Arnav SarkarFri, November 28, 2025 at 10:58 PM UTC·8 min readIt was a busy stretch on the Banks as several programs hit key turning points in their seasons. From men’s basketball closing its early-season tournament strong, to standout individual milestones in volleyball, to football entering a make-or-break week, here’s everything you need to know.
Men’s Basketball Ends Vegas Trip With Victory Over UNLVAfter a pair of tough losses earlier in the week at the Players Era Tournament to #17 Tennessee and Notre Dame, Rutgers delivered its cleanest performance of the season in an 80–65 win over UNLV on Thanksgiving Day.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEmmanuel Ogbole powered the Knights with a career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Rebels simply had no answer for him inside. Sophomore Dylan Grant added 17 points and 8 rebounds in a strong all-around effort. Darren Buchanan Jr. chipped in 15 points off the bench while Tariq Franics had 11 as RU played its most complete second half of the season after falling behind 39-33 at the halftime whistle.
The Scarlet Knights return home at 5–3, and while consistency is still a question, the UNLV win provides badly needed momentum heading into the start of Big Ten play. Next week’s schedule is a gauntlet, as Rutgers hosts current #1 Purdue before facing a red-hot Michigan team that beat Gonzaga by 40 points to win the Player’s Era Festival championship.
Rutgers definitely got the short end of the stick when it comes to the opening week of Big Ten play, but will look to carry some momentum into the following Saturday’s Garden State Hardwood Classic against a Seton Hall team that narrowly missed out on a championship game appearance in Maui and sits at 6-1 on the season.
Women’s Basketball Looking To Steady The Ship At HomeCoquese Washington’s squad is building momentum towards Big Ten play after a 5–2 start. The headline performance came Monday when Nene Ndiaye erupted for 26 points, a new career high, in a win over Siena.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, it was a concerning performance in a victory, as Rutgers allowed a 0-6 Siena team to come back from an early double-digit hole and threaten Rutgers for what would have been their first win of the season. Up to that point, it had been the closest the Saints had been to getting in the win column, with all its previous losses coming by double digits. Rutgers also dropped a five-point game to Auburn on the road, in which extended cold spells similarly doomed the Knights.
Rutgers now gets two home games over Thanksgiving weekend — Northeastern on Friday and Saint Peter’s on Sunday — offering a strong opportunity to stack wins before conference play intensifies. The offense is beginning to balance out, and the rotation is settling into place. Guard Faith Blackstone also made her season debut against Siena and added seven points off the bench, showing her capabilities in her first game as a Scarlet Knight.
Volleyball: Personal Milestones and a Final-Game VictoryDespite dropping matches against Minnesota and Oregon, Rutgers volleyball delivered two notable individual achievements this week. Sophomore setter Lily Bolen surpassed 1,000 assists on the season, while senior Lexi Visintine fired her 100th career ace in the four-set battle against Oregon.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVolleyball ended its season on a high note, defeating Washington three sets to one at the College Ave Gym earlier on Friday. The Scarlet Knights saw a season-high 18 kills from senior Tara Garvey, while they served up a dozen aces, including six from junior Jenna DeLaMater. Her half-dozen was the most for a Rutgers player in a Big Ten match since 2021.
In addition, sophomore Aspen Maxwell had 12 kills while Lexi Visintine had 10 kills, eight digs, and three aces in her final collegiate contest. The team’s 12 aces pushed its season total across the 200-mark, obliterating the previous record of 156 in 2011.
Bolen had her eleventh double-double of the season with 27 assists and 11 digs, while fellow sophomore Alleigh Dutton had 14 digs of her own. Natalie Robinson had six blocks to lead the Knights at the net, while Maxwell and redshirt freshman Mira McCool had three blocks apiece.
Rutgers took down Washington (13-17, 8-12 B1G), a team that ranked in the top 50 in RPI, on the back of a dominant couple of sets to start the match. The Scarlet Knights pulled ahead 15-9 in the first set and went on to win it 25-22 before using an 11-5 start to the second set to repeat the scoreline. Despite the Huskies rallying from behind to take the third set 25-23, it was the hosts who closed the match, using 7-2 run to claim a 15-10 lead and finishing their final set of the season 25-20.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Knights have struggled in the win column with a record of 12-20 (3-17 B1G), but the program continues to develop young talent and produce meaningful personal milestones that point toward long-term growth. To defeat a UW team that had won its previous two matches in sweeps was a great way to finish the season.
After finishing the 2024 season just 6-25 (1-19 B1G), this year saw the Knights double their win total and triple their conference wins. Rutgers now will turn the page to the offseason and look to continue their improvement in the fall of 2026.
Football: Senior Day, Bowl Stakes, and Penn State LoomingThe final week of the regular season arrives with everything still on the line. It will be the biggest game in at least several seasons for Rutgers, with the opponent for the Scarlet Knights upping the intensity even that much more.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRutgers hosts Penn State on Saturday at SHI Stadium for Senior Day, and with bowl eligibility in the balance, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Scarlet Knights will honor their senior class in a pregame ceremony and look to pull off a season-defining upset over the Nittany Lions in front of what should be a raucous crowd.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN, with Andrew and me providing our usual live coverage from Piscataway! Stay tuned for our staff picks, the game thread, and our postgame recap and analysis articles, win or lose!
Women’s Diving Excels At Navy InvitationalWith all the major programs in high-stakes action this weekend, the schedule around them has quieted down temporarily. Women’s swimming and diving sent their #6 dive squad to the Navy Invitational, where Rutgers had the top divers in each event, and multiple teammates joined them at the podium.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSephora Ford finished first in the 3-meter competition on Thursday, with Rutgers taking the first four spots (Katerina Hoffman in 2nd, Madilyn Varnum in 3rd, and Amelia Scott in 4th). Hoffman won Friday’s 1-meter dive, with Bailee Sturgill finishing 2nd and Scott in 3rd. The Scarlet Knights took five of the top eight spots, with Varnum placing sixth and Gianna Lawrence finishing in eighth.
On Saturday, Ford wrapped the competition with her personal-best score of 304.30 as Rutgers’ lone entrant in the platform dive, which was also the 3rd-best score in program history. It was a dominant weekend for her, as she took home two wins in two events, along with her milestone dive on Saturday.
In international competition, Rutgers swimmer Brooke Thompson collected six medals for Team USA, including two gold and four bronze, at the 2o25 Deaflympics. Thompson won three individual medals and helped set three records, one in the 5o-meter freestyle and two in mixed relays.
Brooke has not let her condition get in the way, being an advocate for adaptive technology and workplace inclusion for individuals with disabilities, a captain on the Rutgers swim and dive team, and a decorated Team USA swimmer, having collected 25 international Deaf Swimming medals. In addition, she was recently named a brand ambassador for SHI International, a key partner of Rutgers Athletics.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRutgers will resume action at the Minnesota Invitational from December 3rd through 6th, sending its swimmers and divers to Minnesota for the four-day competition. Select divers will then participate in the 2025 USA Diving Winter National Championships from December 10th through 16th in Midland, Texas.
Wrestling Wins Team Title At Keystone ClassicNo. 14 Rutgers wrestling secured a team title at the 2025 Keystone Classic in Philadelphia last Sunday. Three Scarlet Knights – No. 8 Lenny Pinto (174), No. 14 Joseph Olivieri (141), and No. 32 Ayden Smith (125), won individual titles for Rutgers to highlight their performance at the Palestra.
In addition to the winners, several other wrestlers finished in the top four, including No. 8 Dylan Shawver (133) and No. 21 Andrew Clark (149), both of whom earned runner-up results. No. 13 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and Andrew Barbosa (165) won their third-place matches, while No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT), No. 25 Anthony White (157), and Jordan Chapman (174) all finished in fourth place in their weight classes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith a week off to end November, Scott Goodale and his team will prepare for the Journeymen Jostle on the campus of NC State on Sunday, December 7th. Rutgers will battle Davidson at 1 PM before taking on the #10 Wolfpack at 3 PM. Rutgers is also gearing up to host #20 Oklahoma on Saturday, December 13th, a ranked matchup that will be aired on the Big Ten Network, before hosting Drexel the following day at 1 PM.
Upcoming ScheduleFriday, November 29
Women’s Basketball vs. Northeastern — Jersey Mike’s Arena, 7:00 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Saturday, November 30
Football vs. Penn State (Senior Day) — SHI Stadium, 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
Sunday, December 1
Women’s Basketball vs. Saint Peter’s — Jersey Mike’s Arena, 3:00 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Tuesday, December 2
Men’s Basketball vs. Purdue — Jersey Mike’s Arena, 8:00 p.m. ET
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