BLOOMINGTON -- The Scarlet Knights opened the new year and returned to conference play with an 84-74 loss to Indiana Thursday evening at Assembly Hall. 
 
Rutgers entered the matchup shorthanded. Five-star freshman and leading scorer Dylan Harper was out "feeling under the weather," according to head coach Steve Pikiell.
 
Fellow five-star Ace Bailey shined in Harper's absence, scoring a career-high 39 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks (53 percent of RU's total points). That ties the most points by a Rutgers freshman in a Big Ten game in program history and the second most by any opponent in Assembly Hall. His 16 field goals were the most ever by a Rutgers freshman.
 
Indiana took a 41-34 lead into the break after hitting a deep three at the buzzer, their seventh of the game. IU finished 12-for-27 from deep, Rutgers 6-for-21.
 
Indiana's 18 offensive rebounds made the difference - 34 of their 84 points were second-chance. Indiana also scored 19 points off 11 Rutgers turnovers, though RU's defense forced eight turnovers themselves.
 
Freshman Lathan Sommerville continued his strong play off the bench, scoring eight points on perfect shooting. Rutgers veterans Jamichael Davis and Jeremiah Williams added eight and nine points, respectively, and Tyson Acuff finished with seven.
 
Rutgers trailed by as many as 18 but made it a six-point game with nine minutes remaining before Indiana put it out of reach.
 
The Scarlet Knights fall to 8-6 (1-2 in conference play) while the Hoosiers improve to 11-3 (2-1) and remain a perfect 10-0 at Assembly Hall.
 
Rutgers takes on Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2) on Monday, Jan. 6 at Jersey Mike's Arena, the first of a three-game home-stand.
 
 Postgame Notes 

Ace Bailey scored 39 points with 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and one steal on 16-of-29 shooting

• Bailey tied the Rutgers' freshman scoring record, previously set by Corey Sanders, who scored 39 points against Illinois in 2016
• Bailey's 39 points were the most ever scored by a RU freshman in a regulation game
• There have been four games in RU history where a freshman scored 36+ points. Three have come this season. 
  
  Ace Bailey vs. Indiana, 2025: 39
  Dylan Harper vs. Notre Dame, 2024 (OT): 36
  Dylan Harper vs. Alabama, 2024: 35
  Corey Sanders vs. Illinois, 2016 (3OT): 39

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are the second pair of freshman teammates over the last 15 years to each post 37+ point games in the same season. They join Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, who did it in 2016-17.
Bailey's 30 points were a career-high and tied for the 11^th most in a single game by a RU player all-time 
 
His 39 points were the second most for any opponent in Assembly Hall history and 14th most in a single-game in Rutgers' history.
 
Bailey's 16 field goals ranked:

• Most ever by a RU player in a Big Ten game
• Most ever by a RU freshman
• 10^th most ever by a RU player in a single game
• Tied for the most ever field goals by a visiting player in Assembly Hall history (Mychal Thompson, Minnesota, 1977) 

Bailey's line of 39 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks was

• The first player this season reaching those figures
• Just the second time since 2019 a player had a 39-8-4 game
• First freshman with a 39-8-4 game since Kansas' Andrew Wiggins (41 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks at West Virginia, March 8, 2014)
• Bailey and Wiggins are the only D-1freshmen since 2014 to record a game of 39-8-4 His 29 field goal attempts were the second most ever by a RU player in a Big Ten game (behind Sanders' 33 in the 2016 Illinois game)

His 4 blocks were: 

• The most ever by a RU freshman in a Big Ten game
• The second NCAA freshman this season to have 4 blocks
• The first RU freshman with 4 blocks in a game since 2005 (Nov. 22, 2005, JR Inman vs. Delaware State)
• Just the second Big Ten freshman with four blocks in a game since 2018

Postgame Quotes

Coach Pikiell Opening Statement:
"I appreciate you guys for being here; Obviously [Indiana] 10-0 at home, very tough place to play, even down a guy but tip of the hat to them. They [Indiana] out-rebounded us, as we have been inconsistent in that area. Had some good minutes, [Ace Bailey] played fantastic, played hard, and we have to play better on the road. Cannot give up eighty-four points to a really good team in an undefeated team. Questions?"

Question: "Steve, why didn't Dylan [Harper] play?"
Coach Pikiell: "He's Sick."

Question: "When did you know that he [Dylan Harper] wouldn't play?"
Coach Pikiell: "Before the game, he's [Dylan Harper] been sick and feeling under the weather. He hasn't practiced the past few days, and we're hoping that he gets better real quickly."

Question: "Do you expect him [Dylan Harper] to play on Monday?"
Coach Pikiell: "Yes, I expect him [Dylan Harper] to play."

Question: "Can you find any concern with him [Dylan Harper] sitting on the bench despite being sick?"
Coach Pikiell: "No, he's [Dylan Harper] been good and in bed for two days here in the hotel, felt much better which was a good thing. He hasn't eaten anything in a few days, that kind of thing, but just sick. He'll [Dylan Harper] be more than ready."

Question: "Obviously Dylan's [Harper] condition is not easy but, how much do you think you guys have to change to account for that?"
Coach Pikiell: "Obviously he [Dylan Harper] has not practiced in a few days since the Columbia game, so we started preparing. That's the journey of the season; guys get sick, and I thought some guys stepped up, played well and that's what you have to do. Sometimes it's foul supper, sometimes it's an ankle sprain, and sometimes it's sickness. But, you just have to figure it out."

Question: "Steve, Ace [Bailey] scores 39 points and you guys are down double digits for most of the second half. Are you concerned that you're not getting enough out of the other guys outside of the two pressures?"
Coach Pikiell: "We came back, we were down eighteen and I think we cut it to six if I'm not mistaken, but we did a great job. Obviously, he [Ace Bailey] scores thirty-nine points, which is unbelievable, but we have to get more free throw makes and I'm really more concerned about our rebounding and defense. We scored again, plenty of points to win tonight, but rebounding and defense."

Question: "Coach, thirty-four second-chance points again the other night, what were they  doing?"
Coach Pikiell: "Yeah eighteen rebounds, Princeton had nineteen offensive rebounds against us so, we have to take care of that. Our first shot defense has been good all year, but we have to clean it. To their [Indiana Men's Basketball] credit, they've been a good rebound team. They're huge as you could see, but they did a really good job. We've been inconsistent in that area and we have to really clean that area up. We've shown signs of it [Improvement] when we out-rebounded Texas A&M, and some other good rebounding teams too. Tonight just wasn't one of those." 

Question: "Ace [Bailey], what was working really well for you tonight?" 
Ace Bailey: "My teammates put me in positions and trusted me to make the shots that I make. All thanks to my teammates for rebounding, pushing the going outlet, setting good screens, spacing the floor and all for me to get to work."

Question: "Is it frustrating that you [Ace Bailey] scored thirty-nine points and you guys don't end up getting the win?"
Ace Bailey: "It's basketball. You win and you lose but, the next thing is you have to get back in the gym and keep working. We [Rutgers] stay connected, do what we do and just keep playing."

Question: "How much did you guys miss Dylan [Harper]?"
Ace Bailey: "We missed him. We had to make some adjustments, but I feel like I can trust our teammates to step up to the plate, which they did. We just hustle more, that's all."

Question: "Steve, going back to the earlier question, did you feel that you were getting enough out of the guys outside of Dylan [Harper]?"
Coach Pikiell: "Yeah, I mean we have to get more everything out of everybody. But, we have to play better defense as that is really an issue for us. We also have to do a better job at rebounding the ball. Those guys [Rutgers players] came in and they fought and played hard today. A tough game, and you're down the leading scorer in the league, so not easy to replace. But, he'll be back and we're all excited for that."

Question: "What were you looking for, regarding playing zone defense during the game"
 
Coach Pikell: "We have that now and we have spent some time on it. It's in our package now and could help us at times, and I thought it did that tonight. It certainly got us back into the basketball game."

Question: "With Dylan [Harper] not playing was there an emphasis to get the ball to Ace [Bailey] tonight?"
Coach Pikell: "You are always trying to get it to Ace [Bailey], he has a hot hand and was ready to play. I think our other guys got some good opportunities, we did not make free throws, which hurt us, and we also missed a bunch of one-on-ones. But we came on the road, and this league is the best it is, and when you score 74 points you have to do a better job and you have to rebound or you are going to have other nights like this."

Question: Ace, what was it like playing at Indiana? 
Ace Bailey: "We are playing away so of course the shots we make or the buckets we get the crowd is going to boo. But we are not here for the crowd, we are here to play basketball. 

Question: "What is missing from the team?"
Coach Pikell: "Yeah we have to play better on the road, it's tough to win road games, especially in this league and we played some really good teams. We have played only a couple of true road games, otherwise some neutral sites. I think every team struggles like that in our league, and we are young and learning a lot. These are also tough environments being 10-0 at home. We have to play better on the road for sure."