2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights were led by fifth-year head coach Steve Pikiell and played their home games at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as seventh-year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 16–12, 10–10 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Indiana in the second round before losing to Illinois in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991. As the No.10 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated Clemson in the first round before losing to Houston in the second round.

2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record16–12 (10–10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRutgers Athletic Center
Seasons
2020–21 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Michigan 14 3   .824 23 5   .821
No. 2 Illinois 16 4   .800 24 7   .774
No. 8 Iowa 14 6   .700 22 9   .710
No. 20 Purdue 13 6   .684 18 10   .643
No. 7 Ohio State 12 8   .600 21 10   .677
Wisconsin 10 10   .500 18 13   .581
Rutgers 10 10   .500 16 12   .571
Maryland 9 11   .450 17 14   .548
Michigan State 9 11   .450 15 13   .536
Indiana 7 12   .368 12 15   .444
Penn State 7 12   .368 11 14   .440
Northwestern 6 13   .316 9 15   .375
Minnesota 6 14   .300 14 15   .483
Nebraska 3 16   .158 7 20   .259
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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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

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Akwasi Yeboah 1 G/F 6'6" 235 RS Senior Chigwell, England Graduated, signed with Saint-Quentin of the LNB Pro B.[3]
Joey Downes 10 G 5'11" 175 Senior East Sandwich, MA Walk-on, graduated
Shaq Carter 13 F 6'9" 250 Senior Hollywood, FL Graduated
Peter Kiss 32 G 6'5" 200 RS Junior New York, NY Graduate transferred to Bryant[4]

2020 recruiting class

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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: 
Jaden Jones
SG / SF
Dallas, TX St. Louis Christian Academy (MO) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Mar 4, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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 September 8, 2018.

Roster

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2020–21 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Geo Baker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Proctor Academy Derry, NH
F 1 Oskar Palmquist 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Marks Gymnasieskola Kinna, Sweden
F 2 Daniel Lobach (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Moravian Prep Durham, NC
F 3 Mawot Mag 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Prolific Prep Melbourne, Australia
G 4 Paul Mulcahy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Gill St. Bernard's Bayonne, NJ
C 5 Clifford Omoruyi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Roselle Catholic Benin City, Nigeria
G 10 Montez Mathis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr The John Carroll School Baltimore, MD
F 11 Mamadou Doucoure 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Jr Our Savior New American School Bamako, Mali
C 15 Myles Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr Long Beach Poly Long Beach, CA
F 21 Dean Reiber 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Northwest Guilford Greensboro, NC
G 22 Caleb McConnell   6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr SPIRE Academy Jacksonville, FL
G 23 Nick Brooks (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Vermont Academy
West Virginia Wesleyan
Somerset, NJ
G/F 24 Ron Harper Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Don Bosco Prep Franklin Lakes, NJ
G 25 Aiden Terry (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Bullitt Central Mount Washington, KY
G 42 Jacob Young 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Yates
Texas
Houston, TX
G/F 45 Jaden Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr St. Louis Christian Academy Dallas, TX
F/C 55 Luke Nathan (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Randolph Randolph, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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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  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 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
7:30 p.m., BTN
No. 25 at No. 15 Iowa L 66–79  11–7
(7–7)
 11  Baker   7  McConnell   5  Baker  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (560)
Iowa City, IA
February 13, 2021
5:00 pm, BTN
No. 25 Northwestern W 64–50  12–7
(8–7)
 15  Young   14  Johnson   3  McConnell  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
Piscataway, NJ
February 18, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 3 Michigan L 64–71  12–8
(8–8)
 16  Young   7  McConnell   2  Tied  Crisler Center (43)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 21, 2021
3:00 p.m., BTN
Maryland L 59–68  12–9
(8–9)
 19  Young   8  Tied   3  McConnell  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
Piscataway, NJ
February 24, 2021
8:00 p.m., BTN
Indiana W 74–63  13–9
(9–9)
 20  Tied   10  Johnson   10  Baker  Rutgers Athletic Center (64)
Piscataway, NJ
March 1, 2021
7:00 p.m., BTN
at Nebraska L 51–72  13–10
(9–10)
 12  Young   8  Omoruyi   2  Tied  Pinnacle Bank Arena (0)
Lincoln, NE
March 6, 2021
12:00 p.m., FOX
at Minnesota W 77–70 OT 14–10
(10–10)
 23  Young   15  Johnson   7  Young  Williams Arena (52)
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten tournament
March 11, 2021
6:30 p.m., BTN
(7) vs. (10) Indiana
Second Round
W 61–50  15–10
 13  Tied   13  Johnson   7  Baker  Lucas Oil Stadium (6,769)
Indianapolis, IN
March 12, 2021
6:30 p.m., BTN
(7) vs. (2) No. 3 Illinois
Quarterfinals
L 68–90  15–11
 21  Harper Jr.   5  Johnson   2  Jones  Lucas Oil Stadium (7,735)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021
9:20 pm, TBS
(10 MW) vs. (7 MW) Clemson
First Round
W 60–56  16–11
 13  Tied   10  Tied   4  Mulcahy  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3,430)
Indianapolis, IN
March 21, 2021
7:10 pm, TBS
(10 MW) vs. (2 MW) No. 6 Houston
Second Round
L 60–63  16–12
 14  Baker   5  Tied   4  Tied  Lucas Oil Stadium (7,186)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP2424^242119111415RVRV25RVNot released
Coaches2323^23^2217121314RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

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

References

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  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.