Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey Cap Regular Season for Rutgers

On Sunday, the Rutgers five-star duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey capped their regular season with the Scarlet Knights in thrilling fashion.

In an extra-inning bout with Minnesota, Rutgers was able to grind out the win, largely behind the elevated play of Dylan Harper.

A 6-foot-6 guard who’s cruising towards being the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft — second only to Duke’s Cooper Flagg — Harper was vital to the team’s efforts against the Golden Gophers. Across his near-40 minutes, he poured on a game-high 22 points, nabbing six rebounds and dishing two assists with two blocks and steals apiece.

In the regular season, he finished scoring over 19 points per game, adding four rebounds and four assists on just shy of 50% shooting. He lived up to his name as a do-it-all jumbo guard this season — per an earlier scouting report from NBA Draft on SI: "What stands out about Harper relative to other players his age is the poise. He’s consistent and reliable with an incredible natural feel on both ends. He’s a smooth lefty with length and has a frame that should have no problem adding more weight to be NBA-ready as a rookie. He isn’t an elite athlete but makes up for it in other ways."

His counterpart Bailey — a 6-foot-10 forward also cruising towards a top-five draft selection — saw a rougher game. Bailey scored just six points on 11 shots, missing all three of his 3-point attempts. He did manage to show off his overall game, though, adding nine rebounds, two assists and three blocks.

Bailey’s scoring output has slowed down near the end of the season, but he’s still managed around 18 points with solid shooting splits. Even with a slightly lesser statistical output, Bailey's pure size still makes him one of the best prospects in the '25 cycle. Per the scouting report: "The positional versatility of Bailey also makes him a unique prospect. He projects to have the size and skillset to play three or four positions at the NBA level, especially if he continues to develop strength. This is true on both ends of the floor, not just the offensive end. With that in mind, he does need to improve on his decision-making if he's truly going to play in either guard position at any point in the NBA."

Rutgers is likely to miss out on the NCAA Tournament this season, finishing just 15-16 on the year, but will now prep for the impending Big Ten tournament.

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