No. 24 Rutgers starts bonding road trip at Kennesaw State

No. 24 Rutgers will look to continue its torrid start to the season on Sunday afternoon when it visits Kennesaw State in Georgia.

The Scarlet Knights' promising five-star recruits, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, have been as good as advertised. Bailey has averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds in the two games he's played, while the latter has contributed 19.5 and 5.5, respectively, in his four contests.

Bailey collected 23 points and 10 rebounds and Harper added 14 and eight, respectively, to propel Rutgers to a 74-63 victory over Merrimack on Wednesday in Piscataway, N.J.

After the contest, Bailey sported a toothy grin that did little to disguise the fun he's having on the court.

"We play together, we're all laughing as a team, we're enjoying the game of basketball, how it should be played," Bailey said. "It's fun."

Head coach Steve Pikiell might have a different take, at least when considering the game's first 20 minutes against the Warriors anyway. The Scarlet Knights held a seven-point advantage at intermission, but Pikiell wasn't pleased with what he saw on the defensive end.

Bailey said he got the message.

"You don't play no defense, you ain't gonna play," he said. "Communication-wise, I wouldn't say it was terrible at first, but it was not where it needed to be. It's getting better -- it's still not where it needs to be, but it's improving."

It better improve considering Rutgers (4-0) is leaving the Garden State for the first time this season. The Scarlet Knights will exit Georgia after Sunday's game and venture to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival before visiting Ohio State for the Big Ten opener on Dec. 7.

"We need to figure ourselves out, but I am looking forward to the trip," Pikiell said. "I'm gonna try to get these guys to put their phones down for five minutes and really bond as a team.

"We wanted to be 4-0 in this stretch, and that's what we are. I'll learn more about our team, but if they keep improving, and they keep staying together, we will have the chance to be very good."

Kennesaw State, which is off to a 4-1 start for the third consecutive season, pushed its winning streak to three games on Wednesday with an 84-78 victory over Abilene Christian.

Simeon Cottle followed up his 27-point performance in the Owls' 85-67 win over Presbyterian last Saturday with 22 points versus the Wildcats. Cottle sank all 12 of his free throws against the Blue Hose and all 10 versus Abilene Christian to improve to 26-for-26 on the season.

"Just constant work being in the gym daily," Cottle said. "We have a little thing called 'free-throw game' at the end of the practice that we do every day. It's consistent reps. By doing that, it's allowed me to be successful with my free throws."

Cottle is averaging 18.8 points and 4 assists while fellow guard and two-time Conference USA freshman of the week Adrian Wooley is contributing 15.2 and 3.8, respectively.

--Field Level Media