Rutgers Guard Tariq Francis Wins Co-Big Ten Player of the Week

Francis nets 34 points in Rutgers win over Penn

Dec 20, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Tariq Francis (0) dribbles as Penn Quakers guard AJ Levine (0) defends during the second half at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Rutgers guard Tariq Francis has been named co-B1G Ten player of the week. Francis was named to the honor after his outstanding game against the University of Pennsylvania, where he netted 34 points en route to the 70-69 Scarlet Knights victory.

Francis spent most of the game playing hero ball for Rutgers, keeping them within striking distance as they trailed the Quakers for most of the game. However, in the final seconds, it was Francis's time to be the game's hero. Penn Forward TJ Power was sent to the foul line late with an opportunity to extend the Quakers two point lead to put the game out of reach. He missed both shots, allowing Francis to grab the rebound, take the ball up the court, and drain a last-second three-pointer to lift Rutgers to victory. It was the only three-pointer he would hit the entire night.

If it were not for Francis' stellar performance, the Knights likely would've lost this game by a large margin. He scored nearly half of Rutgers' 70 points. He shot very efficiently as well, as he recorded 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 15 of 19 from the free-throw line. His ability to draw fouls was also a deciding factor in the Knights' victory.

⬆️ First-half buzzer-beater
⬇️ Second-half buzzer-beater

That’s right, Tariq Francis hit a pair of them to lift @RutgersMBB past Penn 🚨 pic.twitter.com/2ttT5f6DCs

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 21, 2025

Francis transferred to Rutgers this offseason after playing two years at NJIT. In his last season with the Highlanders, he averaged 19.2 points per game. Despite the high scoring output, there was, and to a lesser extent, still is some concern that he will have trouble adjusting to the high major level, since that 19.2 points per game came on 18.4 shots per game.

Rutgers men's basketball will wrap up its out-of-conference play next week against Delaware State. Tip-off for that game will be at 7 pm inside Jersey Mike's Arena. Live coverage will be available on BTN.

With Francis's dominant performance, Rutgers hopes to have found someone who can provide consistent scoring on a night-in and night-out basis. Several players have flashed for the Knights in recent games. Harun Zrno has shown he can be a threat from three, but he often struggles to create his own shot. Most of the Knights' smaller guards, including Francis, have had immense struggles playing in the paint against better competition. Rutgers centers have not shown much improvement from last year. All of these factors together are the culprit as to why Rutgers has been struggling to put up a significant amount of points. After the game he had against Penn, the Knights hope that the bulk of Francis’s previous struggles are now behind him.

Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell spoke about how Francis has been responding to adversity in his post game press conference.

"We challenged him after that Seton Hall game, and he had a great week of practice. He didn't turn the ball over, really bounced back, and played really good basketball on Saturday night."

For context, Francis was taken out of the Knights' starting lineup in their game against Seton Hall.