p.m., FS1
    Minnesota W 76–72  11–6
    (7–6)
     16  Baker  12  Johnson  4  Mulcahy  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
    Piscataway, NJ
    February 10, 2021
    7:00 p.m., BTN
    at Iowa     Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
    Iowa City, IA
    February 13, 2021
     BTN
    Northwestern     Rutgers Athletic Center 
    Piscataway, NJ
    February 18, 2021
    9:00 p.m., FS1
    at Michigan     Crisler Center 
    Ann Arbor, MI
    February 21, 2021
     BTN
    Maryland     Rutgers Athletic Center 
    Piscataway, NJ
    February 24, 2021
     BTN
    Indiana     Rutgers Athletic Center 
    Piscataway, NJ
    February 28, 2021
     BTN
    at Nebraska     Pinnacle Bank Arena 
    Lincoln, NE
    March 6, 2021
     FS1
    at Minnesota     Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    Big Ten Tournament
    March 2021
    vs. TBD     United Center 
    Chicago, IL
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Eastern Time.

    Rankings

    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final 
    AP 24 24^ 24 21 19 11 14 15 RV NR NR RV  
    Coaches 23 23^ 23^ 22 17 12 13 14 RV RV NR RV

    ^AP and Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll, and Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

    References

    1. Boone, Kyle (March 13, 2020). "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
    2. Braziller, Zach (January 20, 2020). "Rutgers basketball ranked in top 25 for first time in 41 years". New York Post. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
    3. Bessiere, Kévin (August 12, 2020). "Akwasi Yeboah complète le puzzle du SQBB". Courrier picard (in French). Retrieved August 26, 2020.
    4. "Grasso signs Big Ten transfer Peter Kiss". Bryant Bulldogs. June 10, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
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