PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's basketball program's full schedule has been announced for the 2023-24 season. Prudential is the presenting sponsor for Rutgers basketball.
RU will host 18 home games at Jersey Mike's Arena: 10 Big Ten contests and eight non-conference matchups. Rutgers will play 14 games away from home this season: 10 Big Ten contests, a pair of non-conference road tests, and two neutral site clashes.
The Scarlet Knights non-conference schedule includes several marquee matchups to prepare for the challenge of Big Ten league play, including matchups against Georgetown, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, and Princeton.
Approaching his eighth season at the helm, head coach
Steve Pikiell has made a statement establishing the Scarlet Knights' strength of schedule.
Rutgers has completed a strength of schedule ranked in the top-40 in each of the past four seasons, including the nation's second-toughest slate in 2018-19 according to ESPN.com. Rutgers was rated No. 292 in the nation on ESPN.com's strength of schedule the year prior to Pikiell's arrival to Piscataway.
RU will open the regular season in the Garden State with a neutral site tilt against Princeton (Monday, Nov. 6) at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton. The Tigers are the reigning Ivy League champions and fresh off a Sweet Sixteen run as the No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The Scarlet Knights begin a five-game home stint next competing against Boston University (Friday, Nov. 10), Bryant (Sunday, Nov. 12), Georgetown (Wednesday, Nov. 15), Howard (Saturday, Nov. 18), and St. Peter's (Monday, Nov. 27). The Hoyas hired former Providence College head coach and 2021-22 Naismith Coach of The Year Ed Cooley to lead Georgetown after 12 seasons Rhode Island.
RU travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. next to take on Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The Demon Deacons finished 19-14 last winter.
The Scarlet Knights return to New Jersey to play Garden State rival at Seton Hall on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Pirates went 17-16 during the 2022-23 campaign.
Rutgers will conclude the non-conference schedule with consecutive Saturday games, first taking on LIU on Saturday, Dec. 16, and then Mississippi State in a neutral site contest on Dec. 23 at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Bulldogs finished 21-13 last season, advancing to the First Four game of the NCAA Tournament. RU will face Stonehill on Saturday, Dec. 30 to conclude it's non-conference play.
RU will take on three of the top 100 strength-of-schedule teams from last season in the non-conference slate, according to ESPN.com in Seton Hall (35), Mississippi State (48), and Wake Forest (74).
The Scarlet Knights will begin conference action by hosting Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights will welcome Indiana (Jan. 9), Penn State (Jan. 31), and Northwestern (Feb. 15), as home-only conference opponents at Jersey Mike's Arena. RU will travel to Iowa (Jan. 6), Michigan State (Jan. 14), and Minnesota (Feb. 16) as road-only Big Ten opponents. Maryland, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Ohio State are the seven home and away opponents on the docket. RU's season will conclude with a home game on Senior Night against Ohio State on Sunday, March 10.
Pikiell picked up his 100th win at Rutgers and 300th career victory during the 2022-23 season. Rutgers produced its third-consecutive postseason berth for the first time in school history and the Scarlet Knights knocked off No. 1 Purdue for a second consecutive season.
Pikiell and his coaching staff have compiled an impressive restructure of the men's basketball program since taking over in 2016. Rutgers ensured their fourth-straight winning season in 2022-23, including a fourth-straight season with 10 league wins.
The Scarlet Knights defeated two top-10 teams in the Associated Press Poll in the 2022-23 season (No. 1 Purdue, and No. 8 Indiana). Some other key wins involved five NCAA Tournament teams: Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Penn State.
Rutgers men's basketball is riding a streak of 28 consecutive sold-out regular season games at Jersey Mike's Arena. For the first time in school history, men's basketball sold out every game on its home schedule, including setting the program record for most season tickets sold (5,873) in 2022-23.
Single-game tickets at Jersey Mike's Arena for the 2023-24 season are limited and season tickets are sold out. Single-game tickets will go on sale later this fall. Fans can purchase tickets to the Princeton and Miss. State games above.
Start times and network designations for all conference and non-conference games will be announced during the week of Sept. 25-29. The 27th Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament will be held Wednesday, March 13 through Sunday, March 17 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The full Rutgers 2023-24 season schedule is below:
| DAY |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
SITE |
LOCATION |
H/A/N |
| Monday |
Nov. 6 |
Princeton |
Cure Ins. Arena |
Trenton, N.J. |
Neutral |
| Friday |
Nov. 10 |
Boston U |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Sunday |
Nov. 12 |
Bryant |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Wednesday |
Nov. 15 |
Georgetown |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Saturday |
Nov. 18 |
Howard |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Monday |
Nov. 27 |
St. Peter's |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Saturday |
Dec. 2 |
Illinois |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Wednesday |
Dec. 6 |
Wake Forest |
LJ Veterans Mem. Arena |
Winston-Salem, N.C. |
Away |
| Saturday |
Dec. 9 |
Seton Hall |
Prudential Center |
Newark, N.J. |
Away |
| Saturday |
Dec. 16 |
LIU |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Saturday |
Dec. 23 |
Miss. State |
Prudential Center |
Newark, N.J. |
Neutral |
| Saturday |
Dec. 30 |
Stone Hill |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Wednesday |
Jan. 3 |
Ohio State |
The Schotten. Center |
Columbus, Ohio |
Away |
| Saturday |
Jan. 6 |
Iowa |
Hawkeye Arena |
Iowa City, Iowa |
Away |
| Tuesday |
Jan. 9 |
Indiana |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Sunday |
Jan. 14 |
Michigan State |
Breslin Center |
East Lansing, Mich. |
Away |
| Wednesday |
Jan. 17 |
Nebraska |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Sunday |
Jan. 21 |
Illinois |
State Farm Center |
Champaign, Ill. |
Away |
| Sunday |
Jan. 28 |
Purdue |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Wednesday |
Jan. 31 |
Penn State |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Saturday |
Feb. 3 |
Michigan |
Crisler Center |
Ann, Arbor, Mich |
Away |
| Tuesday |
Feb. 6 |
Maryland |
Xfinity Center |
College Park, Md. |
Away |
| Saturday |
Feb. 10 |
Wisconsin |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Thursday |
Feb. 15 |
Northwestern |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Sunday |
Feb. 18 |
Minnesota |
Williams Arena |
Minneapolis, Minn. |
Away |
| Thursday |
Feb. 22 |
Purdue |
Mackey Arena |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
Away |
| Sunday |
Feb. 25 |
Maryland |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Thursday |
Feb. 29 |
Michigan |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
| Sunday |
Mar. 3 |
Nebraska |
Pinnacle Bank Arena |
Lincoln, Neb. |
Away |
| Thursday |
Mar. 7 |
Wisconsin |
Kohl Center |
Madison, Wis. |
Away |
| Sunday |
Mar. 10 |
Ohio State |
Jersey Mike's Arena |
Piscataway, N.J. |
Home |
