Rutgers fell flat and missed the NCAA Tournament last season despite having two future top-five NBA draft picks on the roster.
Is it possible the Scarlet Knights will be better without Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey?
That’s what Rutgers is set to find out as it opens the 2025-26 season at home against Rider on Wednesday in Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers finished 15-17 overall and 8-12 in the Big Ten despite tremendous contributions from Harper and Bailey, who were one-and-done freshmen that went second and fifth overall to San Antonio and Utah, respectively.
Steve Pikiell coached Rutgers to NCAA Tournament bids in 2021 and 2022, but fans have endured a tough couple of years since then and want the program to get back to a defense-and-rebounding identity.
“One thing we’re much better at right now: we rebound,” Pikiell said in September. “We got dudes that rebound. We got to get back to doing that. That was an area we’ve been not good in, and having these guys and the size they are, these guys are strong.”
This year’s roster is an even mix of returners, transfers, freshmen and European signings Harun Zrno and Denis Badalau, who should provide shooting prowess. Jamichael Davis enters his third year in the program and projects as the lead guard.
“I call out plays, he knows them. He knows our defense,” Pikiell said of Davis. “He’s a good leader. If you ask any of the guys, he’s the guy, and he’s tough as nails.”
Davis averaged 4.6 points and 1.7 assists per game in limited minutes last season. Four-stars Dorian Jones and Chris Nwuli lead the freshman class, though Jones’ academic eligibility is up in the air.
In-state opponent Rider (0-1) will play its second game in three days after visiting Virginia on Monday and coming home with an 87-53 loss.
The Cavaliers outworked Rider on the boards for a 49-32 rebounding margin, which didn’t please coach Kevin Baggett.
“We’ll be better come Wednesday,” Baggett told the Trentonian. “We’ll be better for it. We got to block out, first and foremost. We got to be stronger. We got to use screens, we got to move, got to cut harder … especially when teams are bigger and more physical to you.”
It’s a mostly new roster for the Broncs, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, but they returned guards Flash Burton and Zion Cruz to form a promising starting backcourt. Burton had a team-high 17 points plus six rebounds against Virginia, but he also lost six turnovers.
