Tough Road for M. Cagers

The early Ivy League returns are in, and it doesn't look good for the Harvard men's basketball team.

While the Crimson (1-11, 1-1 Ivy) is tied for second place, the competition is the stiffest the league has seen in years. Harvard is near the bottom of nearly every statistical category.

Individually, there are a few highlights for the Crimson. Captain Ron Mitchell is third in rebounding (6.5 rpg), and Tyler Rullman is fifth in scoring (14.6 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (6.1 rpg).

But as a team, Harvard is seventh in field-goal percentage, sixth in free-throw percentage, sixth in overall scoring, and last in three-point shooting.

In two games against Dartmouth, Harvard has taken only five shots from downtown and missed all of them.

These numbers are partly due to the low-post style of play Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan prefers, but also illustrate Rullman's reluctance to take the long shot.

Rullman is one of the most accurate guns in the Ivies. Last year, Rullman nailed 47 percent of his three-point bombs. This year, it's been .000 for the team's leading scorer.

It's easy to ignore statistics in favor of the all-important bottom line: a 1-1 record in Ivy League play. But the numbers tell a sad story.

While Harvard has struggled to find its footing, Brown and Columbia have shed their images as Ivy League doormats.

Columbia is 2-9 (1-0 Ivy), but their record is due more to a murderous opening schedule than a lack of talent. The Lions acquired junior college transfer forward Par Downing, and the junior has carried his team to legitimacy.

Downing, who averages 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, has opened the floor for All-Ivy guard Buck Jenkins, who scored 25 in the Lions' victory over Cornell, and Ivy League Player of the Week Russ Steward, who has tallied 61 points and 23 rebounds in Columbia's last three games.

Brown (6-6, 1-0 Ivy) is enjoying a sensational season. After nearly knocking off Boston College in its opener, the Bears have stunned Providence (71-69 in overtime), upset Holy Cross and Creighton, and come from behind to take Yale, 65-59.

Three's Company

The secret to Brown's success is no mystery: the troika of guards Rick Lloyd and Chuck Savage and bruiser Kirk Lowry cleaning the boards.

Lloyd pumped in 21 against Yale, including a clutch three-point bomb to tie the game at 59, and the winning basket with: 36 to go. Savage averages 13.3 points per game, and Lowry hauls in 6 rebounds a night.

Not bad for first-year Brown Coach Frank "Happy" Dobbs.

While Brown and Columbia are the rising powers, Pennsylvania and Yale are the falling ones.

Pennsylvania (4-6, 0-1 Ivy) was expected to challenge Princeton for the title with the strongest backcourt in the Ivy League. But the results from Quaker guards Paul Chambers, Ken Graf, 1991 Rookie of the Year Will McAllister and star recruit Jerome Allen have been mixed.

Chambers is on a tear, scoring 33 points, hauling in 12 rebounds, and handing out 17 assists in Pennsylvania's last two games, both wins. Allen has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the past three weeks.

These heroics have not left much room for Graf and McAllister. Graf has been quiet, but McAllister announced last week he was taking the year off from basketball, for academic reasons.

Yale (10-3, 0-1 Ivy) continues to stake its fortunes on the shooting hand of guard Ed Petersen.

The strategy has paid off. Petersen has catapulted himself into Player of the Year contention, leading the Ivy League with 18.2 points per game.

He has a formidable pair of forwards to help him. Stuart Davies (8.5 rpg) and Casey Cammann (6.6 rpg) are the one-two rebounders in the Ivy League.

But on nights where Petersen does not have the hot hand or is well defended, Yale is in trouble. Against Brown, Petersen drained 3-of-5 from long range and shot 5-for-10 overall, but the team shot just .396 and was defeated.

One man scoring machines do not win championships. Yale needs to find a second go-to man to fully realize its potential.

Harvard's enthusiasm about its win over Dartmouth needs to be put in perspective. The Crimson has a long, tough climb back to the top half of the Ivy League.