Dylan Harper returned to score 28 points, fellow freshman Ace Bailey added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Rutgers beat No. 23 Illinois 82-73 on Wednesday night.

When the buzzer sounded, Dylan Harper stood motionless in the paint and gritted his teeth as he looked toward the Jersey Mike’s Arena rafters. His running mate, Ace Bailey, made a beeline to the handshake line as if he could make this night — and maybe his entire college experience — end a little faster.

It seems hard to believe, but Rutgers basketball played its best offensive half of the season Wednesday with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey mostly on the bench, a ball-movement clinic that dissected Iowa over the first 20 minutes.