2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record20–11 (11–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaLouis Brown Athletic Center
Seasons
2019–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Wisconsin 14 – 6   .700 21 – 10   .677
No. 9 Michigan State 14 – 6   .700 22 – 9   .710
No. 12 Maryland 14 – 6   .700 24 – 7   .774
No. 21 Illinois 13 – 7   .650 21 – 10   .677
No. 25 Iowa 11 – 9   .550 20 – 11   .645
Penn State 11 – 9   .550 21 – 10   .677
No. 19 Ohio State 11 – 9   .550 21 – 10   .677
Rutgers 11 – 9   .550 20 – 11   .645
Michigan 10 – 10   .500 19 – 12   .613
Purdue 9 – 11   .450 16 – 15   .516
Indiana 9 – 11   .450 20 – 12   .625
Minnesota 8 – 12   .400 15 – 16   .484
Northwestern 3 – 17   .150 8 – 23   .258
Nebraska 2 – 18   .100 7 – 25   .219
Note: The 2020 Big Ten tournament was canceled prior to the second round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

The 2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Pikiell and played their home games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey as sixth-year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–11 and 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. Following the regular season, the Big Ten tournament and all subsequent postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, effectively ending the Knights's season.[1]

In January 2020, Rutgers was nationally ranked for the first time since 1979.[2]

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2018–19 season 14–17, 7–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. In the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Nebraska.

Offseason

Coaching changes

In April 2019, assistant Jay Young was hired as the new head coach at Fairfield.[3] Pikiell elevated senior advisor Steve Hayn to assistant coach as his replacement in May 2019.[4]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Shaquille Doorson 2 C 7'0" 275 RS Senior Amsterdam, Netherlands Graduated
Eugene Omoruyi 5 F 6'6" 234 Junior Rexdale, ON Transferred to Oregon
Issa Thiam 35 F 6'9" 190 Junior Dakar, Senegal Dismissed from the team due to domestic violence[5]

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Akwasi Yeboah 1 G/F 6'6" 235 RS Senior Chigwell, England Transferred from Stony Brook. Will be eligible to play since Yeboah graduated from Stony Brook.

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Paul Mulcahy
#21 PG 		Gladstone, NJ Gill St. Bernard's School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 16, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 8, 2018.

Roster

2019–20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Geo Baker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Proctor Academy Derry, NH
F 1 Akwasi Yeboah 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Barking Abbey School
Stony Brook 		Chigwell, England
F 2 Daniel Lobach (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Moravian Prep Erwin, NC
G 3 Nick Brooks (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Vermont Academy
West Virginia Wesleyan 		Somerset, NJ
G 4 Paul Mulcahy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Gill St. Bernard's Bayonne, NJ
G 10 Joey Downes 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr East Sandwich/Bridgton Academy East Sandwich, MA
F 11 Mamadou Doucoure 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Our Savior New American School Bamako, Mali
F 13 Shaq Carter 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Zion Lutheran High School
Eastern Florida State 		Hollywood, FL
C 15 Myles Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS So Long Beach Poly Long Beach, CA
G 22 Caleb McConnell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So SPIRE Institute Jacksonville, FL
G 23 Montez Mathis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So The John Carroll School Baltimore, MD
G/F 24 Ron Harper Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Don Bosco Prep Franklin Lakes, NJ
G 32 Peter Kiss 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Notre Dame Prep
Qunnipiac 		New York City, NY
G 42 Jacob Young 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Yates
Texas 		Houston, TX
F/C 55 Luke Nathan (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Randolph Randolph, NJ
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 High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 7, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Bryant
Garden State Showcase 		W 73–71  1–0
  11 – Tied   8 – Baker   6 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,692)
Piscataway, NJ
November 10, 2019*
1:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		Niagara
Garden State Showcase 		W 86–39  2–0
  22 – Baker   8 – Harper Jr.   6 – Mulcahy  Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,203)
Piscataway, NJ
November 13, 2019*
8:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		Drexel
Garden State Showcase 		W 62–57  3–0
  13 – Tied   8 – Harper Jr.   4 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,017)
Piscataway, NJ
November 16, 2019*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. St. Bonaventure
James Naismith Classic 		L 74–80  3–1
  13 – McConnell   6 – Tied   8 – Young  Scotiabank Arena (6,802)
Toronto, ON, Canada
November 20, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		Stephen F. Austin
Garden State Showcase 		W 69–57  4–1
  16 – McConnell   8 – Johnson   4 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,536)
Piscataway, NJ
November 26, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN 		NJIT W 85–58  5–1
  25 – Harper Jr.   11 – Johnson   7 – Mulcahy  Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,509)
Piscataway, NJ
November 29, 2019*
2:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		UMass W 82–57  6–1
  17 – Baker   10 – Johnson   4 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,592)
Piscataway, NJ
December 3, 2019*
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Pittsburgh
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		L 60–71  6–2
  14 – Tied   14 – Johnson   5 – Baker  Petersen Events Center (7,894)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 8, 2019
7:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 11 Michigan State L 65–77  6–3
(0–1) 		 17 – Yeboah   5 – Mathis   5 – Baker  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
December 11, 2019
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Wisconsin W 72–65  7–3
(1–1) 		 22 – Baker   8 – Yeboah   4 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,361)
Piscataway, NJ
December 14, 2019*
4:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 22 Seton Hall
Rivalry/Garden State Hardwood Classic 		W 68–48  8–3
  18 – Harper Jr.   13 – Johnson   5 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,329)
Piscataway, NJ
December 22, 2019*
1:00 p.m., ESPNU 		Lafayette W 63–44  9–3
  18 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   5 – Mulcahy  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,692)
Piscataway, NJ
December 30, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		Caldwell W 94–49  10–3
  23 – Young   10 – Johnson   6 – Young  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,592)
Piscataway, NJ
January 3, 2020
8:00 p.m., BTN 		at Nebraska W 79–62  11–3
(2–1) 		 20 – McConnell   14 – Johnson   5 – McConnell  Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,024)
Lincoln, NE
January 7, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 20 Penn State W 72–61  12–3
(3–1) 		 22 – Harper Jr.   8 – McConnell   5 – Mulcahy  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
January 11, 2020
12:00 p.m., BTN 		at Illinois L 51–54  12–4
(3–2) 		 16 – Young   7 – McConnell   3 – Mathis  State Farm Center (11,070)
Champaign, IL
January 15, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Indiana W 59–50  13–4
(4–2) 		 14 – Yeboah   6 – Yeboah   5 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
January 19, 2020
1:00 p.m., BTN 		Minnesota W 64–56  14–4
(5–2) 		 11 – Tied   12 – McConnell   2 – Tied  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
January 22, 2020
9:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 24 at No. 19 Iowa L 80–85  14–5
(5–3) 		 29 – Harper Jr.   9 – Harper Jr.   5 – McConnell  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,006)
Iowa City, IA
January 25, 2020
2:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 24 Nebraska W 75–72  15–5
(6–3) 		 20 – Yeboah   11 – Johnson   4 – Harper Jr.  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
January 28, 2020
8:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 25 Purdue W 70–63  16–5
(7–3) 		 16 – McConnell   7 – Tied   2 – Tied  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
February 1, 2020
4:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 25 vs. Michigan
B1G Super Saturday 		L 63–69  16–6
(7–4) 		 17 – Mathis   8 – Tied   3 – Baker  Madison Square Garden (13,127)
New York, NY
February 4, 2020
7:00 p.m., FS1 		at No. 9 Maryland L 51–56  16–7
(7–5) 		 13 – Yeboah   8 – Johnson   3 – Baker  Xfinity Center (15,855)
College Park, MD
February 9, 2020
6:30 p.m., BTN 		Northwestern W 77–73 OT 17–7
(8–5) 		 25 – Baker   10 – Johnson   5 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
February 12, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		at Ohio State L 66–72  17–8
(8–6) 		 17 – Young   6 – Yeboah   4 – Yeboah  Value City Arena (15,552)
Columbus, OH
February 15, 2020
4:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 22 Illinois W 72–57  18–8
(9–6) 		 27 – Harper Jr.   11 – Johnson   7 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
February 19, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Michigan L 52–60  18–9
(9–7) 		 16 – Baker   5 – Tied   2 – Harper Jr.  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
February 23, 2020
1:00 p.m., BTN 		at Wisconsin L 71–79  18–10
(9–8) 		 21 – Harper Jr.   9 – Harper Jr.   6 – Baker  Kohl Center (17,287)
Madison, WI
February 26, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 16 Penn State L 64–65  18–11
(9–9) 		 13 – Young   11 – Johnson   5 – Young  Bryce Jordan Center (8,345)
University Park, PA
March 3, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 9 Maryland W 78–67  19–11
(10–9) 		 17 – Young   8 – Tied   4 – Baker  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
March 7, 2020
2:00 p.m., BTN 		at Purdue W 71–68 OT 20–11
(11–9) 		 19 – Baker   6 – Tied   3 – Baker  Mackey Arena (14,804)
West Lafayette, IN
Big Ten tournament
March 12, 2020*
12:00 pm, BTN 		(8) vs. (9) Michigan
Second round 		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[6]

Rankings

See also: 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP——————————RV2425RVRVRV——RVRV
Coaches——————————RV2525RVRVRV——RVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  2. ^ Braziller, Zach (January 20, 2020). "Rutgers basketball ranked in top 25 for first time in 41 years". New York Post. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "Fairfield hires Rutgers assistant Jay Young as head coach". coachesdatabase.com. Coaches Database. April 3, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Rutgers basketball: Steve Hayn promoted to fill assistant coach vacancy". App.com. May 24, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "Ex-Rutgers basketball player facing domestic violence charges will apply for pretrial program, his attorney says". nj.com. April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule".