# 2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights, led by second-year head coach Steve Pikiell, played their home games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as fourth-year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 15–19, 3–15 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Minnesota and Indiana before losing to Purdue in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2016–17 season 15–18, 3–15 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Ohio State in the first round, marking their first ever Big Ten tournament win. However, they lost to Northwestern in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Nigel Johnson | 0 | G | 6'1" | 190 | RS Junior | Ashburn, VA | Transferred to Virginia |
| Jonathan Laurent | 4 | G | 6'6" | 216 | Sophomore | Lakeland, FL | Transferred to Massachusetts |
| Khalil Batie | 23 | G | 5'10" | 168 | Senior | Willingboro, NJ | Graduated |
| Ibrahima Diallo | 32 | F/C | 6'10" | 247 | RS Sophomore | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred |
| C. J. Getty | 50 | C | 7'0" | 270 | Senior | Findlay, OH | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Peter Kiss | 32 | G | 6'5" | 215 | Sophomore | New York City, NY | Quinnipiac |
| Soufiane Mensah | 44 | G | 6'2" | 210 | Junior | Paris, France | Marshalltown Community College |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Geo Baker PG | Derry, NH | Proctor Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 27, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Myles Johnson C | Long Beach, CA | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Mamadou Doucoure C | Centereach, NY | Our Savior New American School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Dec 20, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Montez Mathis SG | Essex, MD | John Carroll School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 4, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ron Harper Jr. SG | Ramsey, NJ | Don Bosco Preparatory High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

The 2018 Big Ten tournament will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Due to the Big East's use of that venue for their conference tournament, the Big Ten tournament will take place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday. This could result in teams having nearly two weeks off before the NCAA tournament.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 5, 2017* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | | St. John's Disaster Relief Charity Exhibition | W 80–78 | | 28 – Freeman | 12 – Freeman | 3 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,551) Piscataway, NJ |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | CCNY | W 94–38 | 1–0 | 19 – Thiam | 11 – Thiam | 4 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,389) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 12, 2017* 2:30 pm, BTN Plus | | Central Connecticut Showcase on the Banks | W 71–67 | 2–0 | 23 – Williams | 7 – Tied | 4 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,844) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Cleveland State Showcase on the Banks | W 70–38 | 3–0 | 14 – Tied | 10 – Sanders | 7 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,292) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 19, 2017* 12:30 pm, BTN Plus | | Coppin State Showcase on the Banks | W 64–39 | 4–0 | 19 – Omoruyi | 8 – Tied | 3 – Omoruyi | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,514) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Bryant | W 83–54 | 5–0 | 29 – Baker | 8 – Omoruyi | 5 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,044) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 24, 2017* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | | East Carolina Showcase on the Banks | W 61–47 | 6–0 | 15 – Freeman | 11 – Freeman | 3 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,336) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Florida State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 73–78 | 6–1 | 22 – Omoruyi | 16 – Freeman | 5 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,853) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 3, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 12 Minnesota | L 67–89 | 6–2 (0–1) | 13 – Doucoure | 12 – Freeman | 5 – Sanders | Williams Arena (11,097) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 5, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 3 Michigan State | L 52-62 | 6–3 (0–2) | 13 – Freeman | 9 – Freeman | 2 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (6.020) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 7, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | NJIT | W 73–64 | 7–3 | 18 – Sanders | 8 – Sá | 4 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,732) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 92–54 | 8–3 | 19 – Tied | 9 – Thiam | 11 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,869) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 12, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Fordham | W 75–63 | 9–3 | 14 – Freeman | 10 – Freeman | 5 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,389) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 16, 2017* 12:00 pm, BTN | | No. 15 Seton Hall Rivalry/Garden State Hardwood Classic | W 71–65 | 10–3 | 22 – Sanders | 16 – Freeman | 4 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,318) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Stony Brook | L 73–75 | 10–4 | 20 – Freeman | 7 – Sanders | 6 – Baker | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,675) Piscataway, NJ |
| December 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Hartford | L 58–60 | 10–5 | 17 – Sanders | 7 – 3 tied | 3 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,632) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 3, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 13 Purdue | L 51–82 | 10–6 (0–3) | 11 – Baker | 6 – Doorson | 3 – Sanders | Mackey Arena (13,449) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 5, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Wisconsin | W 64–60 | 11–6 (1–3) | 23 – Sanders | 5 – Omoruyi | 2 – 5 tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,709) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 10, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 4 Michigan State | L 72–76 $^{OT}$ | 11–7 (1–4) | 22 – Sanders | 7 – Doorson | 4 – Sanders | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| January 14, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | Ohio State | L 46–68 | 11–8 (1–5) | 14 – Baker | 6 – Tied | 3 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,476) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 17, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | Iowa | W 80–64 | 12–8 (2–5) | 18 – Sanders | 8 – Freeman | 8 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,002) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 21, 2018 12:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 23 Michigan | L 47–62 | 12–9 (2–6) | 12 – Sanders | 11 – Freeman | 1 – Freeman | Crisler Center (11,582) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 24, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | L 54–60 | 12–10 (2–7) | 14 – Sanders | 10 – Freeman | 2 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,075) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 27, 2018 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Penn State | L 43–60 | 12–11 (2–8) | 12 – Thiam | 8 – Freeman | 4 – Baker | Bryce Jordan Center (13,677) University Park, PA |
| January 30, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | L 60–91 | 12–12 (2–9) | 19 – Baker | 5 – Sanders | 2 – Sanders | State Farm Center (12,612) Champaign, IL |
| February 3, 2018 4:00 pm, BTN | | No. 3 Purdue | L 76–78 | 12–13 (2–10) | 31 – Sanders | 9 – Freeman | 3 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,325) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 5, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | Indiana | L 43–65 | 12–14 (2–11) | 13 – Freeman | 8 – Freeman | 2 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,360) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 10, 2018 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 55–67 | 12–15 (2–12) | 14 – Sanders | 9 – Omoruyi | 3 – Baker | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,867) Lincoln, NE |
| February 13, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 67–58 $^{OT}$ | 13–15 (3–12) | 30 – Sanders | 10 – Omoruyi | 4 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,827) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 17, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Maryland | L 51–61 | 13–16 (3–13) | 11 – Omoruyi | 10 – Freeman | 2 – 2 tied | Xfinity Center (15,587) College Park, MD |
| February 20, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 16 Ohio State | L 52–79 | 13–17 (3–14) | 12 – Sanders | 6 – Thiam | 2 – 4 tied | Value City Arena (15,620) Columbus, OH |
| February 25, 2018 3:00 pm, BTN | | Illinois | L 62–75 | 13–18 (3–15) | 18 – Sanders | 6 – Sanders | 4 – Sanders | Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,017) Piscataway, NJ |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| February 28, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | (14) | vs. (11) Minnesota First round | W 65–54 | 14–18 | 23 – Sanders | 11 – Freeman | 2 – Sanders | Madison Square Garden (14,681) New York City, NY |
| March 1, 2018 9:00 pm, BTN | (14) | vs. (6) Indiana Second round | W 76–69 | 15–18 | 28 – Sanders | 8 – Freeman | 3 – Sanders | Madison Square Garden (13,992) New York City, NY |
| March 2, 2018 9:00 pm, BTN | (14) | vs. (3) No. 10 Purdue Quarterfinals | L 75–82 | 15–19 | 25 – Baker | 8 – Williams | 4 – Sanders | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||