Rutgers University freshman phenoms Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper's garden party hopes had to be put on hold.
On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights lost 81-74 as Harper's ankle sprain lingered and Michigan State's No. 8 No. 8 Bailey's solid defense limited the impact.
Bailey scored 18 points on 4-of-17 shooting, and Harper scored six points in limited time.
Saturday's game comes as both Harper and Bailey are expected to be top picks in this June's NBA Draft, with one local team potentially stepping forward to select one of the local products. , which attracted a lot of interest in the garden.
Ironically, Ian Eagle, the play-by-play man for that team, the Nets, was called up by CBS for this purpose.
It's also a chance for the two to play against the No. 8 team in the country on a big stage like MSG, which Bailey called “a blessing in disguise.”
“A lot of people can't play in their gardens,” Bailey said. “Playing in front of 17,000 Rutgers fans was awesome. It was fun. They gave us life until the end. We loved the energy they gave us. I used it as sustenance and started making traps.”
Bailey had strong defensive coverage and had moments where he looked like a player projected to be a top-five pick, despite failing to produce at least a 20-point effort for the fourth time in a row. there was.
Bailey got the Garden excited with a 3-pointer early in the first half, and the Scarlet Knights extended their lead to 8-3 at that point.
He then hit a turnaround jumper near the corner, ending a nine-plus minute game in which Rutgers missed 11 consecutive shots.
Despite limited playing time and a sprained ankle, Harper showed glimpses of his talent in the first half.
He made a steal late in the first to advance the game, then hit a jumper with 3:44 left in the first period to pull Rutgers within one point. He made a powerful move along the baseline for a layup within 30 seconds of the first half.
“They're confident,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said, lamenting the fact that Harper was dealing with an ankle issue.
“Ace is thin, but he doesn't play thin. He has taken great first steps. He can shoot from anywhere. Dylan has a very high basketball IQ. I mean, he's got a high basketball IQ, but he's still a good shooter, and he comes into his own in a different way than an ace.”
Bailey, who was averaging 19.9 points per game entering Saturday, felt like he was improving a lot in many areas of his game, especially off the court.
“I took film more seriously because I didn’t really take film classes in high school,” Bailey said. “Just little things, little things that you think aren't important. But they're so important to the game and I've improved.”
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said after the loss that Harper, who played just two minutes in the second half and 13 minutes overall, was “not in great shape” after Friday's practice, adding that he still has “a little more time to recover.” “is necessary,” he said.
Saturday's loss gave the Scarlet Knights a quick 10-3 lead, but Michigan State's 16-3 run midway through the first half silenced the early raucous MSG crowd.
Rutgers scored just under two points in the first half to tie the game at 28, but the Scarlet Knights couldn't find a way to stop Michigan State's offense, which allowed four points shortly after tying the score.
It went into a half down three.
Michigan State extended its lead in the second half, extending the lead to 13 points four times in the final 20 minutes.
Rutgers managed to keep the game close.
Jordan Derkak, who finished with 26 points, hit a late 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to pull the Scarlet Knights within six points.
