Rutgers Basketball lands 10th in 2023-24 Big Ten preseason poll

Rutgers Basketball should always carry a chip on its shoulder in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights were given even more motivation on Monday.

In the unofficial league poll from The Columbus Dispatch, Rutgers was picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten in the upcoming season. A panel of 28 voters pegged the Scarlet Knights to finish in the double-digits of this poll for the first time in four years.

Cliff Omoruyi was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten second team, according to the poll. This comes Omoruyi was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team by the conference. The Scarlet Knight center was selected to the 2023-24 Preseason All-Big Ten team. He is the third Rutgers player to receive this honor, joining Ron Harper Jr. (2021-22) and Geo Baker (2020-21).

Rutgers finished 10th in the conference last season with a Big Ten record of 10-10. This was the fourth consecutive season that the Scarlet Knights won double-digit conference games.

Full Preseason Poll

1. Purdue, 388 (24)
2. Michigan State, 368 (4)
3. Maryland, 304
4. Illinois, 301
5. Wisconsin, 276
6. Indiana, 244
7. Ohio State, 228
8. Northwestern, 195
9. Iowa, 164
10. Rutgers, 147
11. Michigan, 131
12. Nebraska, 90
13. Penn State, 71
14. Minnesota, 33

Player of the Year: Zach Edey, Purdue (27)

Transfer of the Year: Ace Baldwin, Penn State (14)

Freshman of the Year: Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana (19)

Preseason First Team All-Big Ten

Zach Edey, Purdue (56)

Jahmir Young, Maryland (55)

Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (55)

Tyson Walker, Michigan State (46)

Boo Buie, Northwestern (45)

Preseason Second Team All-Big Ten

Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers (36)

AJ Hoggard, Michigan State (26)

Ace Baldwin, Penn State (11)

Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska (11)

Coleman Hawkins, Illinois (8)