So ... looked at every game:
1) RU is 5-0 when Harper and Bailey are the 2 best players on the court in any given game.
2) RU is 12-5 when 1 or both of Bailey and Harper are the best (or tied for the best) player on the floor.
3) RU is 0-9 when neither player is the best player on the floor for RU.
This is not surprising, unfortunately, the way the team is constructed: From even before the season started, given how reliant RU was on the 2 freshman versus opposing teams heavy reliance on bigger stars from the transfer portal, it was clear RU needed to have 1 or both of Harper and Bailey be the best player on the floor to win AT ALL. And needed them to consistently, 1 or the other, play as All Big Ten players in any single game to win and have a chance at the NCAA.
The details:
Harper the Best Player in a Game: 7 times, plus 1 maybe ... Wagner, St. Pete's, Kennesaw St., Notre Dame (by a mile), Alabama (by a mile), Penn St (1st game), Illinois ... the maybe is vs Monmouth. Bashir had 38 points to Harper's 20 - but Bashir had zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocked shots (he was 10-17 3-pointers). Harper had 20 pts, 5 r, 6a and 2 blocked shots.
Harper's performances have been a bit front-loaded. In the 13 games (half the season so far) after he got sick after the Columbia game, and then hurt his ankle in the 2nd PSU game, he has been the best player in a game just once, vs Illinois. In the 1st 13 games he was the best player on the court 6 times, plus 1 maybe.
RU was 5-2 or 6-2 when he was the best player on the floor (only lost to Alabama).
Bailey the Best Player in a Game: 8 times, plus 1 maybe ... Merrimack, Seton Hall, Columbia, Indiana (by a mile), UCLA, Nebraska, PSU (2nd game), Northwestern (by a mile), .. the maybe: Texas A&M ... Wade was great, with 24 points 5 assists, 0 rebounds on 7-14 FG, but Bailey was also great, with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 10-20 FG - both were 2-8 from 3-point range.
Bailey's best games are concentrated during the Big 10 schedule (5 of his 8+maybe) ... though he has been much more wildly inconsistent than Harper.
RU was 6-2 (or 6-3) when Bailey was the best player on the floor.
Both Bailey and Harper were the Two Best Players (overlap from the 2 categories above): 5 times ... Penn St (1st game), Seton Hall, Columbia, UCLA, Nebraska.
Note:
a) Derkack was actually the best player on the court in the Michigan St game, followed by J. Richardson and Carr of MSU.
b) RU has had 8 1/2 or 9 games out of 26 when either Harper or Bailey have been OUT of the game entirely, or severely limited by illness or injury: Wagner, St. Peters, Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, 1/2 of the 2nd PSU game, Michigan St, Northwestern, Maryland. Of those, 7 are Big 10 games - 7 of RU's 15 Big 10 games. Just saying ...
1) RU is 5-0 when Harper and Bailey are the 2 best players on the court in any given game.
2) RU is 12-5 when 1 or both of Bailey and Harper are the best (or tied for the best) player on the floor.
3) RU is 0-9 when neither player is the best player on the floor for RU.
This is not surprising, unfortunately, the way the team is constructed: From even before the season started, given how reliant RU was on the 2 freshman versus opposing teams heavy reliance on bigger stars from the transfer portal, it was clear RU needed to have 1 or both of Harper and Bailey be the best player on the floor to win AT ALL. And needed them to consistently, 1 or the other, play as All Big Ten players in any single game to win and have a chance at the NCAA.
The details:
Harper the Best Player in a Game: 7 times, plus 1 maybe ... Wagner, St. Pete's, Kennesaw St., Notre Dame (by a mile), Alabama (by a mile), Penn St (1st game), Illinois ... the maybe is vs Monmouth. Bashir had 38 points to Harper's 20 - but Bashir had zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocked shots (he was 10-17 3-pointers). Harper had 20 pts, 5 r, 6a and 2 blocked shots.
Harper's performances have been a bit front-loaded. In the 13 games (half the season so far) after he got sick after the Columbia game, and then hurt his ankle in the 2nd PSU game, he has been the best player in a game just once, vs Illinois. In the 1st 13 games he was the best player on the court 6 times, plus 1 maybe.
RU was 5-2 or 6-2 when he was the best player on the floor (only lost to Alabama).
Bailey the Best Player in a Game: 8 times, plus 1 maybe ... Merrimack, Seton Hall, Columbia, Indiana (by a mile), UCLA, Nebraska, PSU (2nd game), Northwestern (by a mile), .. the maybe: Texas A&M ... Wade was great, with 24 points 5 assists, 0 rebounds on 7-14 FG, but Bailey was also great, with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 10-20 FG - both were 2-8 from 3-point range.
Bailey's best games are concentrated during the Big 10 schedule (5 of his 8+maybe) ... though he has been much more wildly inconsistent than Harper.
RU was 6-2 (or 6-3) when Bailey was the best player on the floor.
Both Bailey and Harper were the Two Best Players (overlap from the 2 categories above): 5 times ... Penn St (1st game), Seton Hall, Columbia, UCLA, Nebraska.
Note:
a) Derkack was actually the best player on the court in the Michigan St game, followed by J. Richardson and Carr of MSU.
b) RU has had 8 1/2 or 9 games out of 26 when either Harper or Bailey have been OUT of the game entirely, or severely limited by illness or injury: Wagner, St. Peters, Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, 1/2 of the 2nd PSU game, Michigan St, Northwestern, Maryland. Of those, 7 are Big 10 games - 7 of RU's 15 Big 10 games. Just saying ...
