Huskies Host Rutgers and Its Freshman Phenoms

Both newcomers average more than 18 points per game for the New Jersey team.

Rutgers Scarlet freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey will test the UW basketball team. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After facing talent-laden Big Ten teams such as Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and others, one might think the University of Washington basketball team would find a late-season scheduling reprieve in Rutgers.

But, no, the Scarlet Knights (12-14 overall, 5-10 conference) just do it differently. Do it in waves. Do it younger.

While it has a season record that doesn't necessarily show its prowess, this New Jersey entry will bring some of the nation's more gifted and electrifying freshmen basketball players -- Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper -- to Alaska Airlines Arena to face the Huskies (13-12, 4-10) on Wednesday night, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

"They have two of the top five draft picks in the upcoming NBA draft," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said, not necessarily giving into hyperbole. "I haven't seen talent like that."

The 6-foot-10 Bailey from Chattanooga, Tennessee, leads Rutgers in scoring at 18.6 points per game and is highly unique because he can handle all five positions on the floor.

Rutgers freshmen Dylan Harper (2) and Ace Bailey (4) watch the first half come to a close against Purdue. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

He teams with the 6-foot-6 Harper from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, who scores at an 18.5 per game clip.

Bailey has a high game of 39 against Indiana, Harper 37 against Alabama.

Harper has scored 20 points or more on 13 occasions, Bailey 10 times.

"The things they can do with that raw talent is just crazy," Sprinkle said.

With Rutgers currently holding down the 15th and final spot in the 18-team standings, these young guys have put their team in ready position to advance to the Big Ten Tournament, something the UW, now at No. 16, is staunchly pursuing.

Yet as the Huskies demonstrated during the 2019-20 season, when they had a pair of first-year players with boundless talent in forwards Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, the high-end youth movement doesn't necessarily guarantee team success.

Even with his two freshman headliners in the lineup, Mike Hopkins watched as the Huskies finished 15-17 that season.

Still, Big Ten opponents know that just about anything can happen at any time when Rutgers turns to its phenoms and they get rolling.

"On any given night," Sprinkle said, "they can beat everybody in our league."

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