Men's Basketball Announces Full 2026-27 Schedule
Sep 16 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball announced its complete 2026-27 schedule of non-conference matchups and the newly finalized Big Ten Conference schedule.
The 34-game slate features a mix of home contests at Jersey Mike's Arena, a high-profile neutral-site tournament in Las Vegas and marquee matchups, including an exhibition at Madison Square Garden, a rivalry clash at the Barclays Center and a 20-game Big Ten slate spanning coast to coast.
Rutgers will open the preseason with a pair of exhibitions, hosting Villanova at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday, October 11 at 1 p.m. before heading to New York City for an MSG matchup against St. John's on Sunday, October 18 at noon. Both games are open to fans, and season-ticket holders will receive their season-ticket holder seats at no charge for the exhibition against Villanova at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The regular season tips off against the University of New Haven (Friday, Nov. 6), followed by contests against NJIT (Tuesday, Nov. 10) and Bryant (Friday, Nov. 13) at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Rutgers will then travel to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival (Tuesday-Thursday, Nov. 17-19), competing in three games against top-tier competition, including a first-round matchup against Houston and a second-round meeting with Florida or Notre Dame.
The home schedule continues with Sacred Heart on Tuesday, November 24 before the Scarlet Knights open Big Ten play on the road at Indiana (Tuesday, Dec. 1) and host Michigan (Wednesday, Dec. 9). Rutgers then returns to non-conference action for a pivotal stretch against regional opponents, hosting in-state rival Seton Hall on Saturday, December 12 in a Garden State Hardwood Classic, followed by home games against St. Peter's (Wednesday, Dec. 16), Army (Sunday, Dec. 20) and Delaware State (Tuesday, Dec. 29).
Big Ten play resumes in full in January as Rutgers opens the new year at Purdue (Saturday, Jan. 2), followed by home dates against UCLA (Jan. 5), USC (Jan. 8) and Iowa (Jan. 12). The Scarlet Knights then hit the road for a stretch at Northwestern (Jan. 16) and Maryland (Jan. 19) before returning to Piscataway to host Minnesota (Jan. 23). A pair of West Coast road trips to Oregon (Jan. 27) and Washington (Jan. 30) precede a home date with Purdue (Feb. 3).
Rutgers returns to non-conference play for a neutral-site showdown against Syracuse at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday or Sunday, February 6 or 7, continuing what has become an annual tradition of marquee out-of-conference matchups in the New York metropolitan area.
The Scarlet Knights close the regular season with a stretch of eight Big Ten games in 25 days: at Michigan State (Feb. 10), home against Wisconsin (Feb. 13), at Nebraska (Feb. 16), home against Penn State (Feb. 20), at Ohio State (Feb. 25), home against Maryland (Feb. 28) and Illinois (March 3), before closing the regular season on the road at Penn State on Sunday, March 7.
Additional information regarding tip-off times, television listings and Big Ten Tournament seeding will be announced at a later date.
General Single-Game Ticket Info
• Season-ticket holders have an exclusive window to purchase single-game tickets through 10 a.m. on Friday, September 18. Tickets will become available to the general public at that time.
Villanova Ticket Info
• Tickets to the Villanova matchup will be included in the men's basketball season-ticket package. Single-game tickets will also be available during the general public on-sale window. Parking will be free for the event, while fans with premium parking will retain access to their designated lots.
St. John's Ticket Info
• A limited number of tickets for the exhibition against St. John's will be available through Rutgers. Additional details regarding the ticketing process will be announced at a later date.
2026-27 COMPLETE SCHEDULE
The 34-game slate features a mix of home contests at Jersey Mike's Arena, a high-profile neutral-site tournament in Las Vegas and marquee matchups, including an exhibition at Madison Square Garden, a rivalry clash at the Barclays Center and a 20-game Big Ten slate spanning coast to coast.
Rutgers will open the preseason with a pair of exhibitions, hosting Villanova at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday, October 11 at 1 p.m. before heading to New York City for an MSG matchup against St. John's on Sunday, October 18 at noon. Both games are open to fans, and season-ticket holders will receive their season-ticket holder seats at no charge for the exhibition against Villanova at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The regular season tips off against the University of New Haven (Friday, Nov. 6), followed by contests against NJIT (Tuesday, Nov. 10) and Bryant (Friday, Nov. 13) at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Rutgers will then travel to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival (Tuesday-Thursday, Nov. 17-19), competing in three games against top-tier competition, including a first-round matchup against Houston and a second-round meeting with Florida or Notre Dame.
The home schedule continues with Sacred Heart on Tuesday, November 24 before the Scarlet Knights open Big Ten play on the road at Indiana (Tuesday, Dec. 1) and host Michigan (Wednesday, Dec. 9). Rutgers then returns to non-conference action for a pivotal stretch against regional opponents, hosting in-state rival Seton Hall on Saturday, December 12 in a Garden State Hardwood Classic, followed by home games against St. Peter's (Wednesday, Dec. 16), Army (Sunday, Dec. 20) and Delaware State (Tuesday, Dec. 29).
Big Ten play resumes in full in January as Rutgers opens the new year at Purdue (Saturday, Jan. 2), followed by home dates against UCLA (Jan. 5), USC (Jan. 8) and Iowa (Jan. 12). The Scarlet Knights then hit the road for a stretch at Northwestern (Jan. 16) and Maryland (Jan. 19) before returning to Piscataway to host Minnesota (Jan. 23). A pair of West Coast road trips to Oregon (Jan. 27) and Washington (Jan. 30) precede a home date with Purdue (Feb. 3).
Rutgers returns to non-conference play for a neutral-site showdown against Syracuse at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday or Sunday, February 6 or 7, continuing what has become an annual tradition of marquee out-of-conference matchups in the New York metropolitan area.
The Scarlet Knights close the regular season with a stretch of eight Big Ten games in 25 days: at Michigan State (Feb. 10), home against Wisconsin (Feb. 13), at Nebraska (Feb. 16), home against Penn State (Feb. 20), at Ohio State (Feb. 25), home against Maryland (Feb. 28) and Illinois (March 3), before closing the regular season on the road at Penn State on Sunday, March 7.
Additional information regarding tip-off times, television listings and Big Ten Tournament seeding will be announced at a later date.
General Single-Game Ticket Info
• Season-ticket holders have an exclusive window to purchase single-game tickets through 10 a.m. on Friday, September 18. Tickets will become available to the general public at that time.
Villanova Ticket Info
• Tickets to the Villanova matchup will be included in the men's basketball season-ticket package. Single-game tickets will also be available during the general public on-sale window. Parking will be free for the event, while fans with premium parking will retain access to their designated lots.
St. John's Ticket Info
• A limited number of tickets for the exhibition against St. John's will be available through Rutgers. Additional details regarding the ticketing process will be announced at a later date.
2026-27 COMPLETE SCHEDULE
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TYPE |
| Oct 11, 2026 | Villanova | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Exhibition |
| Oct 18, 2026 | at St. John's | New York, NY (Madison Square Garden) | Exhibition |
| Nov 6, 2026 | University of New Haven | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Nov 10, 2026 | NJIT | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Nov 13, 2026 | Bryant University | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Nov 17, 2026 | vs. Houston (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, NV | Non-Conference - Players Era Festival |
| Nov 18, 2026 | Players Era Festival - Round 2 (Florida/Notre Dame) - date/opponent TBD | Las Vegas, NV | Non-Conference - Players Era Festival |
| Nov 19, 2026 | Players Era Festival - Round 3 - date/opponent TBD | Las Vegas, NV | Non-Conference - Players Era Festival |
| Nov 24, 2026 | Sacred Heart | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Dec 1, 2026 | at Indiana | Bloomington, IN (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall) | Big Ten |
| Dec 9, 2026 | Michigan | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Seton Hall (Garden State Hardwood Classic) | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Dec 16, 2026 | St. Peter's | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Dec 20, 2026 | Army | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Dec 29, 2026 | Delaware State | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Non-Conference |
| Jan 2, 2027 | at Purdue | West Lafayette, IN (Mackey Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 5, 2027 | UCLA | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 8, 2027 | USC | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 12, 2027 | Iowa | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 16, 2027 | at Northwestern | Evanston, IL (Welsh-Ryan Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 19, 2027 | at Maryland | College Park, MD (XFINITY Center) | Big Ten |
| Jan 23, 2027 | Minnesota | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 27, 2027 | at Oregon | Eugene, OR (Matthew Knight Arena) | Big Ten |
| Jan 30, 2027 | at Washington | Seattle, WA (Climate Pledge Arena) | Big Ten |
| Feb 3, 2027 | Purdue | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Feb 6 or 7, 2027 | vs. Syracuse | Brooklyn, NY (Barclays Center) | Non-Conference - Neutral Site |
| Feb 10, 2027 | at Michigan State | East Lansing, MI (Breslin Student Events Center) | Big Ten |
| Feb 13, 2027 | Wisconsin | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Feb 16, 2027 | at Nebraska | Lincoln, NE (Pinnacle Bank Arena) | Big Ten |
| Feb 20, 2027 | Penn State | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Feb 25, 2027 | at Ohio State | Columbus, OH (Schottenstein Center) | Big Ten |
| Feb 28, 2027 | Maryland | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Mar 3, 2027 | Illinois | Piscataway, NJ (Jersey Mike's Arena) | Big Ten |
| Mar 7, 2027 | at Penn State | State College, PA (Bryce Jordan Center) | Big Ten |
Wednesday, July 01
Wednesday, May 06
Monday, March 16
Friday, March 13
