2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights, led by second-year head coach Steve Pikiell, played their home games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as fourth-year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 15–19, 3–15 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Minnesota and Indiana before losing to Purdue in the quarterfinals.

2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record15–19 (3–15 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaLouis Brown Athletic Center
Seasons
2017–18 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 5 Michigan State162 .889305 .857
No. 11 Purdue153 .833307 .811
No. 17 Ohio State153 .833259 .735
No. 7 Michigan135 .722338 .805
Nebraska135 .7222211 .667
Penn State99 .5002613 .667
Indiana99 .5001615 .516
Maryland810 .4441913 .594
Wisconsin711 .3891518 .455
Northwestern612 .3331517 .469
Minnesota414 .2221517 .469
Illinois414 .2221418 .438
Iowa414 .2221419 .424
Rutgers315 .1671519 .441
2018 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2016–17 season 15–18, 3–15 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Ohio State in the first round, marking their first ever Big Ten tournament win.[1] However, they lost to Northwestern in the second round.[2][3]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Nigel Johnson0G6'1"190RS JuniorAshburn, VATransferred to Virginia
Jonathan Laurent4G6'6"216SophomoreLakeland, FLTransferred to Massachusetts
Khalil Batie23G5'10"168SeniorWillingboro, NJGraduated
Ibrahima Diallo32F/C6'10"247RS SophomoreDakar, SenegalTransferred
C. J. Getty50C7'0"270SeniorFindlay, OHGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Peter Kiss32G6'5"215SophomoreNew York City, NYQuinnipiac
Soufiane Mensah44G6'2"210JuniorParis, FranceMarshalltown Community College

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Geo Baker
PG
Derry, NHProctor Academy6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)170 lb (77 kg)Jul 27, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Myles Johnson
C
Long Beach, CALong Beach Polytechnic High School6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg)May 14, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Mamadou Doucoure
C
Centereach, NYOur Savior New American School6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg)Dec 20, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Montez Mathis
SG
Essex, MDJohn Carroll School6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg)Aug 4, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Ron Harper Jr.
SG
Ramsey, NJDon Bosco Preparatory High School6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg)Aug 11, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/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:

Roster

2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G0Geo Baker6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg)FrProctor AcademyDerry, NH
F1Candido Sá6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)227 lb (103 kg)SrColégio Bartolomeu Dias
San Jacinto College
Lisbon, Portugal
C2Shaquille Doorson7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)270 lb (122 kg)RS JrCanarias Basketball AcademyAmsterdam, Netherlands
G3Corey Sanders6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)181 lb (82 kg)JrFaith Baptist Christian AcademyLakeland, FL
G5Mike Williams6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)198 lb (90 kg)SrBishop LoughlinBrooklyn, NY
G10Jake Dadika (W)6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg)SrSpotswoodMilltown, NJ
F11Eugene Omoruyi6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg)SoOrangeville PrepRexdale, Canada
F13Matt Bullock6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)260 lb (118 kg)SoRoselle CatholicElizabeth, NJ
F/C15Myles Johnson6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)245 lb (111 kg)FrLong Beach PolyLong Beach, CA
F/C21Mamadou Doucoure6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)243 lb (110 kg)FrOur Savior New American SchoolBamako, Mali
G22Joey Downes (W)5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)163 lb (74 kg)SoEast Sandwich/Bridgton AcademyEast Sandwich, MA
F24Aaren Smith (W)6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)211 lb (96 kg)SoMount Hebron/Brewster AcademyEllicott City, MD
G32Peter Kiss  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg)SoNotre Dame Prep
Qunnipiac
New York City, NY
F33Deshawn Freeman6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg)RS SrRocky Mount Academy
Hutchinson CC
Rocky Mount, NC
F35Issa Thiam6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)190 lb (86 kg)SoCanarias Basketball AcademyDakar, Senegal
G44Souf Mensah6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)210 lb (95 kg)JrCCI Nantes St-Nazaire
Mashalltown CC
Nantes, France
F/C55Luke Nathan (W)6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrRandolphRandolph, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

The 2018 Big Ten tournament will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[4] Due to the Big East's use of that venue for their conference tournament, the Big Ten tournament will take place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday.[5] This could result in teams having nearly two weeks off before the NCAA tournament.[5]

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2017*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus
St. John's
Disaster Relief Charity Exhibition
W 80–78 
 28  Freeman  12  Freeman  3  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,551)
Piscataway, NJ
Regular season
November 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
CCNYW 94–38 1–0
 19  Thiam  11  Thiam  4  Tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,389)
Piscataway, NJ
November 12, 2017*
2:30 pm, BTN Plus
Central Connecticut
Showcase on the Banks
W 71–67 2–0
 23  Williams  7  Tied  4  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,844)
Piscataway, NJ
November 14, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN
Cleveland State
Showcase on the Banks
W 70–38 3–0
 14  Tied  10  Sanders  7  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,292)
Piscataway, NJ
November 19, 2017*
12:30 pm, BTN Plus
Coppin State
Showcase on the Banks
W 64–39 4–0
 19  Omoruyi  8  Tied  3  Omoruyi Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,514)
Piscataway, NJ
November 21, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
BryantW 83–54 5–0
 29  Baker  8  Omoruyi  5  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,044)
Piscataway, NJ
November 24, 2017*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus
East Carolina
Showcase on the Banks
W 61–47 6–0
 15  Freeman  11  Freeman  3  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,336)
Piscataway, NJ
November 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Florida State
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 73–78 6–1
 22  Omoruyi  16  Freeman  5  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,853)
Piscataway, NJ
December 3, 2017
6:00 pm, BTN
at No. 12 MinnesotaL 67–89 6–2
(0–1)
 13  Doucoure  12  Freeman  5  Sanders Williams Arena (11,097)
Minneapolis, MN
December 5, 2017
7:00 pm, BTN
No. 3 Michigan StateL 52-62 6–3
(0–2)
 13  Freeman  9  Freeman  2  Tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (6.020)
Piscataway, NJ
December 7, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
NJITW 73–64 7–3
 18  Sanders  8    4  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,732)
Piscataway, NJ
December 9, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
Fairleigh DickinsonW 92–54 8–3
 19  Tied  9  Thiam  11  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,869)
Piscataway, NJ
December 12, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPNU
FordhamW 75–63 9–3
 14  Freeman  10  Freeman  5  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,389)
Piscataway, NJ
December 16, 2017*
12:00 pm, BTN
No. 15 Seton Hall
Rivalry/Garden State Hardwood Classic
W 71–65 10–3
 22  Sanders  16  Freeman  4  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,318)
Piscataway, NJ
December 22, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
Stony BrookL 73–75 10–4
 20  Freeman  7  Sanders  6  Baker Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,675)
Piscataway, NJ
December 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
HartfordL 58–60 10–5
 17  Sanders  7  3 tied  3  Tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,632)
Piscataway, NJ
January 3, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
at No. 13 PurdueL 51–82 10–6
(0–3)
 11  Baker  6  Doorson  3  Sanders Mackey Arena (13,449)
West Lafayette, IN
January 5, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2
WisconsinW 64–60 11–6
(1–3)
 23  Sanders  5  Omoruyi  2  5 tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,709)
Piscataway, NJ
January 10, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
at No. 4 Michigan StateL 72–76 OT11–7
(1–4)
 22  Sanders  7  Doorson  4  Sanders Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
January 14, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
Ohio StateL 46–68 11–8
(1–5)
 14  Baker  6  Tied  3  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,476)
Piscataway, NJ
January 17, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
IowaW 80–64 12–8
(2–5)
 18  Sanders  8  Freeman  8  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,002)
Piscataway, NJ
January 21, 2018
12:00 pm, BTN
at No. 23 MichiganL 47–62 12–9
(2–6)
 12  Sanders  11  Freeman  1  Freeman Crisler Center (11,582)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 24, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
NebraskaL 54–60 12–10
(2–7)
 14  Sanders  10  Freeman  2  Tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,075)
Piscataway, NJ
January 27, 2018
4:00 pm, BTN
at Penn StateL 43–60 12–11
(2–8)
 12  Thiam  8  Freeman  4  Baker Bryce Jordan Center (13,677)
University Park, PA
January 30, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
at IllinoisL 60–91 12–12
(2–9)
 19  Baker  5  Sanders  2  Sanders State Farm Center (12,612)
Champaign, IL
February 3, 2018
4:00 pm, BTN
No. 3 PurdueL 76–78 12–13
(2–10)
 31  Sanders  9  Freeman  3  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,325)
Piscataway, NJ
February 5, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
IndianaL 43–65 12–14
(2–11)
 13  Freeman  8  Freeman  2  Tied Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,360)
Piscataway, NJ
February 10, 2018
4:00 pm, BTN
at NebraskaL 55–67 12–15
(2–12)
 14  Sanders  9  Omoruyi  3  Baker Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,867)
Lincoln, NE
February 13, 2018
8:00 pm, BTN
NorthwesternW 67–58 OT13–15
(3–12)
 30  Sanders  10  Omoruyi  4  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,827)
Piscataway, NJ
February 17, 2018
8:00 pm, BTN
at MarylandL 51–61 13–16
(3–13)
 11  Omoruyi  10  Freeman  2  2 tied Xfinity Center (15,587)
College Park, MD
February 20, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
at No. 16 Ohio StateL 52–79 13–17
(3–14)
 12  Sanders  6  Thiam  2  4 tied Value City Arena (15,620)
Columbus, OH
February 25, 2018
3:00 pm, BTN
IllinoisL 62–75 13–18
(3–15)
 18  Sanders  6  Sanders  4  Sanders Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,017)
Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten tournament
February 28, 2018
8:00 pm, BTN
(14) vs. (11) Minnesota
First round
W 65–54 14–18
 23  Sanders  11  Freeman  2  Sanders Madison Square Garden (14,681)
New York City, NY
March 1, 2018
9:00 pm, BTN
(14) vs. (6) Indiana
Second round
W 76–69 15–18
 28  Sanders  8  Freeman  3  Sanders Madison Square Garden (13,992)
New York City, NY
March 2, 2018
9:00 pm, BTN
(14) vs. (3) No. 10 Purdue
Quarterfinals
L 75–82 15–19
 25  Baker  8  Williams  4  Sanders Madison Square Garden 
New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References