​These are unprecedented times for the Rutgers basketball program.Head coach Steve Pikiell is battling cancer, sparking a “Rutgers Tough” movement in the process.The Scarlet Knights finally caught up with the Joneses in terms of roster funding and hiring a general manager.Outside prognostications expect little of this team, but there were tantalizing preseason glimpses.What to make of all this? Here’s a look at how it might unfold for the Scarlet Knights as the 2026-27 season gets underway with a home game against New Haven on Nov. 6.3 REASONS TO HOPE1. A promising postmanRutgers’ glaring weakness last season was its post play, which was mostly nonexistent. Priority No. 1 was finding an impact center and 6-foot-10, 265-pound Virginia Tech transfer Christian Gurdak appears to be just that. In exhibitions against Villanova and St. John’s the sophomore averaged 19.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field. He’s legit.2. A solid returning coreSix players returned – a high number in the free-agency era – and three of them are starters. Senior guard Tariq Francis was honorable mention All-Big Ten last winter, and he won’t have to carry the offensive load this season. Expect by leaps by senior forward Darren Buchanan and sophomore guard Lino Mark, both of whom played well in the preseason. Senior guard Jamichael Davis is a rare four-year Scarlet Knight. These guys know the system, the culture and the Big Ten.3. The Big Dance expandedThe move from 68 to 76 teams was mostly panned by the public, but it’s now highly likely that a 10-10 Big Ten record – something Rutgers has achieved four times under the current regime – punches a ticket. On paper there’s a fair amount of parity in the conference. Can this seemingly improved squad find four more league wins than last year? It doesn’t seem far-fetched.3 REASONS TO MOPE1. Big-man depthBeyond Gurdak, it’s all questions marks. Will Sydnor, a 6-8 transfer forward from Manhattan projected to have a big role, missed most of the offseason with a high ankle sprain. Freshman Mervedi Miteo and sophomore Gevonte Ware are blank canvasses. Backup center Dorin Buca missed both exhibition games. The Big Ten is a big man’s league. Gurdak can’t go it alone.2. The defensive learning curveThe onset of free agency turned a Rutgers strength – team defense – into a weakness as newcomers struggled to catch on to the concepts and the ethos that in the past was ingrained over a period of years. The Scarlet Knights finished with a top-10 defense in the country four times from 2020-24. The past two seasons, they ranked 116th and 120th. A returning core helps, but a perimeter stopper has yet to emerge, and the mostly new front line has some catching up to do.3. Uncertainty at the helmOf course, Pikiell’s quest to get healthy dwarfs any considerations about how his cancer treatment might impact the product on the floor. And it’s impossible to forecast how mu