PISCATAWAY, N.J — Only 20 miles away from the campus of Princeton Day School, Rutgers University is a popular in-state destination for many PDS graduates. During the past three years, 9 PDS graduates have gone on to attend Rutgers-New Brunswick. Last year, 58 PDS students applied and 40 were accepted into the university. The school states that application rates have recently soared and the school has received up to 78,000 applications in 2025. Compare that to the 27,000 applicants in 2006. Currently, it is ranked the 15th best public university in the nation.
Beyond academics, Rutgers is a part of the Big Ten Conference and has built a strong reputation in athletics over the years, particularly in basketball. Under head coach Steve Pikiell, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have earned multiple NCAA tournament appearances in recent years. However, their road to March Madness took a significant hit on Wednesday night, as the Scarlet Knights fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes in a game that started with promise, though ended in disappointment.
On February 12, Jersey Mike’s Arena was packed with 8,000 fans who helped create an electric atmosphere. This venue is one of the toughest environments in college basketball. The student section was nearly full, and its energy only intensified when Rutgers jumped to an early 10-2 lead behind an alley-oop dunk by Dylan Grant and a driving layup from Jeremiah Williams. After Iowa was able to climb back, Rutgers was later fueled by Tyson Acuff’s three 3-pointers all in just over a minute time frame. The Scarlet Knights then went on a 12-2 run over 2:49, and by halftime, the team led 42-33. Fans considered it to be the best ball movement by Rutgers all year.The Scarlet Knights were finally playing organized basketball. Much of this was assisted by Rutgers’ bench, which by the end of the game, scored a combined 32 points as compared to Iowa’s bench, which scored only 12.
However, the 2nd half told a different story. Iowa stormed back with their own 12-2 run and flipped the momentum while exposing Rutgers’ defensive lapses. Rutgers could not find a way to stop Iowa’s Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort, who finished with a combined 46 points. Surprisingly, the Scarlet Knights proved they were far more productive on both sides of the ball with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey on the bench. A late push from Rutgers cut the deficit to two, but Iowa sealed the victory with clutch free throws and defensive stops in the closing minutes resulting in a final score of 84-73. This marked Iowa’s fifth straight win against Rutgers and improved the Hawkeyes’ record to 14-10. During the postgame press conference, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell admitted, “It’s on me, 100 percent, I didn’t have these guys to where they needed to be defensively in a game like this.”
This game proved to be by far the most devastating loss of the season for Rutgers, as the team now sits at 12-13 overall and 5-9 in Big Ten play. To have a chance at the NCAA tournament, Rutgers will need a deep run in the Big Ten Conference tournament which will be an uphill battle with zero room for error.
