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Michigan on high alert for Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper in Rutgers showdown

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•about 10 hours•

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NCAA Basketball: Rutgers at Northwestern
Jan 29, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA;Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) defends Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

The Michigan Wolverines turn the page to February on Saturday with a trip to Rutgers on the docket. While the 11-10 Scarlet Knights may not strike a ton of fear based on their resume, U-M is on notice heading into one of the tougher road atmospheres in the conference, and a pair of star players to prepare for.

Rutgers boasts two of the potential top three selections in the 2025 NBA Draft in the form of guards Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. Bailey is coming off a 37-point performance in a win at Northwestern on Wednesday night, which Rutgers hopes can be a spark heading into a key stretch.

Michigan has slipped a bit defensively over the last few weeks, but its players know they will have to be at their best on Saturday in Piscataway.

“It’s exciting,” graduate guard Nimari Burnett said on Thursday. “It’s always a test for your team and your individual defense, especially those guys that have high usage, whether it’s ISOs, pick and rolls. We’ll throw multiple things at them as a team. I think it’s a team cover, and we’re excited for a challenge.”

Michigan assistant coach Drew Williamson discussed the matchup in a Thursday media session, joking that what Bailey did against Northwestern led to some insomnia as the staff assembles its scouting report.

“Struggled to get some sleep last night because of him,” Williamson said. “He’s just such a really good scorer. Those two players are probably one, two or three in this year’s draft. So we talked to our guys about taking the challenge as a group.

“[Bailey] is just a legit scorer at all three levels. Plays with so much passion. One thing that really stands out about him is that he really plays defense and he loves his teammates. You can see his energy last night, when somebody else made a play, how excited he was for them.”

Bailey will be a tough assignment playing guard at 6-10, but Harper’s status is up in the air ahead of Saturday’s matchup. He has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury that kept him out of the Northwestern game on Wednesday.

“It’s just an ankle sprain that needs a little more time,” Pikiell said Saturday after a loss to Michigan State at Madison Square Garden. “He’s tough as nails. I’m proud of him. He was in that training room, lived there practically for a couple days. I honestly did not think he was going to play (against Michigan State). He said ‘let me give it a whirl’ and he gave us 13 minutes. That says a lot about him.”

The vibe was even less certain on Wednesday night.

“We hope to get Dylan back soon, but he hasn’t practiced in a boot, ” Pikiell said. “We want him back at 100 percent. I don’t know what that means.”

Michigan says it will have contingencies in place for both during its game prep.

“We will prepare for him just like he’s playing,” Williamson said. “He’s such a big piece to what they do, it’s negligent to not prepare. So we’ll have two game plans.”

“We talked about it today a lot,” redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter said. “I don’t think we’re approaching it necessarily any different than any other scout, other than the fact that we know those are their guys. Ridiculously talented players, they’re gonna be a focal point of Rutgers and us stopping them.”

Michigan’s trip to Rutgers is set for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday with FOX carrying the national broadcast.

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