41. Memphis Tigers

42. McNeese Cowboys

43. Michigan State Spartans

44. Michigan Wolverines

45. VCU Rams

46. Dayton Flyers

47. St Mary’s Gaels

48. Washington Huskies

49. UCF Knights

50. Louisville Cardinals

51. Boise State Broncos

52. Clemson Tigers

53. New Mexico Lobos

54. Arizona State Sun Devils

55. Utah State Aggies

56. Colorado State Rams

57. Seton Hall Pirates

58. SMU Mustangs

59. South Carolina Gamecocks

60. Nevada Wolfpack

61. TCU Horned Frogs

62. Villanova Wildcats

63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

64. Saint Louis Billikens

65. Syracuse Orange

66. Nebraska Cornhuskers

67. Pittsburgh Panthers

68. Iowa Hawkeyes

69. NC State Wolfpack

70. Butler Bulldogs

71. Princeton Tigers

72. Virginia Cavaliers

73. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

74. Oklahoma Sooners

75. West Virginia Mountaineers

76. Georgia Bulldogs

77. UAB Blazers

78: Wisconsin Badgers

79. San Diego State Aztecs

80. Missouri Tigers

81. Northwestern Wildcats

82. Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Here’s where our analysts each had Rutgers ranked:

Steven	Maxwell	Kam	Cody
31	29	Unranked	30

It’s been a rough couple of seasons for Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights. After back-to-back March Madness appearances in 2021 and 2022, the school’s first since 1991, along with their first tournament win since 1983, the Knights have floundered in the grueling Big 10 for the past couple of seasons. A lot of this could come down to the loss of star guard Ron Harper Jr, who deservingly made it to the NBA. The hope for Pikiell’s squad could rest on the shoulders of the next member of the Ron Harper bloodline, who somehow is their only second-best recruit.

That’s right, folks, 5th ranked prospect Dylan Harper is going to headline the Rutgers backcourt in what will likely be a one-and-done year this upcoming season. The Knights have paired Harper with a few interesting options. They returned just one starter in 6’4 guard Jeremiah Williams, and brought in Merrimack’s leading scorer Jordan Derkack. Harper is an elite table-setter. He’s not the quickest guard, but he has great footwork and creates his own space extremely well. As an on-ball guard who can play both ways, he should be given plenty of opportunities to showcase his potential to a multitude of excited scouts. Derkack should be an ideal backcourt beneficiary. The 6’6 guard was the NEC player of the year, excelling on long 3 point bombs from well behind the arc. Williams is another proven scorer. Although he struggles from behind the arc, Williams’ efficiency in the midrange and at the rim should create some space for Harper and Derkack to operate on the outside. Rutgers also brought in another explosive scoring guard to shore up the rotation. Tyson Acuff absolutely torched the competition at Eastern Michigan, where he averaged a blistering 21 points per game. Acuff is another guy who could be a beneficiary of Harper’s generosity with the ball. He provides a more dynamic and consistent version of what they would get from Williams, but it’ll be interesting to see how he looks in what will likely be a more scaled-down role than he had at Eastern Michigan. I think either Williams or Acuff likely are the first man off the bench to provide a scoring spark, and make way in the starting lineup for Harper. Given Derkack’s proficiency from 3 I expect him to start.

Harper alone would provide more than enough excitement for a Rutgers fanbase starved of postseason play, but I mentioned Harper being their second best recruit for a reason. The Knights’ best recruiting class of all-time is headlined by potential top 5 (maybe even top 3) draft pick Airious (Ace) Bailey. Ace is the kind of prospects scouts never want to miss. He’s 6’9, quick, fluid and packs a 3 level scoring punch. He’s the kind of player that just screams “could be a superstar” when you see even 10 minutes of what he can do on tape. Harper’s going to pull the strings, but expect Ace to be the focal point of this Rutgers offense. 

After that is where things start to get a bit dicey. Outside of Bailey, the frontcourt is vastly unproven. Zach Martini came in from Princeton to provide some frontcourt experience. Still, the rest of the Knights’ frontcourt is made up of a returner who saw limited minutes, along with a variety of slightly less heralded freshmen. Returning center Emmanuel Ogbole struggled to really make an impact in his limited minutes last season, but he might be the X factor if the Knights have any hope of surviving on the glass in a loaded Big 10. They also brought in a shooter in PJ Hayes from San Diego State, who could potentially space the floor along with Derkack and open things up for Rutgers’ prized recruits.

This Rutgers team is full of questions and is going to have a lot to prove, especially early in the season. Pikiell needs to win with Bailey and Harper to both prove that Rutgers can be a one-stop-shop for top prospects, as well as to ward off any potential narratives about his job being in question. If there was ever a year for Rutgers to make a statement, it would be this one. However, the job has never been tougher. The Big 10, which was menacing to begin with, added USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington into the mix, giving Pikiell even more headaches to worry about than ever before. That being said, if all else fails, trusting in two potential legit NBA players to deliver isn’t a bad way to go.