CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Illinois men’s basketball travels east to take on Rutgers on Wednesday in a matchup which will feature about as much elite pro basketball talent as any game in college hoops this season.

Most NBA draft projections have two Scarlet Knights players and one Illini guard being selected in the top ten picks in 2025. All three are freshmen.

For Rutgers, it’s Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. Bailey, a 6-foot-10 guard, averages 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Harper scores 18.6 points per game but has missed the last two games due to injury, his status for Wednesday is uncertain.

Jakucionis is scoring 15.6 points per game to go along with 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

All three players were named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List on Monday.

In their last two games, without Harper, the Knights picked up a road win at Northwestern and narrowly lost to Michigan.

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“You lose a 20-point per game scorer, you lose a facilitator, you lose one of the elite offensive talents in the country,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said on Tuesday when asked about the absence of Harper. “Ace [Bailey] is seeing a little more high volume in a lot of different ways. But I think their other guys, their bench guys, have really stepped up. They’ve shot the ball well, they’re playing extremely hard on the defensive side. It’s very hard to be without a guy everyone thinks is the second pick in the draft and then not miss him. They’ve done a really good job of playing well without him.”

Bailey scored 37 points as Rutgers topped the Wildcats in Evanston.

The matchup presents young talent beyond just Bailey, Harper and Jakucionis. Illinois also suits up first year standouts Will Riley, Morez Johnson and Tomislav Ivisic.

Wednesday night’s game in New Jersey is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CT and air on Big Ten Network.