Blue chip, five-star freshman Ace Bailey entered this season with with as much hype up as any one single player. Thus far, the Chattanooga, Tennessee native has delivered the goods, as he currently leads the Big Ten in scoring (top 10 nationally).
So when the #23 Illinois Fighting Illini head to the RAC tonight, they’ll have a tough assignment on their hands,
#23 Illinois Fighting Illini at Rutgers Scarlet Knights FYIs
TIP: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)
Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike’s Arena a.k.a The Rutgers Athletic Center a.k.a The RAC
Tip: BTN (Jeff Levering & Robbie Hummel)
In our latest NBA mock draft we have him going #2 overall, with his Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper going #3.
So what is the game plan for trying to stop him?
“If he gets going he’s really hard to stop because he’s 6’10” and he can shoot over the top of you,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said to RG, exactly one week ago today.
“We were trying to make him put the ball on the floor, that’s where we were really disappointed.
“Now give him credit, he’s really talented. Our guys haven’t seen a guy at that size with that skillset.
He’s going to score no matter what, we just wanted him to shoot more twos and get him off the pull up jumper.”
The Illinois owns a 13-4 lead in the all-time series with Rutgers. The Illini are 12-4 vs. the Scarlet Knights since Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014-15.
Rutgers came into Northwestern and won, 79-72, with Ace Bailey going off for 37 points. On this night, Bailey looked every bit like “The Durantula,” as Kevin Durant is the NBA player comp that comes up most often; deservedly so too.
Collins wasn’t done praising Ace Bailey.
“He’s an NBA player,” he continued.
“He’s got electric shooting range. He’s a really tough shot maker too, can shoot with guys in his face…What I really like about him, too, is he plays hard. He’s got a motor.”
Northwestern guard Jalen Leach, who spent much of last Wednesday night with the unenviable task of trying to guard Ace Bailey, added the following:
“obviously, he’s a very talented player, 6-10, so he can shoot over pretty much anybody.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.