As rough as the season has been for Rutgers, their star duo keeps doing their thing. The freshmen stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper’s hype train may not reach March Madness, but it has already toured through the Big Ten. It made Rutgers basketball talked about for the first time in program history. And while fans have showered them with love, a large section of the internet remains ruthless.

With Bailey and Harper coming in, Rutgers started the year ranked in the AP Top 25, but those dreams crashed early with a string of losses. But Rutgers’ struggles aren’t because of these two. If anything, they’ve kept the team even remotely relevant. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey just became the first Big Ten freshman duo to score 500+ points in a season since Chris Webber and Jalen Rose. That’s historic. 

Bailey has started all 27 games for Rutgers, averaging 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and a respectable 36.3% from three. Meanwhile, Harper leads the team with 19.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting an efficient 48.9%.

These numbers scream talent, but unfortunately, numbers don’t win games alone.

And, well, their struggles continued brutally against Purdue. 

In what will likely be their last true road game in a Rutgers uniform, the Scarlet Knights hit rock bottom. Offensively inefficient, unable to defend the three, and getting worked on the boards—this loss was a disaster from every angle. The end result was a 100-71 humiliation at the hands of No. 18 Purdue at Mackey Arena. 

With this loss, Rutgers is now officially finishing the regular season with a losing record. Even Harper scored just 13 points, and Bailey had 12. Funny enough, Rutgers actually had an 8-0 run early in the game and even held a five-point lead at one point. 

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Guess they are not dominant enough

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Then, Purdue flipped the switch, and that was all. 

Fans let Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper hear it

The internet was intense after this one. One fan bluntly put it, “Rutgers has Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and won’t make The Big Dance smh.” Look, when you have two guys projected to go top three in the NBA Draft, missing the tournament is a disaster. At 14-16 overall and just 7-12 in conference play, Rutgers’ only shot at March Madness is a miracle Big Ten Tournament run. And we all know that’s not happening. 

Another fan didn’t hold back on Harper after watching Purdue’s Braden Smith light it up. “I hope Dylan Harper brought a notepad because Braden Smith is schooling tonight.” Smith dropped 23 points, grabbed five rebounds, and drilled seven threes, leading the Boilermakers alongside Fletcher Loyer, who also had 23. Purdue, by the way, is 21-9 and looking sharp. So yes, fans were in pain. 

Then there was this: “Went to turn to the Rutgers game and Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper getting cooked, they supposed to be top 3 picks???” Obviously, Bailey and Harper have been incredible all season, but this was not their night. Bailey had his moment with an insane reverse dunk that took over social media, but he also went just 1-for-6 from three. The bar is sky-high for these guys, especially with the NBA Draft creeping closer. 

One fan even questioned Harper’s college choice entirely, saying, “Dylan Harper grew up 20 miles from MSG and decided to play CBB for the 11th place Big 10 team. Some kids just don’t get it and can’t be helped.” Harsh. Harper, a New Jersey native & son of NBA legend Ron Harper, committed to Rutgers in December 2023, largely because of his family ties to the school. But fans can’t help but wonder if he could’ve had a much bigger stage elsewhere, like St. John’s, who just climbed to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and practices at Madison Square Garden.

And finally, one fan summed up the season perfectly: “Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper BOTH on the team and Rutgers is still absolutely horrible…” That pretty much says it all. Usually, when a college team has two elite prospects like this, making the NCAA Tournament is a given. But Rutgers never even came close. 

Despite the disaster of a season, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are still headed to the NBA as top picks, and the fanbase they built along the way will follow them to the pros. Let’s see what’s next for the two freshmen!