Rutgers
2-0,0-0Big Ten
NJIT
1-3,0-0America East
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| NJIT | 26 | 38 | 64 |
| Rutgers | 46 | 55 | 101 |
Nov 10 | Men's Basketball
Rutgers’ 101 points was the most points scored in regulation since 2013
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball stayed unbeaten to open the 2026-27 season with another resounding win, defeating in-state foe NJIT 101-64 on Tuesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. Through season-opening victories over New Haven and NJIT, the Scarlet Knights have won by an average margin of 32 points.
Tariq Francis and Lino Mark shared the team lead with 17 points apiece. Five Scarlet Knights reached double figures, with Christian Gurdak (12), Darren Buchanan (10) and Will Syndor (10) joining them. Rutgers shot 51.7% from the field, outrebounded NJIT 48-35 and committed just eight turnovers.
NJIT hit two early 3-pointers and opened 5-of-8 from the field to take a 13-8 lead. Rutgers answered by making six of its next nine shots, and a trio of 3-pointers pushed the RU lead to double digits for the first time at 32-20. Mark was a force driving to the rim, scoring 10 early points to spark an 11-3 run.
The Rutgers defense clamped down from there. After their hot start, the Highlanders missed 16 of their next 20 shots and made just one field goal over the final 6:30 of the half. The Scarlet Knights closed the half on a 31-14 run as NJIT shot 1-of-12, taking a 46-26 lead into the break.
Rutgers opened the second half with a quick 9-2 run that forced an NJIT timeout. The Scarlet Knights made seven of their first 10 shots after halftime to take command and cruised to the victory.
Rutgers has one more home non-conference game this week. The Scarlet Knights host Bryant on Friday at 6 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena, with Dom Savino and Paul Mulcahy calling the game on B1G+. RU then heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, opening Nov. 17 against No. 8/8 Houston.
Postgame Notes
- Rutgers' 101 points were the most scored in the Steve Pikiell era.
- Rutgers scored 100 points for the first time since a 110-101 triple-overtime loss to Illinois on Feb. 3, 2016.
- Rutgers scored 100 points in regulation for the first time since a 116-89 win over Stillman College on Nov. 25, 2013.
- Rutgers scored 100 points in regulation against a Division I opponent for the first time since Feb. 2, 1993 (a 105-100 loss to George Washington).
- Rutgers improved to 9-0 all-time against NJIT and 8-0 at home. The Scarlet Knights have beaten the Highlanders by at least nine points in every meeting.
- Mark matched his career high with seven rebounds, and his 17 points were the second-most of his career.
Postgame Quotes
Rutgers — Brandin Knight, Tariq Francis, Lino Mark, Max Fradkin
OPENING STATEMENT
COACH KNIGHT: "First off, thank you to everybody for coming. The fans have done a great job.
"Today was a little bit different for a lot of reasons. Our first walk to the bench was a little different without Kyle Voorhees, also known as Dex to some of us. I think everybody in the building has dealt with some heavy hearts the last couple of days over his sudden loss. We were just so used to him being around the team and around the community. For the Rutgers community and the Rutgers family, the outpouring of love this week was big.
"So thank you to everybody who has shown up for our community, as well as for his family, because it was a great loss for all of us. I just wanted to start by saying that — not to bring the room down after this win, but he meant a lot to all of us.
"Moving forward to the game, obviously these guys did a great job. We had a slow start — we gave up 12 points, I think, in the first four minutes, and we were both headed to 100 if we played at that pace. But these guys settled down, and I think we only gave up 14 points in the last 14 minutes of the half. Our defense, and then the energy and force we played with in transition, gave us some easy opportunities.
"Then our guys got on the offensive glass. We shared the basketball. We did all the things we wanted to do, with the exception of maybe two stints defensively. At the end of the game, they started putting their heads down and trying to make plays, and we just have to do a better job at finishing.
"But I thought it was great. We had a bunch of great efforts — six assists and no turnovers, four assists and no turnovers. Add J-Mike [Jamichael Davis] and June, and I think between the four of them we had 14 assists and no turnovers. I'll take that every game.
"And I think the rotation of big guys inside, keeping fresh bodies in there, allowed us to wear them down some. So it's a testament to a team effort. We had some great things happen.
"There are some things I mentioned to the team that the fans don't always get to see. We have 15, 16 guys trying to check into the game. Toward the end, RaSheed Jones said, 'Give my minutes to one of the other guys,' which I thought was a great thing. We need more of that selfless mentality among all of these guys, and I think it can help us as we move further through the season."
ON RUTGERS' PLAYING PACE
Q: Brandin, Grant Billmeier was just in here. He said this is the fastest he's ever seen a Rutgers team play. What did you think of the pace, and how can that be a staple for you guys this season?
COACH KNIGHT: "Like I said, we played with force. We talked about it earlier today before shootaround, and I was telling them, 'I need you to get out and run the floor.' These guys did a great job of advancing the ball, keeping their heads up, finding the open man and making the extra pass. Like I told you guys last week, we want to choose great over good when it comes to shot selection.
"We saw a lot of guys turn down shots and make the one more pass to get a better shot, and then we knocked some of them down. I think that also put us in position to get some offensive rebounds."
ON THE DIFFERENCE FROM GAME ONE TO GAME TWO
Q: What was the biggest difference you saw from game one to game two?
COACH KNIGHT: "Obviously, we scored some more points, and I want to continue to push the pace. I think we did a better job across the whole team of pushing the pace for the entire game, and we never took our foot off the gas."
ON BENCH MINUTES AND DEFENSIVE ENERGY
Q: Like you mentioned, you split up a lot of the minutes tonight. What did you think of Mervedi Miteo's performance?
COACH KNIGHT: "Physical. He's going to finish some of those plays — those bunnies he messed around with. I just kept telling him, 'Don't worry about it. Move on to the next play and continue to do your job on defense.' And he did.
"There are going to be ups and downs, and I told him, 'Keep your head up, keep fighting, make plays, and just move on, move on, move on.' I thought he gave us some great effort, especially on the defensive end and with the tempo. He's a little bit quicker and gets up and down the floor. He can guard on the perimeter, and I thought he did a great job."
ON ANKLE RECOVERY AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Q: Where's Will Syndor at as far as recovering from his ankle, and did you anticipate him racking up those minutes?
COACH KNIGHT: "He played well and took care of his minutes. No matter when you get in the game, you have to perform, and I think he does a great job of that. He has high energy, and he's going to get shots up. He's coming along and developing on both ends of the floor.
"Like I said, we had a lot of great efforts, and I don't want to dim his light or anybody else's by saying what he should do more of or what he needs to do better. Collectively, everyone is trying to get better, and some guys are going to have better nights than others. For him, it's about continuing to build on all of these efforts."
ON SCORING 101 POINTS
Q: Brandin, 101 points is your most since 2016. What does that say about this offense?
COACH KNIGHT: "Balance. And obviously, I think they can do it. We talked about it before the game and at halftime — we want to push the tempo and get to that number if we can.
"But it also requires us pressing and speeding the game up. I think we sped them up at times. At times, we got beat on some drives because we were pressuring. So there's going to be some give and take with that, and we hope to do a better job of containing the ball and not letting guys get to the rim."
ON TARIQ FRANCIS AND LINO MARK EACH SCORING 17 POINTS
Q: For Lino and Tariq — you were both able to get 17 points. Lino, it felt like every time you had the ball, you were trying to drive. Tariq, you had eight points in the first two and a half minutes of the second half. What was it about this game that allowed you to find that?
TARIQ FRANCIS: "I would say we mainly wanted to pick up our energy and play together. We knew that if we got out on the run, we would have advantages — with Lino's speed, Christian [Gurdak]'s size, June and all of those guys. We knew that if we played together and moved the ball, we would get wide-open shots. Coach put us in good positions, and we just had to execute."
LINO MARK: "Just to build off what Tariq said, we were taking advantage of what the game gave us. We wanted to push the tempo. We had great shooters around us — Tariq Francis, [Darin], whoever else. So it was really about pushing the tempo, playing together, playing unselfish and making the right play."
ON MAX FRADKIN AND THE CROWD'S REACTION
Q: Brandin, what's it like for you as a coach to see Max come in, grab a defensive rebound, make two free throws, and see the reaction that ripples through the arena and your bench?
COACH KNIGHT: "Unbelievable. He's so selfless with everything he does for the team. There are days where he's helping me with rebounding, or he's helping as the scout for the other team. He does everything.
"You could tell by all of the guys' reaction. They're telling me, 'Put him in the game,' and it's like five minutes left. I'm like, 'Okay, he's coming. He's getting in the game.'
"The reality is, he sacrifices so much. And when he does get the opportunity to get in, he plays the right way. He took a charge last game. You can hear him out there directing traffic. I love guys who talk on defense, and he does all of the little things.
"So it's great to see him score his first points, and especially to get us over the hundred mark. I couldn't be prouder."
ON CONTRIBUTING TO THE TEAM
Q: Max, what's it like for you to contribute like that and get the reaction you got? The student section exploded.
MAX FRADKIN: "Yeah, it means a lot — the support from the students, fans, teammates and coaches. But at the end of the day, I just want to win. Whatever it takes, I'm willing to do it. I just want to win."
Head Coach Grant Billmeier | NJIT at Rutgers
Piscataway, N.J.
OPENING STATEMENT
COACH BILLMEIER: "Tough game tonight. Obviously, we had quite the win on Sunday against a very, very different Saint Peter's team.
"I thought we did some really good stuff early on. Just hoping a few shots went in. From my angle, when Victor [Vanderstraeten] shot the ball, I thought he got it off in time. And when you're on the road playing a Big Ten team, you need that 0.1 seconds on your side.
"But I like my group. We're young.
"I just wish I could've seen Coach Pikiell tonight. When I got the job, he was one of my first calls congratulating me. He left me a minute-and-a-half voicemail telling me how excited he was. So I wish I could've seen him tonight and given him a hug. But he knows that I and the rest of the New Jersey college basketball community are 100% behind him."
ON THE RUTGERS TEAM
Q: You've seen this Rutgers team a lot. What do you think of them?
COACH BILLMEIER: "Brandin [Knight] has done an incredible job keeping the identity and the culture of Rutgers intact, but also putting his spin on things.
"That's the fastest I've seen a Rutgers team play. Thirty-six fast-break points — that was the biggest difference in the game.
"I thought early on our half-court defense was solid, but transition was the issue. You go from playing Saint Peter's, who keeps it a rock fight, and then on a quick turnaround you're playing the quickest, most up-tempo Rutgers team I can remember in a long time.
"They did a really good job getting downhill and getting out. When we were able to stop the ball, they were able to make some shots early, and they slowly started separating themselves from us."
ON PREPARING FOR THE SEASON AHEAD
Q: How do you think a game like this could help prepare you for the season ahead?
COACH BILLMEIER: "It's a learning experience. When you start two freshmen and three sophomores on the road in a Big Ten environment, your guys are really going to learn. There's a ton of things we're going to take away from this that will prepare us for the conference.
"Brandon [Stores Jr.] didn't play last year at Georgia Tech. This is Victor's first year playing American basketball. So there's a lot we can take away from this that will help us in the future."
ON PLAYING RUTGERS AND VCU ON CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS
Q: How about the scheduling — tonight and then going right to VCU? What was the thought behind that?
COACH BILLMEIER: "We had the VCU game done for a while, and then it didn't look like we were going to be able to make it work with Rutgers logistically. Then they came back to us with two dates — either opening night, I believe, or tonight. Obviously, we had the opening-night game set with Dayton.
"Being that this is a high-major Big Ten team, I thought it'd be a great opportunity for our guys to play that game.
"Eighteen months ago, I was watching Brandon Stores and David Bolden play four AAU games in a day. So in terms of that stuff, I don't have 23- and 24-year-old guys. I would love to. Last year we had the kid Mel, and I would never do that to Big Mel. But I've got a bunch of young guys, and they'll be ready to go tomorrow."
ON DAVID BOLDEN
Q: One more for me, Grant. What did you think of David Bolden and how he attacked today?
COACH BILLMEIER: "I thought he came out really well. He did some really good things early on. I thought Brandin did a really good job adjusting the ball-screen coverage — David started being more aggressive, and they changed it up on him. But David's our engine, and he's going to have an incredible year for us."
ON TARIQ FRANCIS AND HIS DEVELOPMENT AT RUTGERS
Q: What did you think about Tariq tonight, and what he's done at Rutgers since [inaudible]?
COACH BILLMEIER: "I've seen Tariq score a lot of points wearing an NJIT uniform. Credit to him, man. He made the adjustment, and he's getting better and better.
"For a kid who had zero scholarship offers coming out of [First Love] Christian [Academy] to be a guy that's constantly talked about in the Big Ten — credit to him. Credit to his family. Credit to the coaches who have worked with him. There's no exact science in recruiting.
"I'd like to be able to say I enjoyed seeing him play well tonight, but obviously not against NJIT. But Tariq's a kid that, when he's not playing us, we root for him. And I think it's a mutual feeling on both ends."
ON THE RUTGERS BACKCOURT
Q: Rutgers had a lot of success driving downhill, particularly the backcourt with Tariq and also Lino Mark. What makes those two and the rest of the backcourt so different?
COACH BILLMEIER: "To prepare for them — their guards are all talented, but they're also so different. Lino Mark offensively, the pace he plays at is exceptional. Tariq is a three-level scorer all over the court. And then you've got Jamichael Davis, who comes in and gets them going on the defensive end. So you really have to prepare for three quick guards, but guards who are also very different in their own way."
