2016–17 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2016–17 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Scarlet Knights, led by first-year head coach Steve Pikiell , played their home games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as third-year members of the Big Ten Conference .
They finished the season 15–18, 3–15 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. As the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten tournament , they defeated Ohio State in the first round, marking their first ever Big Ten tournament win.[ 1] However, they lost to Northwestern in the second round.
The Knights began the season 6–0 for the first time since 1975.[ 2] On February 4, 2017, with a win at Penn State , Rutgers got its first ever road win in Big Ten play.[ 3]
Previous season
The Scarlet Knights finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 7–25, 1–17 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in conference. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Nebraska .
On March 20, 2016, the school fired head coach Eddie Jordan after three years at Rutgers.[ 4] On March 19, the school hired Steve Pikiell, former head coach at Stony Brook , as head coach.[ 5]
Departures
Incoming transfers
2016 recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Issa Thiam #35 SF
Jacksonville, FL
Arlington Country Day School
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Feb 1, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Matt Bullock #86 PF
Elizabeth, NJ
Roselle Catholic High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
230 lb (100 kg)
Mar 26, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : N/A 247Sports : ESPN :
Eugene Omoruyi SF
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Orangeville Prep
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Aug 2, 2016
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:
Future recruits
2017–18 team recruits
Roster
2016–17 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Nigel Johnson
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
RS Jr
Riverdale Baptist School Kansas State
Ashburn, VA
C
2
Shaquille Doorson
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
285 lb (129 kg)
RS So
Canarias Basketball Academy
Amsterdam, Netherlands
G
3
Corey Sanders
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
182 lb (83 kg)
So
Faith Baptist Christian Academy
Lakeland, FL
G
4
Jonathan Laurent
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
216 lb (98 kg)
So
Dr. Phillips
Lakeland, FL
G
5
Mike Williams
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
196 lb (89 kg)
Jr
Bishop Loughlin
Brooklyn, NY
F
11
Eugene Omoruyi
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Fr
Orangeville Prep
Ontario, Canada
F
13
Matt Bullock
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
Fr
Roselle Catholic
Roselle, NJ
G
15
Jake Dadika (W)
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
166 lb (75 kg)
Jr
Spotswood
Milltown, NJ
F
21
Candido Sa
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
221 lb (100 kg)
Jr
Colégio Bartolomeu DiasSan Jacinto College
Lisbon, Portugal
G
22
Joey Downes (W)
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Fr
East Sandwich /Bridgton Academy
East Sandwich, MA
G
23
Khalil Batie (W)
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
168 lb (76 kg)
Sr
Trenton Catholic Acad.
Willingboro, NJ
F/C
32
Ibrahima Diallo
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
247 lb (112 kg)
RS So
Quality Education Academy
Dakar, Senegal
F
33
Deshawn Freeman
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
233 lb (106 kg)
RS Jr
Rocky Mount Academy Hutchinson CC
Rocky Mount, NC
F
35
Issa Thiam
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Fr
Canarias Basketball Academy
Dakar, Senegal
C
50
C. J. Gettys
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
270 lb (122 kg)
RS Sr
Findlay UNC Wilmington
Findlay, OH
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2016 *7:00 pm, BTN+
Molloy
W 86–57
1–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,755)Piscataway, NJ
Nov 13, 2016 *4:00 pm, BTN
Drexel Scarlet Knight Showcase
W 87–66
2–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,056)Piscataway, NJ
Nov 17, 2016 *8:30 pm, FS1
at DePaul Gavitt Tipoff Games
W 66–59
3–0
Allstate Arena (4,057)Rosemont, IL
Nov 20, 2016 *12:00 pm, BTN
Niagara Scarlet Knight Showcase
W 78–65
4–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,572)Piscataway, NJ
Nov 23, 2016 *7:30 pm, BTN+
North Texas Scarlet Knight Showcase
W 66–53
5–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,351)Piscataway, NJ
Nov 25, 2016 *1:00 pm, ESPN3
Hartford Scarlet Knight Showcase
W 77–75
6–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,028)Piscataway, NJ
Nov 30, 2016 *7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Miami (FL) ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 61–73
6–1
Watsco Center (7,064)Coral Gables, FL
Dec 3, 2016 *7:00 pm, BTN+
Morgan State
W 72–58
7–1
Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,081)Piscataway, NJ
Dec 6, 2016 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Central Connecticut
W 79–37
8–1
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,811)Piscataway, NJ
Dec 10, 2016 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Stony Brook
W 71–66
9–1
Island Federal Credit Union Arena (4,009)Stony Brook, NY
Dec 14, 2016 *7:00 pm, BTN+
Fairleigh Dickinson
W 82–69
10–1
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,635)Piscataway, NJ
Dec 18, 2016 *1:00 pm
vs. Fordham Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival
W 68–53
11–1
Madison Square Garden (8,200)New York City, NY
Dec 23, 2016 *6:30 pm, FS1
at Seton Hall Rivalry /Garden State Hardwood Classic
L 61–72
11–2
Prudential Center (10,481)Newark, NJ
Big Ten regular season
Dec 27, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 14 Wisconsin
L 52–72
11–3 (0–1)
Kohl Center (17,287)Wisconsin, WI
Jan 1, 2017 2:30 pm, ESPNU
Penn State
L 47–60
11–4 (0–2)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,079)Piscataway, NJ
Jan 4, 2017 6:30 pm, BTN
at Michigan State
L 65–93
11–5 (0–3)
Breslin Center (17,797)East Lansing, MI
Jan 8, 2017 4:30 pm, BTN
at Iowa
L 62–68
11–6 (0–4)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,347)Iowa, IA
Jan 12, 2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU
Northwestern
L 60–69
11–7 (0–5)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,723)Piscataway, NJ
Jan 15, 2017 12:00 pm, BTN
at Indiana
L 57–76
11–8 (0–6)
Assembly Hall (17,222)Bloomington, IN
Jan 21, 2017 12:00 pm, ESPNU
Nebraska
W 65–64
12–8 (1–6)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,294)Piscataway, NJ
Jan 24, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN
at No. 22 Maryland
L 55–67
12–9 (1–7)
Xfinity Center (17,950)College Park, MD
Jan 28, 2017 12:00 pm, BTN
vs. No. 15 Wisconsin B1G Super Saturday
L 54–61 OT
12–10 (1–8)
Madison Square Garden (8,531)New York City, NY
Jan 31, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN
Iowa
L 63–83
12–11 (1–9)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,389)Piscataway, NJ
Feb 4, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPNU
at Penn State
W 70–68
13–11 (2–9)
Bryce Jordan Center (9,529)University Park, PA
Feb 8, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN
at Ohio State
L 64–70
13–12 (2–10)
Value City Arena (11,077)Columbus, OH
Feb 11, 2017 12:00 pm, ESPNU
Minnesota
L 63–72
13–13 (2–11)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,008)Piscataway, NJ
Feb 14, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN
at No. 16 Purdue
L 55–74
13–14 (2–12)
Mackey Arena (14,534)West Lafayette, IN
Feb 18, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPNU
at Northwestern
L 65–69
13–15 (2–13)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)Evanston, IL
Feb 22, 2017 6:30 pm, BTN
Michigan
L 64–68
13–16 (2–14)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,369)Piscataway, NJ
Feb 28, 2017 6:30 pm, BTN
Maryland
L 59–79
13–17 (2–15)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,017)Piscataway, NJ
Mar 4, 2017 12:00 pm, ESPNU
Illinois
W 62–59
14–17 (3–15)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,706)Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten Conference tournament
Mar 8, 2017 4:30 pm, BTN
(14)
vs. (11) Ohio State First round
W 66–57
15–17
Verizon Center Washington, D.C.
Mar 9, 2017 8:30 pm, BTN
(14)
vs. (6) Northwestern Second round
L 61-83
15–18
Verizon Center (12,408)Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
See also
References
Venues Rivalries People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearance in italics