“Dylan Harper’s better freshman than Cooper Flagg”: College hoops fans hyped as Rutgers star registers triple-double in blowout win

Dylan Harper ended 2024 with a bang, registering his first career triple-double in the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' 91-64 win over the Columbia Lions at Jersey Mike's Arena on Monday night. He made history in Rutgers' final game of the year, recording the school's first triple-double since Roy Hinson achieved the feat in 1983.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Dylan Harper (#2) looks to pass as Columbia Lions guard Avery Brown (#25) and forward Jake Tavroff (#34) defend during the second half at Jersey Mike's Arena. Photo: Imagn

Harper stuffed the stat sheet against Columbia, scoring 16 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists. He also had three steals and one block in 32 minutes of action. Harper shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Harper replicated the achievement of Hinson, who recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks in Rutgers' game against Rhode Island more than 41 years ago.

Harper's performance was the first triple-double by a freshman since Pittsburgh's Carlton Carrington accomplished the feat on Nov. 6, 2023, in his college debut against North Carolina A&T.

College hoops fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Harper's outstanding performance.

"Dylan Harper’s better freshman than Cooper Flagg. He just don’t have the name. He really is tho man. He’s a top 3 pick," one fan wrote.

"He's better than Ace Bailey too. I can see why Cooper and Ace are ahead of him but he has the most polished offensive game out of everyone in college basketball," another fan claimed.

"Dylan Harper so tough," one fan posted.

Here are some other reactions.

"Dylan Harper. Trip dub," one fan shared.

"I swear Dylan Harper so tuff man," another fan commented.

"Told y'all Dylan Harper the best in the nation," one fan pointed out.

Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey lead Rutgers past Columbia in final game of 2024

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights bounced back from their 83-82 loss to the Princeton Tigers before the Christmas break, defeating the Columbia Lions convincingly in their final non-conference game of the 2024-25 NCAA regular season. The Scarlet Knights led from start to finish to improve their overall record to 8-5.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Dylan Harper (#2) celebrates during the second half after recording a triple-double against the Columbia Lions at Jersey Mike's Arena. Photo: Imagn

Dylan Harper showed he is not just a scorer, recording a career-high in assists with a dozen dimes. Ace Bailey also posted a new career-high in scoring, amassing 24 points on 11-for-18 shooting against Columbia.