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2024-25 has been a very disappointing season for Rutgers basketball, as injuries and a lack of depth throughout the roster have left the Scarlet Knights needing a miraculous run down the stretch of the regular season in order to get into the NCAA Tournament.
Even while the team has struggled, freshman stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper have been very impressive and have cemented their status as top five picks. Harper showed flashes of superstardom early in the season before an illness and an ankle injury have limited his availability during conference play.
When Harper is out of the lineup, the burden falls entirely on Bailey to create just about everything offensively for Rutgers. Sometimes that is a good thing, such as Wednesday's road win against Northwestern where Bailey finished with 37 points and dominated the entire game on that end.
However, his inconsistent shooting hangs his team out to dry at times, like it did in Rutgers' latest game against a very good Michigan team. Michigan controlled much of the game against Bailey and company before surviving a late rally to beat Rutgers 66-63 in Piscataway.
Ace Bailey concerns resurface in Rutgers' loss to Michigan
Ace Bailey did not have a very good day for Rutgers basketball against Michigan, as the Wolverines forced him into tough shots consistently and made things difficult for him on the offensive end. The result was one of his most inefficient nights of the entire season: 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Bailey added six rebounds and three assists with a block and a steal, but his scoring efficiency was the most concerning part.
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Michigan did a great job limiting Bailey to tough shots with a hand in his face, which forced a lot of the misses that he was struggling with throughout the day. However, that is becoming a bit of a concerning theme with Bailey. At times, he struggles to get separation and space to shoot both on and off the ball, which forces him into those contested looks.
Bailey is a great tough shot maker, but the fact that he has to take so many difficult looks is a slight cause for concern in his game. Some nights, when he has it going, it looks like he can score with the best of them. However, when he is off, you can get a lot of ugly showings like Saturday. Bailey has now shot worse than 25% from the field in three of his last eight games.
Now, in Bailey's defense, this Michigan team is uniquely equipped to trouble him, and carrying the offense is a much tougher task without Harper setting the table for him. The Wolverines play two bigs in the front court in Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, which makes it very hard for Bailey to get to the rim and finish. That doesn't mean he can never do it, but it does hurt his efficiency overall.
Well hello Ace Bailey 👀
— No Ceilings (@NoCeilingsNBA) February 1, 2025
Bailey is also forced to handle the ball more than he would like without Harper. Harper is one of the best point guards in the nation and is an elite playmaker, so not having him makes it much harder for Bailey to operate with space in the flow of the offense.
Overall, this was a poor showing for Bailey, but not an alarming one. The situation around him was not conducive to another great performance and he didn't show any flaws that weren't already in his game. Look for him to quickly bounce back as this Rutgers basketball team moves into its February slate.
