“We can end the Ace Bailey and Cooper Flagg comparisons now”: College hoops fans blame Rutgers freshman for upsetting defeat

Freshmen Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey draw constant comparisons in college basketball. The two entered the Division I circuit as the top two players in the 2024 class and are their respective teams' focal points in offense. Rutgers’ loss against Kennesaw State Owls (79-77) on Sunday has separated the fan bases around two players even more.

Bailey finished with 17 points, shooting under 36% (6-17) with one steal, one rebound and one block in 32 minutes. Kennesaw State grabbed its first lead of the game with more than 14 minutes left in the break and maintained it throughout the final buzzer.

Rutgers' unexpected upset re-sparked Bailey's comparisons to Duke Blue Devils' Flagg:

"😂😂😂😂😂 Rutgers just lost to Kennesaw st but im supposed to believe Ace Bailey better than Cooper Flagg 😂😂😂😂😂😂aight man," a fan wrote.

"I think we can end the Ace Bailey and Cooper Flagg comparisons now 🫵😂," another fan commented.

"Can we please stop comparing Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey? One is the #1 pick ( Flagg) and the other isn’t the best player on his team.," another fan wrote.

More fans joined in, highlighting the significance of Rutgers' latest loss:

"This is why as a top recruit you don’t make the mistake of going to a school like Rutgers. Wild.," a fan commented.

"Disappointing loss. Even against weaker teams you can’t play a bad 1st half like that. 2nd half was very solid. Rebounding, defense needs to improve significantly. 30% from 3p and 63% FT shooting won’t cut it. Still early in season so they’ll figure it out.," another fan wrote.

"How about we rebound and play defense?????? They need to all get chewed out. Talent is gonna win them shit. Also Steve Pikell can’t even coach the one thing he’s known for DEFENSE! he also got incredibly out coached. Why did these 5 stars waste there one year," another fan commented.

Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey made identical mistakes

With nearly nine seconds on the clock, Bailey grabbed the inbound pass and dribbled on the floor. The second-best prospect in the nation had the chance to either tie the game or win it.

However, he made a critical mistake by mounting a near-half-court pass to Zach Martini, which was intersected. The misjudgment handed Ace Bailey his first loss of his college basketball career.

Cooper Flagg's first college basketball loss came behind a last-moment turnover as well. The 6-foot-9 forward was stripped as he attempted to create space around the elbow in the final 10 seconds of the Nov. 12 game against Kentucky.