Rutgers will return six letterwinners and three starters from a 2005-2006 squad that posted a 27-5 overall record, advancing to the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights registered a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference play to win their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown, and finished ninth in both final major polls.
RU will face Georgia at the State Farm Tipoff Classic at 12:00 p.m. CST. That contest will be followed by a clash between DePaul and Oklahoma at 2:30 p.m. CST. Both games will be shown live on ESPN2.
The Scarlet Knights previously played in the 1999 Tipoff Classic, losing to N.C. State 68-55 Nov. 14 in Knoxville, TN. However, Rutgers went on to post a 26-8 record that season and advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
For the third straight year, Rutgers will compete in a Thanksgiving tournament in the Caribbean, opening play at the Paradise Jam Nov. 24 at 9:30 p.m. AST against Penn State. Arizona State and Western Kentucky will face off in the other first-round game of the St. Thomas Division at 7:00 p.m. AST. The consolation game will be conducted Nov. 25 at 7:00 p.m. AST, followed by the championship game at 9:30 p.m. AST.
Rutgers won the St. John Division of the 2004 Paradise Jam, defeating South Dakota State 68-50, Oregon State 77-53 and Kentucky 75-60 Nov. 25-27. Last fall, RU won the Freeport Division title at the Junkanoo Jam on Grand Bahama Island, earning victories against North Florida (66-36, Nov. 25) and N.C. State (66-56, Nov. 26).