LAS VEGAS — Since being hired in 2019, Nate Oats has coached three rookies who eventually became first-round NBA draft picks, including Brandon Miller, the former SEC Player of the Year and the No. 2 pick in 2023 .

After projected top-five picks Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey combined for 59 points for Rutgers, albeit in a 95-90 loss to No. 9 Alabama on Wednesday at the Players Era Festival, Oats said he was confident that Duo includes talking to the other elite rookies he has watched in college basketball.

“We had a few ourselves,” the Alabama coach said, “and these guys are right up there.”

Harper, a 6-foot-6 guard, scored a career-high 37 points, becoming the first Big Ten freshman in the last 20 seasons to score 94 points in three games and the first Division I Freshman in that span who set a record for consecutive efforts of more than 35 points, according to ESPN Research.

Harper, who shot 11 of 19 from the field and 15 of 16 from the free throw line, had his best game yet at MGM Grand Garden Arena as his father, former NBA star Ron Harper Sr., sat courtside.

Oats said he couldn’t find a formula to slow Harper, whose layup with 2:23 left cut Alabama’s lead to one before the Tide tied the game at the free throw line.

“(Harper), I mean, he pretty much gets to the sideline whenever he wants,” he said. “We didn’t have anyone who could stay in front of him on the ball screen. We didn’t do a particularly good job. I mean, he has a certain power, a certain physicality and a certain strength when he comes down the hill.”

Bailey, a 6-foot-10 talent who could challenge Duke’s Cooper Flagg for the top spot in the upcoming NBA draft, also shined Wednesday, particularly with high jump shots that seemed unblockable.

Bailey capped a fast break in the first half with a dunk that energized the Rutgers fans who had traveled along. Bailey pounded his chest, scoring 22 points on 9 of 18 shooting from the field.

“He’s the best mid-range player I’ve ever seen,” Oats said of Bailey. “He is simply superior to the boys. The floaters with the touch, he’s tough. We didn’t do a great job. We needed more size from him. He’s a guy that if you don’t have size, he’s just going to shoot over 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 guards and he’s going to cause some problems.”

Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said the tough tests early on will help his team later in the season. Right now, he said, he has a group that’s still learning while relying on some elite first-year talent.

“I think it’s like anything, the journey,” he said. “You grow as the season goes on and the games go on and this is as talented a team as we are likely to meet. It’s definitely the deepest team.”

Harper said he was more focused on the loss than his individual performance. But he also said the growing pains his team endured Wednesday will prove beneficial as he and Bailey continue to develop in their first season of college basketball.

“I think we just showed that we can compete with anyone in the country,” he said after the game. “I mean, obviously we came up short, but I feel like as a team sometimes you have to come up short in order to have the season you want to have.”

Despite the win, Oats talked like a coach who thought his team had lost. Alabama, ranked third nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency by KenPom, recorded 20 turnovers and also snapped a lengthy scoring drought in the second half.

Oats said Rutgers will continue to improve, especially as Harper and Bailey continue to develop. And that reality will cause problems for the remaining teams in their schedule.

“When they play like they did tonight, they’re one of the best teams in the country,” Oats said. “They have two of the most talented players, regardless of class.”