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While Rutgers has its share of newcomers, it also retained most of its scoring from coach Steve Pikiell’s 10th season.
Pikiell is recovering from cancer surgery, so coach Brandin Knight will run the team for the foreseeable future. The Scarlet Knights open their season Friday by hosting New Haven in Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers was picked 17th out of the 18 teams in the Big Ten media poll but the Scarlet Knights are hoping retention works in their favor after a trip to the College Basketball Crown allowed them to play 34 games.
Rutgers is returning 61.9% of its scoring from an offense that averaged 70.5 points, shot 41.7% overall and made 32.4% from 3-point range.
Tariq Francis is now a senior after averaging 17 points per game in his first year with the team following a transfer from NJIT. He tuned up for the season by scoring 24 points in 47 minutes in a four-overtime, 104-99 exhibition loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 18.
“We’ve got some guys back from last year, and those guys were tasked with taking their games to the next level over the summer,” Knight said at media day. “Now every year, it’s a new team.”
Helping Francis are Darren Buchanan Jr. and Jamichael Davis. Buchanan averaged 8.1 points while Davis scored 7.5 and shot 35.8% on 3s. Others to watch include Lino Mark, who finished in double figures in eight of the final 11 games last season, and Christian Gurdak, who totaled 20 points and 15 rebounds in the preseason game.
“Loyalty means everything to me,” Davis said. “To be a four-year player at Rutgers and a second-year captain in this day and age is unique, and I have unfinished business here in New Jersey.”
New Haven (0-1) is in its second season in the Northeast Conference after moving up from Division II.
The Chargers opened with a 74-58 loss at Syracuse on Monday but showed improvement after halftime, outscoring the Orange 41-35 in the second half after trailing by 22 at the break.
Teshaun Steele scored a team-high 18 points against Syracuse for a New Haven squad that lost its top three scorers from last season to the transfer portal.
“We are still a start-up,” New Haven coach Ted Hotaling said. “We are just in Year 2 of our start-up, but we love the momentum we have.”
–Field Level Media
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