Is Ace Bailey playing tonight? Exploring Rutgers star's availability vs Notre Dame (Nov 26)

Ace Bailey has a healthy status entering Tuesday night's encounter with Notre Dame. He has no injuries listed, having played in three of Rutgers' five games to begin the season. The confirmation of his playing in the matchup will be known before the 10:30 p.m. ET tipoff.

Ace Bailey has improved Rutgers' perimeter shooting since making debut

Ace Bailey did not play for the Scarlet Knights until the third game of the season, missing the first two due to injury.

Since making his debut, Bailey seems to be in a good groove. After three games, he is averaging 19.0 points and 5.7 rebounds on 47.6% shooting, including 41.2% from beyond the arc. His last matchup against Kennesaw State on Sunday saw him put up 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting, including 4 of 10 from downtown.

The Scarlet Knights have benefitted from having another scoring presence on the court with Bailey in the rotation. Since Nov. 15, they are averaging 83.0 ppg, an eight-point increase from before Bailey made his debut.

While the overall shooting accuracy is slightly down, 46.0% in the last three games compared to 49.5% in the first two, the perimeter shooting has significantly improved. With Bailey, the team is knocking down 8.7 triples per game with an accuracy of 41.9% (five 3-pointers on 25.6% shooting without Bailey).

Outside of Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, Lathan Sommerville, Zach Martini and PJ Hayes IV have helped Rutgers start the season on a solid note. Harper leads the team with 19.8 ppg, 5.2 apg and 5.0 rpg on 54.3% shooting. Sommerville puts up 10.0 ppg while leading the Scarlet Knights in blocks with 1.8 rejections per game, while Martini and Hayes are tied for the most 3-pointers with nine.

After this matchup, Rutgers will prepare for its next matchup against No. 9 Alabama at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.