Rutgers Scarlet Knights Basketball (Big Ten) @ Jersey Mike's Arena (Piscataway, NJ)
A holiday hoops spectacular
12/21/2025*This trip occurred on December 20, 2025.
My original thought for today was going to do some sightseeing in New York City with my friends whom I typically play pickleball with. However, pretty much none of them were available, but I was fine going by myself...and then I got an email: for one low price, I could get tickets to not one, but TWO Rutgers basketball games on the same day! The only caveat was that you'd be WAY UP at the 300 level for the men's game, but honestly, given how expensive men's tickets usually are (case in point: just a men's ticket in the 300s for this date was more than this combination ticket), it's a small price to pay (also, I ended up kinda liking the view - but not the climb).
However, unlike the Princeton games I went to ten days prior, the start times for these games were separated by eight hours: the women's game was at noon, and the men's game at 8 PM1. In the interim, Rutgers hosted a "Winter Village" outside the arena. Because of how "spread out" the entire day was (12 noon to 10 PM), I'm going to break this into sections and try and describe things in chronological order. Also, I won't get too deep into describing the arena since I did that already, and I won't do a dedicated merchandise section for...reasons.
THE WOMEN'S GAME
Yes, this is the THIRD time I've watched Rutgers women's basketball in less than a month. Somewhat surprisingly, this was their first game since losing to Princeton, and it saw them take on the Lafayette Leopards - a team from a school just outside of Allentown, PA whose athletic teams are all consolidated into a singular Wikipedia page. Truth be told, I had thoughts about sitting on the end again since I wanted to see what it was like from a section of seats similar to what I got the first time but at concourse level. However, since I was only offered 100 level sideline tickets for this game, I had to go with one of those - and I ended up with essentially a whole row (of three seats) all to myself.
One other note: I guess due to the men's game, the concourse was set up slightly differently - mainly in that the two "side" concourses were open. The portable merch stand that was in the main area during the Siena game was moved to the "south" side of the concourse (i.e. the one where the TV cameras are), as the other side features a permanent merchandise stand. I didn't get anything from here during the women's game, but I did end up buying a neat looking pullover prior to the men's game later in the day. I should also mention that I got a free "stadium bag" (those clear plastic bags designed specifically to be allowed into stadiums) and holiday ornament from what I think is a state tourism board, plus a Rutgers t-shirt inside the arena (which was not part of a t-shirt toss).
Despite not making a basket until the literal end of the first quarter (as in they got it during the last ten seconds), Rutgers rallied behind a dominant defensive effort to win by 9. After the women's game, the tuba players from the band (forgot to mention that Rutgers has a band for women's games last time) did a little number in one of the concourses which was interesting to hear.
THE WINTER VILLAGE
The Rutgers Winter Village was a holiday fan festival, but honestly...there's not really much to say about it.
Immediately after the women's game, several of the players came out and signed autographs, but then after that...there wasn't much of interest until 5:30. Since the women's game ended BEFORE 2, that meant over three and a half hours of fumbling for things to do - and if you left the parking lot, you risked having to pay $30 to get back in (as this is the standard price for men's games). I ended up doing a bit of Christmas shopping as well as getting froyo (which is apparently still a thing) and Qdoba (plus a LOT of sitting around doing nothing).
When the WInter Village started "in earnest", there were several entertainment options(including a balloon artist, temporary tattoos, and a magician), but it didn't really have anything that interested me (outside of hot chocolate - which was apparently free when the women were doing their signing). Merchandise was also available, but nothing was that interesting outside of them having the pullover I ended up getting before
THE MEN'S GAME
I didn't dive into the history of the Rutgers men's basketball prior, and that's mainly because I felt there wasn't much to say: it IS a Rutgers sport after all (and I say this as an alumnus). The men DO have a Final Four appearance, but it was WAY BACK in 1976, and they also made an NIT final in 2004 but lost. Unlike the football team, however, one could argue that moving from the Big East to the Big Ten made life EASIER for the basketball team. Sure, there are still some pretty good programs in the Big Ten, but the Big East is VERY MUCH known as a basketball conference (case in point: UConn)2.
One thing I have heard about the men's team (when I was reading into it prior to my earlier visit) was that they were touted as one of the better atmospheres in college basketball due to the architecture of Jersey Mike's Arena (known as the "Trapezoid of Terror"). I wasn't sure how it'd be heading in, but I looked at Rutgers' ticket website and it said the game was sold out; however, there were still a lot of empty seats up in the 200-300 sections for this game (part of that may be due to it being essentially the holiday break however).
I must say, though, that the atmosphere was actually quite good; the arena got much louder than it ever did during any of the women's games I went to (though that's partially because more seats were available). IMO, if you're looking for good seats to see sports action up close and personal and don't mind the (relative) lack of atmosphere, then women's games are fine, but men's games are where the bigger crowds are, and bigger crowds means more of that "college sports" feel (though that does come with certain disadvantages - namely in the parking department)3. Speaking of men's games, however...I have yet to discuss THIS game, as it's one of the big reasons the "flow" of this post is different from what I was intending to do heading into it4.
This game marks the second time in ten days I watched a Rutgers basketball team take on an Ivy League team, as this game featured the visiting Penn Quakers (who are also involved in a "mini conference" within the city of Philadelphia). This game ended up being a back and forth contest with a WHOLE LOTTA lead changes in the second half, but with the game winding down and Penn seemingly on the path to victory up by 2, I was just about ready to head home. It was after 10 PM, I had been out for OVER 12 HOURS - most of that DOING NOTHING, and I had been reminded of the thing I absolutely DO NOT LIKE about basketball: a game where it took 10 minutes to play the final 30 seconds.
Then, one of their players gave the crowd free Shake Shack by missing two free throws...and then THIS:
Ladies, Gentlemen, and those in between: Rutgers University. We may be the Scarlet-headed stepchild of the college sports world, and more often than not we find ways to lose and/or embarrass ourselves (see: the Penn State game from this year) but every now and then, we have our moments (y'know, like 2006 vs. Louisville).
Footnotes
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I had thoughts about coming to this men's game for a while, but the 8 PM start time felt too late until I got the email about the ticket deal. ↩
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No Big Ten team has won the NCAA Tournament since 2000 - though a few have been to the final since then. ↩
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I should note that this pertains SPECIFICALLY to Rutgers Basketball; other sports at other schools are going to be different. ↩
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I was originally intending to do this comparison of men's and women's games at the end, as that's where it would make the most sense. ↩