B1G Basketball Preview 2026: Rutgers

Last Season

The False Promise of Freshmen came to New Jersey last year. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey brought Rutgers there highest rated recruits ever, resulting in a lot of Hope and Pomp. Unfortunately, while both were outstanding, the rest of the team blew, and they finished a disappointing 15-16 with a loss to USC in the BTT. And now they are gone.

Defectors

• No surprise at the top as Dylan Harper went second in the draft to the Spurs, while Ace Bailey went fifth to the Jazz despite some draft process foolishness.
• B1G crime claimed center Lathan Sommerville, who heads to Washington. Also gone are Jordan Derkack (Dayton) and Jeremiah Williams (Georgetown).
• No more years of eligibility for Tyson Acuff or Zach Martin.

Starters

• PG Jamichael Davis, 6'1'' Junior: Davis goes from scrappy youngster to scrappy veteran as he comes back for a third season. He doesn't provide much offense but he also doesn't turn the ball over, plus he will be annoying to the other team.
• SG Harun Zrno, 6'7'' Freshman: It's Eastern European time! Zrno comes over from Bosnia, and was originally committed to Indiana before Mike Woodson was shot into the sun. He supposedly can shoot very straight, and while he's a freshman, he's a 21 year old freshman, so at least he will be popular when it comes to buying Tito's.
• SF Darren Buchanan, 6'7'' Junior: Buchanan comes over after two up and down seasons at George Washington. He's a physical guy who can't shoot straight, so possibly the perfect player under Steve Pikiell. Sharpen those elbows young man!
• PF Dylan Grant, 6'7'' Sophomore: Rutgers may not get the returning sophomore Dylan they want, but they get the one they deserve. Grant worked his way into the rotation last year and stayed with some dependable rebounding and close to the basket scoring. Can't shoot straight, but this is Rutgers.
• C Emmanuel Ogbole, 6'10'' Junior: Ogbole enters his third season with Rutgers, so his elbows should be finely sharpened. A bit player as a freshman, he started to get pretty consistent minutes last year before a knee injury knocked him out. He's perfectly happy to stand by the basket and get rebounds, which should be plentiful in this offense.

Bench

C Baye Fall, 6'10'' Junior: Baye Fall is as intriguing as his name. A former McDonald's All-American initially pledged to Arkansas, where he played in nine games. He then took his talents to Kansas State, where he played in four games. Fall's middle name could be DNP. As a recruit he profiled as a super athletic big man who could defend all over the court. Usually guys that can do that get on the court, so I'll guess we'll see.

PG Tariq Francis, 6'0'' Junior: Francis is comes over from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he specialized in highly engineered spray tanning. He also played basketball and specialized in taking a ton of shots and making them occasionally. He was a willing passer, and showed a real stroke from the stripe, so Pikiell might have something if his efficiency can get under control.

SF Bryce Dortch, 6'9'' Sophomore: Dortch was going to redshirt last season but injuries pressed Pikiell to break the glass. His highlight was scoring nine points and picking up four fouls in 14 minutes against USC. There will be plenty more fouls to get.

SG Dorian Jones, 6'4'' Freshman: Rutgers sports a raft of freshmen this season, and the top one, at least from America, is Jones. He's from Ohio and initially pledged to the Buckeyes before cursed grades caused some issues in enrolling. No such problems at Rutgers, though Pikiell cautioned that he may not be in the clear with the NCAA, so who knows if he'll play this season.

PF Chris Nwuli, 6'7'' Freshman: Buli Buli, put in Nwuli. This Nwuli hails from Texas and profiles as a super athlete with six elbows.

PG Lino Mark, 6'2'' Freshman: Lino the Happy Marksman. He is a top 150 recruit and can score, though his supposed lack of physicality makes me think Pikiell will hit him with socks filled with soap bars for a season.

C Gevonte Ware, 6'9'' Freshman: Gevonte Will Ware You Out. He checks in at 247 in 247's rankings, which has to be worth a free happy meal or frosty or something.

SG Kaden Powers, 6'5'' Freshman: Kaden the Jersey Power Up. He checks in as "NA" on 247's rankings, always a good sign.

SF Denis Badalau, 6'8'' Freshman: Denis the Romanian Menace. Badalau played last season in Italy and transitions to New Jersey in what is certainly not a mob related event.

Outlook

Much like Penn State, Rutgers follows up a middling season with a raft of freshmen. While nothing here wows you much, they do seem to be a team of athletic scrappers who will miss a lot of shots but also fight for the rebounds. Pikiell might be more in his happy spot, if nothing else. Torvik projects them to go 13-17 and 5-15 in the conference.