EVANSTON, Ill. — With every successive shot that he made, each more absurd than the other, Ace Bailey would turn to the stunned crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena with a smile, a word, a point, a celebration — sometimes, all at once.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten, led by freshman sensations Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. While the first half of the season has been filled with inconsistencies,