Saturday, December 20
Piscataway, N.J.
8 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Penn
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men’s Basketball Returns Home to Host Penn on Saturday Night
Dec 16 | Men's Basketball
8 PM Contest on BTN on Saturday Night
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Following the Garden State Hardwood Classic matchup last Saturday against Seton Hall, Rutgers returns home to Jersey Mike's Arena on Saturday night. The Scarlet Knights host Penn out of the Ivy League, welcoming the Quakers for an 8 pm contest on Big Ten Network with Joe Malfa and Austin Johnson on the call.
On December 20, the contest is the nightcap in a Rutgers basketball doubleheader, with the women's program playing against Lafayette at noon. In between will be the return of the Rutgers Winter Village, a family-friendly pregame festival featuring a wide array of holiday-themed activities and attractions.
Rutgers enters the contest with Penn set for the penultimate non-conference contests, coming off the Garden State Hardwood Classic against in-state rival Seton Hall. The Scarlet Knights return to Jersey Mike's Arena, where RU is 4-2 at the venue this season and 15-6 across the past two seasons. RU will play its next four games inside its home confides, welcoming Penn (Dec. 20) and Delaware State (Dec. 29) to wrap non-conference play, then hosting Ohio State (Jan. 2) and Oregon (Jan. 5) for four straight home games across a 16-day span.
Dylan Grant leads RU on the season with 14.5 points per game. Emmanuel Ogbole is the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per game. He is sixth in the Big Ten with 2.82 offensive rebounds per game. Grant follows him at 6.2 rebounds per contest.
Freshman Harun Zrno has scored 13+ points in the last three games. He averages 9.7 points per game over the last six, having made 14 of his past 26 shots, including nine of 19 from three-point range. His 17 three-pointer lead the team on the year.
Freshman Lino Mark reached double-digit scoring for the first time against Seton Hall. He posted 10 points in 19 minutes played.
Penn is led by first-year head coach Fran McCaffery. He was previously a Big Ten head coach with Iowa and faced the Scarlet Knights 14 times from 2014 to 2025, with McCaffery's Hawkeyes winning 11 of the 14, including seven of the past eight prior to returning to his alma mater as their bench boss.
Penn will be off a 12-day exam break, last playing on December 8 against Lafayette. The Quakers are 6-4 overall, defeating Rowan, St. Joe's, Drexel, Merrimack, La Salle and Lafayette, with losses to Villanova, Hofstra, Providence and American. Three of their four losses (all but American) have come by at least 17 points.
Penn's leading scorer is Ethan Roberts, averaging 18.0 points, playing in nine of the 10 contests after suffering an injury against Villanova and missing the last game against the Leopards. TJ Power averages 15.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. Penn's top seven scorers shoot at least 40% from the field. The team shoots 40.1 percent from three point distance, 13th best in the nation.
Rutgers will be playing Penn for the 24th time lifetime, but only the first time since 1975. The last meeting between these two schools came as part of RU's undefeated regular season in 1975-76, a December 11 meeting in 1975 where RU won 95-80
The Quakers won the first 10 meetings in the series between 1914 and 1958, and 16 of the first 17 games played up until 1965. RU's four wins over Penn came in 1959, 1966, 1968 and 1975.
Rutgers has a nine day break up next, which is followed by three home games in eight days. The Scarlet Knights host Delaware State (December 29), Ohio State (January 2) and Oregon (January 5) in a Monday-Friday-Monday stretch.
On December 20, the contest is the nightcap in a Rutgers basketball doubleheader, with the women's program playing against Lafayette at noon. In between will be the return of the Rutgers Winter Village, a family-friendly pregame festival featuring a wide array of holiday-themed activities and attractions.
| About Rutgers |
Rutgers enters the contest with Penn set for the penultimate non-conference contests, coming off the Garden State Hardwood Classic against in-state rival Seton Hall. The Scarlet Knights return to Jersey Mike's Arena, where RU is 4-2 at the venue this season and 15-6 across the past two seasons. RU will play its next four games inside its home confides, welcoming Penn (Dec. 20) and Delaware State (Dec. 29) to wrap non-conference play, then hosting Ohio State (Jan. 2) and Oregon (Jan. 5) for four straight home games across a 16-day span.
Dylan Grant leads RU on the season with 14.5 points per game. Emmanuel Ogbole is the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per game. He is sixth in the Big Ten with 2.82 offensive rebounds per game. Grant follows him at 6.2 rebounds per contest.
Freshman Harun Zrno has scored 13+ points in the last three games. He averages 9.7 points per game over the last six, having made 14 of his past 26 shots, including nine of 19 from three-point range. His 17 three-pointer lead the team on the year.
Freshman Lino Mark reached double-digit scoring for the first time against Seton Hall. He posted 10 points in 19 minutes played.
| About Penn |
Penn is led by first-year head coach Fran McCaffery. He was previously a Big Ten head coach with Iowa and faced the Scarlet Knights 14 times from 2014 to 2025, with McCaffery's Hawkeyes winning 11 of the 14, including seven of the past eight prior to returning to his alma mater as their bench boss.
Penn will be off a 12-day exam break, last playing on December 8 against Lafayette. The Quakers are 6-4 overall, defeating Rowan, St. Joe's, Drexel, Merrimack, La Salle and Lafayette, with losses to Villanova, Hofstra, Providence and American. Three of their four losses (all but American) have come by at least 17 points.
Penn's leading scorer is Ethan Roberts, averaging 18.0 points, playing in nine of the 10 contests after suffering an injury against Villanova and missing the last game against the Leopards. TJ Power averages 15.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. Penn's top seven scorers shoot at least 40% from the field. The team shoots 40.1 percent from three point distance, 13th best in the nation.
| About the Series |
Rutgers will be playing Penn for the 24th time lifetime, but only the first time since 1975. The last meeting between these two schools came as part of RU's undefeated regular season in 1975-76, a December 11 meeting in 1975 where RU won 95-80
The Quakers won the first 10 meetings in the series between 1914 and 1958, and 16 of the first 17 games played up until 1965. RU's four wins over Penn came in 1959, 1966, 1968 and 1975.
| With a Win |
- First win over Penn since 1975
- Second straight season with a win over an Ivy League school (defeated Columbia 91-64 on December 30, 2025)
| Up Next |
Rutgers has a nine day break up next, which is followed by three home games in eight days. The Scarlet Knights host Delaware State (December 29), Ohio State (January 2) and Oregon (January 5) in a Monday-Friday-Monday stretch.
Players Mentioned
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