PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Tariq Francis delivered a career night and Rutgers men’s basketball showed late-game toughness, defeating Oregon 88–85 in overtime Monday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

Rutgers struggled to find an early rhythm offensively, making just four field goals in the first 11 minutes of the opening half, but stayed within striking distance by getting to the free throw line. The Scarlet Knights used those trips to the stripe to keep pace, pulling even at 22–22 midway through the period.

Oregon responded with a run to seize control, stretching its lead to 37–29 and later 42–33. The Ducks led by as many as nine before hitting a three on the final possession of the half to take a 45–37 advantage into intermission.

The Scarlet Knights came out of the locker room with urgency, opening the second half on a 19–8 run to reclaim the lead at 56–53. Rutgers found its shooting touch early in the half, making seven shots in the first eight minutes, including a 6-of-7 stretch that shifted momentum.

Rutgers’ defense tightened as well, holding Oregon to one field goal over a five-minute span and forcing seven consecutive misses. That surge allowed the Scarlet Knights to take a 64–63 lead at the under-eight media timeout.

Rutgers pushed the advantage to 71–65 with just over three minutes remaining, but Oregon answered with a three-pointer to cut it back to one possession. Francis gave Rutgers a 75–71 lead with a late basket, only for the Ducks to respond again.

Oregon came up with a defensive stop, but Lino Mark delivered a key steal with 17.6 seconds remaining, regaining possession for Rutgers. Mark split a pair at the line to make it a three-point game, but Oregon knocked down a clutch three with 4.5 seconds left to tie it at 76–76 and force overtime.

In the extra session, Oregon briefly took an 81–78 lead, but Francis answered with a diving layup to pull Rutgers within one. Moments later, Darren Buchanan Jr. buried a corner three to put Rutgers back in front 83–81 with 2:35 to play, then followed it with a thunderous dunk to extend the lead again.

Francis later pushed the margin to five, though Oregon’s Nate Bittle answered with a three to keep it tight. Francis and Buchanan combined for 11 of Rutgers’ 12 overtime points, with Francis scoring six and Buchanan adding five.

Rutgers came up with one final defensive stop in the closing seconds, secured the rebound, and sealed the win at the free throw line, finishing the night 30-of-34 at the stripe.

Francis led all scorers with 30 points, while Rutgers placed four players in double figures overall. The Scarlet Knights’ resilience, late execution, and clutch shot-making proved decisive in the overtime victory.

Rutgers placed four players in double figures, as Davis and Lino Mark each added 13 points, complementing Francis’ scoring outburst. The Scarlet Knights dominated bench production, outscoring Oregon 58–10, and capitalized on mistakes by scoring 26 points off turnovers.

Despite Oregon’s interior presence and late shooting, Rutgers’ discipline and depth proved decisive. The win moves the Scarlet Knights to 8–7 overall and 1–3 in Big Ten play, providing a confidence boost as conference action continues. RU returns to action at Illinois at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday on the Big Ten Network.

 

Gallery: (1-5-2026) Rutgers vs. Oregon

Individual Notes


Tariq Francis scored 30 points to lead RU. He has averaged 25.0 points over his last four games.

Francis had his second 30+ point game of the season and fourth of his career.  
He scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and fourth straight game.
It was his seventh time this season scoring at least 17 points (fourth straight game).  


Freshman Lino Mark had a career-high 13 points. He scored double-digits for the second time this season (previously had 10 vs. Seton Hall on December 13).
Darren Buchanan Jr. had his second highest output of the year with 13 points, his
matched his season-high with 13 points, his sixth double-digit scoring game of the year.

Team Notes


Second all-time win over Oregon and first since 1982
First overtime game of the season for RU. The Scarlet Knights played four OT games last season, most recently in the season finale at the Big Ten Tournament.
Rutgers scored 88 points against an Oregon team that held its past two opponents under 60 points and four of its past five foes under 70 points

It was just the third time Oregon allowed 80 points this year.

Rutgers Free Throws


Rutgers made a season-high 30 free throws, shooting 30-of-34 from the line for a season-high 88.2%.
Rutgers opened the game 10-of-10 and 22-of-23 from the free throw line
It was the third time in the past four seasons that RU shot 88% or better, also doing so last year vs. Alabama, USC and Ohio State.

Other Key Stats


Led by Tariq Francis, RU had a 58-10 advantage in bench points.
RU had a 26-7 margin on points off turnovers, forcing 17 turnovers and committing just seven.
Oregon shot 56% in the first half, RU shot 37%. In the second half, that flipped, as RU shot 43% and then 71% in overtime. Oregon shot 36% in the second half and 50% in OT.
Rutgers had just seven turnovers as a team, the second lowest of the year. It was just the second time in the past two years that RU had seven or fewer turnovers in a Big Ten game (Jan. 25, 2025 vs. Michigan State – 6).
Rutgers’ 88 points was a season-high and the fifth time this season scoring 80+ points.

Postgame Quotes
Rutgers vs Oregon Presser: Coach Pikiell
 
Coach Pikiell Opening Statement
“Thanks for being here, it was an awesome crowd. Obviously a great game, Oregon is really talented; They have the best big guy (Nate Bittle) in the league, he can also shoot the three. I am really proud of our guys, they have been working harder and getting better. We only turned the ball over seven times, that was huge in a game that had to go an extra five minutes. We made free throws, we had a huge play at the end; I just watched it. I could not be more proud, our guys flew around, we were connected, and had each other’s backs. This is a really good win coming off a tough loss (Ohio State) the other day. We have a quick turn around here, we have Illinois coming up. Every game is such a challenge, Ohio State best point guard in the league (Big Ten), Oregon the best big guy, and Illinois maybe has the best starting five or one of the best with a freshman of the year probably. The challenge keeps coming but a really good night and a really good win for us.”
 
Coach Pikiell On What He Told His Players Going Into Overtime After A Questionable Call At The End Of Regulation 
“We had five more minutes, you cannot do anything about any of that. We had five minutes ahead of us and we had to play. I told them the whole time these games are all wars and this one had to go 45 minutes. I did not spend a lot of time quite honestly, you cannot change any of that stuff. I am proud of this team for showing some growth, Lino Marks our freshman and playing a lot of our young guys. How about Tariq Francis tonight? With 30 points, Jamicheal Davis does a little bit of everything for us he is one of our leading rebounders. I went with the small group tonight,they played with great energy, and their defense too. I was really thankful we got back on focus in those five minutes to play winning basketball, because at the end of the day that was win time and we made sure that we won.”
 
Coach Pikiell on the Officials’ Calls During the Game
“I am onto the next thing. So I will watch it on film again but you can not review or change it. I thought Lino Mark did a fantastic job on both of those plays, and I thought they blew the whistle on the other team. We fought through that too. Great job by our guys today, staying focused on what was important.”
 
Coach Pikiell on The Resilience of Rutgers Today
“They play with great toughness, they have been getting better and they are really focused. I did not love our rebounding, that is something we harped on during halftime. That is something we continue to harp on. I love the fact that we did not turn the basketball over and obviously scored 88 points. We got to the free throw line and made them. We were able to change up defenses when we were at the free throw line. There are a lot of positives throughout the game, some of the stuff they did today, they have been doing in practice. They are doing a good job and we have to obviously just keep getting better and better.”
 
Coach Pikiell on Darren Buchnan’s performance today with 13 points and big shots in overtime. 
“I thought defensively too, he [Darren Buchanan] was really good. He helped guard a lot of different guys, and the fact that he teed up that three and he got that baseline drive, he did not settle for a jump shot there and he went and finished over people, but most importantly, I liked how he defended. We could put him on a big guy, a small guy, he was able to sit down and guard people. So, real pleased with his efforts off the bench. Our bench has become really good for us and it is got to continue.” 
 
Coach Pikiell on having the three guards, and finding success with their versatility and speed.
“Yeah, they [Lino Mark, Tariq Francis, Jamichael Davis] had good energy tonight. Those guys, the matchups were good, every game was a little different, they were not fouling too. Every game takes place in different places and I like the way they play. They played well, they played more. They had really good energy and I did not think we had great energy in the first half and I thought we had really good energy in the second, and they played a lot. They were the ones that gave us that.” 
 
Coach Pikiell on Lino Mark, Tariq Francis, Jamichael Davis elevating the team.. 
“They are all unique; they can all do different things. Lino [Mark]’s fast, you saw that, he got a career high tonight. He got downhill, he is making plays, getting better, and he is watching more film. I do not know if people understand it is tough for freshmen. This is the best league in the country and challenges come in many different ways. You have got to live through it a little bit and then you have to learn how to thrive at it, and he is starting to pick it up. Obviously, Tiriq [Francis] is in a good place, but he is practicing that way too. He is practicing; he watched a ton of film leading up to this game. It is a real payback for him when he plays that way. That film helps him. Obviously, June [Darren Buchanan], too, practice habits become game habits, and we are starting to figure that out. 
 
Coach Pikiell on the impact of ball pressure
We have gotten a lot better at it and we have put a lot of time into it. I think when we get to the free throw line, it helps us a lot too, to get into that stuff. So, you are able to change up a lot of defenses. And I think the more we work on it, and the more we show them films, the better they get at it, and they are starting to get rewarded for their work and I thought it really helped us tonight. It also helped us play three small guards too, when you are opening the floor full court. But, I tell these guys all the time, I do not care what size we play or what, it is all about if you guys are going to rebound, and J-Michael [Jamichael Davis] sticks his nose in there, and he got five rebounds, you know what I mean? They have to rebound, so if they rebound, it does not matter if you are 6 ‘9, or 6 whatever, grab five rebounds and J-Mike [Jamichael Davis] plays a lot. You know, they kind of know the deal.
 
Coach Pikiell on the effort of the guards
Yeah, I mean that is why they are all here too [Tariq Francis, Jamichael Davis, Lino Mark]. They did a really good job and Kaden Powers is getting good too. He is unique, he can do some things, and it was his first start tonight, and he has been showing tremendous progress with us too. I lean on these guys a lot, and they pick up full every day, and they got to be in the best shape, and they got to run our team, and they got to be the energy guys. So, you put a lot on their plates and then you ask them sometimes to score 30, and 20, and 13, you ask them to do a lot and grab five rebounds and do not turn the ball over. So, they got a heavy order of business from me, but they are doing a really good job and they are earning their minutes.
 
Coach Pikiell on Tariq Francis being a Go-To Scorer for Rutgers
“He has been a go-to scorer all year, and he can score in a lot of different ways. We have KP [Kaden Powers] that is starting to blend into that, and the more Lino [Lino Mark] gets there and J Mike’s [Jamichael Davis] 3 percentage has improved so much from his freshman year to now and Bryce Dortch is better so these guys keep getting better. We got a long way to go but this was a really good win. 88 points against a really good Oregon team and Nate Bittle is a problem since he is seven foot two that can shoot threes and can get you into posts too. There are not many of those guys anymore in college basketball. Great win.”
 
Tariq Francis on the Mindset going into Overtime
“Coach told us to keep playing with energy and to stick together for five more minutes. We knew if we gave everything we had for five more minutes then it would pay off. The main thing was just staying together and playing as hard as we could.”