Rutgers men’s basketball will begin its season on Wednesday, hosting Rider at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network, with New Jersey natives Jason Horowitz and Austin Johnson providing commentary.
The Scarlet Knights enter the new season with a significantly changed roster. Only four scholarship players—Jamichael Davis, Emmanuel Ogbole, Dylan Grant, and Bryce Dortch—return from last year’s team, along with Max Fradkin. Jamichael Davis, now in his third year at Rutgers, has started 21 of 63 games and averaged 5.1 points per game. Emmanuel Ogbole also returns for his third year after playing in 33 games as center. Dylan Grant saw increased action last season as a freshman, including a standout performance against Maryland. Bryce Dortch played in 12 games during his first year.
Three transfers have joined the program: Darren Buchanan Jr., Tariq Francis, and Baye Fall. Buchanan Jr., who previously played at George Washington after redshirting at Virginia Tech, averaged 13 points per game over two seasons and has scored 792 career points. Francis comes from NJIT where he averaged 17 points per game across two seasons and led the America East Conference in scoring last year with 19.2 points per game; he enters this season with 918 career points. Fall arrives after one season each at Arkansas and Kansas State.
Head coach Steve Pikiell welcomes what is ranked as the fourth-best recruiting class in the Big Ten Conference for the upcoming season, which is also ranked No. 30 nationally for the class of 2025-26. Notable newcomers include Chris Nwuli—a four-star recruit expected to contribute immediately—alongside other freshmen such as Lino Mark, Kaden Powers, Harun Zrno, Gevonte Ware, Dorian Jones, and Denis Badalau.
International additions include Denis Badalau from Romania—who played professionally in Italy last season—and Harun Zrno from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Darren Buchanan Jr., now part of Rutgers’ roster, recently received a Musial Award for character and integrity in sports due to his community engagement efforts that began with organizing a basketball camp in June 2024.
“Darren represents everything we value in our program — humility, toughness, and an unselfish commitment to others,” said head coach Steve Pikiell. “He’s a tremendous teammate and leader, and it’s fitting that he’s being honored on a national stage for the way he carries himself both on and off the court.”
Rutgers continues to benefit from strong home support; all regular-season games at Jersey Mike’s Arena have sold out over the past five years—a streak now at 79 games—with an overall home record of 79-24 since the start of the 2019-20 season.
“We have the best home court advantage in the country,” said Pikiell.”The fans do a great job. Every game is televised. This arena is jumping every time we play in it. Our league is a national stage. I like home games. I like our fans coming out. We’re sold out every game.”
Rider enters Wednesday’s contest led by returning scorer Zion Cruz (10.1 ppg last season) alongside Flash Burton (7.6 ppg). Rider brings back only two of its top eight scorers but adds seven transfers—including five with previous Division I experience—and three freshmen under head coach Kevin Baggett.
The series between Rutgers and Rider dates back to 1947; Rutgers holds a dominant advantage (16-1), including winning their most recent matchup on November 22, 2022 by a score of 76-46 under Steve Pikiell’s leadership.
Rutgers has been successful in recent season openers under Pikiell’s tenure (8-1), having won ten of their last twelve opening games overall.
This year’s schedule includes matchups against other New Jersey schools such as Seton Hall; Rutgers went 3-1 against state opponents last year under Pikiell’s guidance.
Following Wednesday’s opener against Rider—the first of five consecutive home games—the Scarlet Knights will host Maine (Nov.10), Lehigh (Nov.14), American (Nov.18), Central Connecticut State (Nov.21), before traveling to Las Vegas for non-conference play around Thanksgiving.
