Report: Rutgers basketball schedules series with Wake Forest

Per a report from Jon Rothstein, Rutgers and Wake Forest have agreed to a home and home series. Jerry Carino confirmed it soon after. The first meeting is slated to be played at Jersey Mike’s Arena this December with both teams meeting in Winston-Salem during the 2023-2024 season.

Wake Forest finished last season with an overall record of 25-10 and a NET ranking of No. 42. They finished No. 35 in KenPom and advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NIT.

Like Rutgers, the Demon Deacons lost their top two leading scorers from last season in Alondes Williams and Jake Laravia. Head coach Steve Forbes is entering his third season in Winston-Salem and returns just one starter. They’ve added high profile Florida transfer Tyree Appleby to the roster for next season. The point guard averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. Wake also added two big men transfers in 7-foot center Davion Bradford from Kansas State and 6’10” Andrew Carr from Delaware, as well as MAAC Rookie of the Year with guard Jao Ituka from Marist.

The two programs have met just once with Wake Forest winning 69-68 at the RAC on November 30, 2015 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

While the Scarlet Knights will play another opponent in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this coming season, they are not expected to participate in the Gavitt Games based on the rotation with the Big Ten teams playing Big East opponents. With Seton Hall already confirmed at the RAC as part of the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic, Rutgers is now set to play at least three high major opponents in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Several other possibilities have been discussed this offseason and it’s very possible a neutral court game against a high profile opponent could still be added.

Agreeing to play Wake Forest is a quality addition to the schedule for Rutgers and helps address concerns of last year’s relatively weak non-conference slate that put the program at a disadvantage in the NET rankings. This also guarantees a fourth high major opponent for the 2023-2024 non-conference schedule when Rutgers is back in the Gavitt Games rotation.

The Big Ten announced conference opponents for the 2022-2023 season on Thursday and takeaways on the matchups for Rutgers is here.