Rutgers Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Scarlet Knights

Non-conference schedule

Nov. 9 – Farleigh Dickinson
Nov. 11 – Drexel
Nov. 16 – St. John’s
Nov. 19 – Eastern Michigan
Nov. 23 – Boston University
Nov. 28 – at Miami (FL)
Dec. 8 – at Fordham
Dec. 15 – at Seton Hall (Garden State Hardwood Classic)
Dec. 22 – Columbia
Dec. 29 – Maine

For a team with a less-than-rosy outlook entering the season, this is as favorable of a non-conference schedule as one can get.

First off, Rutgers is only playing three schools from major conferences: St. John’s, Miami (FL), and Seton Hall. The game against a questionable Red Storm team is at home, while the game against Seton Hall is in the state of New Jersey.

That leaves the Miami (FL) game as the most dangerous on the non-conference schedule, and this Hurricanes team is probably a step below the ones of recent years.

The Scarlet Knights also don’t have to worry about sacrificing the comforts of their rooms, beds, or friends, seeing as the Scarlet Knights won’t hit the road for the first time until that Miami game at the end of November.

Many eyes will be on the December 15th tilt with Seton Hall, as Rutgers looks to replicate their season-defining upset from a year ago.

Rutgers also isn’t involved in any early season tournaments. For many big conference teams, those tournaments are a chance to build a resume and some strength of schedule. For the Scarlet Knights, it may be an opportunity to avoid racking up embarrassing losses as the new units gel.

The Scarlet Knights have the type of non-conference schedule where they should walk away with a winning record, although the good optics might not be there with a few Big Ten games played during the traditional non-conference period.