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Rutgers mens basketball schedule 2023-24 is complete; 3 takeaways on the season

Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press
·4 min read

Change is the buzzword for Rutgers basketball’s 2023-24 schedule, which includes an improved nonconference slate as well as some notable differences from last year’s Big Ten gauntlet.

Here is the full schedule, followed by three takeaways.

Rutgers basketball schedule

  • Monday, Nov. 6 vs. Princeton at Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton

  • Friday, Nov. 10 vs. Boston University

  • Sunday, Nov. 12 vs. Bryant

  • Wednesday, Nov. 15 vs. Georgetown (Gavitt Games)

  • Saturday, Nov. 18 vs. Howard

  • Monday, Nov. 27 vs. Saint Peter's

  • Saturday, Dec. 2 vs. Illinois

  • Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Wake Forest

  • Saturday, Dec. 9 at Seton Hall

  • Saturday, Dec. 16 vs. LIU

  • Saturday, Dec. 23 vs. Mississippi State at Prudential Center

  • Saturday, Dec. 30 vs. Stonehill

  • Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Ohio State

  • Saturday, Jan. 6 at Iowa

  • Tuesday, Jan. 9 vs. Indiana

  • Sunday, Jan. 14 at Michigan State

  • Wednesday, Jan. 17 vs. Nebraska

  • Sunday, Jan. 21 at Illinois

  • Sunday, Jan. 28 vs. Purdue

  • Wednesday, Jan. 31 vs. Penn State

  • Saturday, Feb. 3 at Michigan

  • Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Maryland

  • Saturday, Feb. 10 vs. Wisconsin

  • Thursday, Feb. 15 vs. Northwestern

  • Sunday, Feb. 18 at Minnesota

  • Thursday, Feb. 22 at Purdue Sunday, Feb. 25 vs. Maryland

  • Thursday, Feb. 29 vs. Michigan

  • Sunday, March 3 at Nebraska

  • Thursday, March 7 at Wisconsin

  • Sunday, March 10 vs. Ohio State

  • March 13-17: Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis

Rutgers' Clifford Omoruyi (11) drives the ball around Purdue's Zach Edey
Rutgers' Clifford Omoruyi (11) drives the ball around Purdue's Zach Edey

3 TAKEAWAYS

1. Upgraded nonconference schedule

After the NCAA Tournament selection committee's chair criticized Rutgers’ nonconference schedule following last March’s snub, the Scarlet Knights have put together their best slate since Steve Pikiell took the reins in 2016. It starts with the long-awaited return of the Princeton rivalry, which Rutgers abandoned in 2013. Brokered by Rick Giles, the New Jersey-based Gazelle Group chief and a 1983 Princeton grad, the matchup is one of the most intriguing of the sport’s opening night, with Tigers coming off a Sweet 16 run. As of now, this is a one-off event, and any future rematches could be determined by how it goes.

So far, Rutgers’ athletics department has requested exponentially more tickets than Princeton’s for the 8,600-seat arena in Trenton. No one was expecting a 50/50 fan split between a huge state school and a small private school, but Princeton’s athletics department failed to maximize its turnout potential by shortsightedly scheduling its perennial power women’s hoops team to open at home the same night. Properly mobilized, as we saw last March, Princeton’s following does have impressive potential. So it will be interesting to see what the crowd looks like on Nov. 6 and how that impacts potential future matchups between these historic rivals.

Viewing Rutgers’ non-conference slate as a whole, four of the five notable matchups take place away from home (two neutrals, two road), which should help the Scarlet Knights’ resume metrics and sharpen them for Big Ten action. Mississippi State is coming off a Big Dance appearance. Rutgers also slightly upgraded the overall level of "guarantee game" opponents. On the whole, this was a job well done.

2. Tough January stretch

Because the NCAA Tournament falls later on the calendar than usual, the Big Ten schedule contains just one December game instead of the typical two. For Rutgers, that’s home against Illinois (which projects to be in the conference’s upper echelon). After New Year’s comes the acid test, with four of the first six on the road – including a visit to projected powerhouse Michigan State. Then comes a Jan. 28 home date with defending Big Ten champ Purdue. That’s a tough, intriguing and telling three-and-a-half weeks.

3. Maryland home-and-home resumes

Maryland is Rutgers’ best natural rival in the Big Ten, so it felt amiss last year when the two met just once. This should be a home-and-home each season. The Terrapins project to return to the NCAA Tournament in year two under Kevin Willard, who to alleviate his yearning for real Italian food can once again stock up on chicken parm and eggplant rollatini when he visits Middlesex County.

Rutgers basketball tickets

Single-game tickets at Jersey Mike's Arena for the 2023-24 season are limited and season tickets are sold out. Single-game tickets will go on sale later this fall.

Start times and TV network designations for all games will be announced during the week of Sept. 25-29.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Basketball: Rutgers vs Maryland face off twice in Big Ten play