We’re going team-by-team across Big Ten men’s basketball to assess where everyone stands and how things could shake out in 2026-27.
Rutgers enters 2026-27 coming off a third straight losing season. The Scarlet Knights had a good stretch under Steve Pikiell before that, with four straight winning campaigns and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022. But although they’ve been competitive at times in the years since, they just haven’t regained that level of form. Pikiell will hope to turn things around this year.
WHO’S GONE:
- Dylan Grant (9.5 PPG) (transfer — Charlotte)
- Harun Zrno (6.5 PPG) (transfer — uncommitted)
- Emmanuel Ogbole (4.7 PPG) (transfer — uncommitted)
- Denis Badalau (3.1 PPG) (transfer — Towson)
- Chris Nwuli (2.2 PPG) (transfer — Seton Hall)
- Bryce Dortch (2.1 PPG) (transfer — Notre Dame)
- Baye Fall (0.6 PPG) (transfer — Fresno State)
- Dorian Jones (transfer — Kent State)
WHO’S BACK:
- Tariq Francis, G, Sr. (17 PPG)
- Darren Buchanan Jr., G, R-Sr. (8.1 PPG)
- Jamichael Davis, G, Sr. (7.5 PPG)
- Kaden Powers, G, So. (6.1 PPG)
- Lino Mark, G, So. (5.9 PPG)
- Gevonte Ware, C, R-Fr. (0.3 PPG)
WHO’S NEW:
Transfer portal
- Darin Smith Jr., G, Jr. (20.7 PPG at Central Connecticut State)
- Rasheed Jones, G, R-Sr. (14.8 PPG at Coastal Carolina)
- Will Sydnor, F, Jr. (13.9 PPG at Manhattan)
- Christian Gurdak, C, So. (5.6 PPG at Virginia Tech)
- Dorin Buca, C, Sr. (3.2 PPG at Kansas State)
Freshmen (Rankings from 247Sports)
- Imhari Wooten, G (three-star, No. 211)
- Marin Tonejc, F (international, unranked)
RETURNING MINUTES: 53.9 percent (per barttorvik.com) (fifth in the Big Ten)
Why it will work
Francis is coming off a good season in Piscataway, New Jersey, and could feasibly take another step and become more consistent this year. Some transfer portal additions in Smith, Jones, and Sydnor put up good numbers at their previous stops and could turn into nice pieces for Rutgers. And Pikiell has had a number of player development successes during his tenure with the Scarlet Knights, so it’s not unreasonable to suggest improvement from guys like Buchanan or Davis.
Why it won’t
The floor is just really low on this Rutgers team. The Scarlet Knights finished with the lowest KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency in the Big Ten, and the third-lowest adjusted defensive efficiency. If those trends continue, they could very easily finish last place in the conference this year. And on the other end, the ceiling may not be that high. Rutgers would need a lot of things to break right to just be around the NCAA Tournament bubble or a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big Ten. Players like Francis and Smith could put up some gaudy numbers again with the team still struggling. There are more plausible scenarios where it’s an ugly season in Piscataway than there are of a pleasantly surprising campaign.
PREVIOUS OUTLOOKS:
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Purdue
- USC
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Northwestern
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