Rutgers Basketball gets past Delaware State to close 2025

Rutgers Basketball has closed out the 2025 calendar year.

And after how Monday’s game — and the rest of the year, at that — went for the opening 25 minutes, head coach Steve Pikiell is likely ready to move onto 2026, and Big Ten play.

The Scarlet Knights (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) closed out the year and the nonconference slate with a 65-50 win over Delaware State, in a matchup where the Hornets (5-9, 0-0 MEAC) refused to go away and played a closer game than the score indicated.

Despite another lackluster offensive performance for Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights relied on a dominant rebounding output and defensive pressure to eventually pull away and end the out-of-conference slate with two straight victories.

Tariq Francis and Dylan Grant led the way with 19 and 18 points respectively, as Grant registered another double-double with ten rebounds. They were the only Rutgers scorers in double figures. The Scarlet Knights shot just 30 percent from the floor, including a 7-for-27 clip from beyond the three-point line, as the offense completely sputtered in the second half.

Rutgers opened up the frame with a 1-for-12 mark from the floor, eventually finishing with just four field goals on 24 attempts. It also finished the night shooting just 5-for-15 at the basket with two missed dunks. Turnovers became an issue as well, as both teams mirrored the number of turnovers with the number of field goals made. Rutgers eventually finished the night even, with 17 turnovers and field goals apiece.

On the positive side, the Scarlet Knights overwhelmed Delaware State to the tune of a 49-22 advantage on the boards, including a whopping 21-7 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to 27 second-chance points. They also got to the foul line off of that dominance at the basket, buoying the offense with a 24-for-29 mark from the charity stripe.

Miles Webb (16 points) and Ponce James (12 points) were the lone double-digit scorers for the Hornets.

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Rebounding dominance

Pretty much the main (and only) thing the Scarlet Knights did consistently well in the opening half was rebound the basketball.

And based on their performance in that regard for much of the previous 12 games, that was music to Pikiell’s ears.

Rutgers went up 23-11 on the boards after 20 minutes, including a 9-1 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to 15 second-chance points. The effort was especially impressive considering one of the Hornets’ best attributes is containing the offensive glass, as they came into the game ranking 133rd nationally. The Scarlet Knights rebounded half of their first-half misses from the floor, which would have been the best mark of the season.

Though the efficiency shooting the basketball left much to be desired — especially in a first half where Rutgers shot 38 percent from the floor and made five of 17 three-pointers — Pikiell’s repeated focus on the glass came through to help put the Scarlet Knights ahead.

Grant and Francis power forward

Rutgers would have been in some serious trouble had it not been for the efforts of the two leading scorers.

In each of their own separate shifts running the show, the Scarlet Knights relied heavily on the duo of Grant and Francis.

Grant carried Rutgers in the opening sequence as Delaware State was able to hang around with some solid shotmaking of its own, scoring 10 of the Scarlet Knights’ first 13 points while keeping his efficiency up.

From there, Francis entered the game and continued the momentum of his career performance against Penn last weekend. In his second straight game off the bench, he added 11 points in the opening half, continuing to create space in the isolation game and get past defenders, with a 5-for-5 mark from the charity stripe.

Their strong outings continued into the second half, as the Scarlet Knights struggled to get anything going aside from the duo from the floor.

Offensive (in)efficiencies

The post-Christmas, pre-conference slate trap game has come back to bite teams far better than this current Rutgers unit. But Monday’s performance in escaping KenPom’s 11th-worst team in Division I cannot be chalked up to just usual holiday sluggishness.

The Scarlet Knights used their rebounding and second-half pressure to help mask another struggling offensive output.

Rutgers’ offense looked utterly inept for much of the second half, with the Hornets getting into the passing lanes, blocking shots, and overall preventing the Scarlet Knights from doing anything to put points on the board, other than rebound and get to the foul line. There were plenty of shots going up, but seemingly none were falling.

In all, they shot 17-for-57 on the night, including 6-for-28 in the second half.

Freshman guard Kaden Powers canned two straight midrange jumpers to extend the lead, giving Rutgers its first stretch with two straight made field goals since Grant and Bryce Dortch converted on two straight layups at the eight-minute mark of the first half.

The Scarlet Knights came into the game with the nation’s 305th-ranked effective field goal percentage according to Bart Torvik.

If Rutgers wants to compete in the Big Ten, that has to change. And fast.

Up next?

Rutgers Basketball will head into Big Ten play for the rest of the year, with the next matchup coming up in the new year.

The Scarlet Knights will host Ohio State at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Friday, January 2nd. That game tips off at 8 pm and will be streamed on Peacock.