M. Basketball Takes on Ivy League Elite

Last season, the Harvard men's basketball finally broke with what had become a tradition throughout the decade of the '90s--losing to Princeton.

Exactly one year ago last Saturday, the Crimson shocked the defending Ivy League champion Tigers 87-79 in an overtime thriller at Lavietes Pavilion. The victory broke a string of 17 consecutive losses to Princeton dating back to Feb. 24, 1990.

Yet even as that weight has been lifted off the Crimson's shoulders, another remains.

That second albatross--which even still continues to dangle around Harvard's neck--is Ivy League-leading Penn, whom the Crimson have not beaten since 1997.

This weekend, Harvard (10-13, 5-5 Ivy) will have a chance to finally upend Penn (16-7, 9-0), as well as perform an encore of last year's overthrow of Princeton (15-9, 7-2). Both those teams travel to Cambridge for the Crimson's final two home games of the regular season.

"To be the best, you have to beat the best," said freshman guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman. "While we don't approach these games any differently, they definitely hold a greater amount of importance to us."

Harvard vs. Princeton

The Harvard team that beat Princeton last year was a senior-laden squad blessed with experience and familiar with the nuances of the Tigers' style of play.

This year's team, which at times this season has featured two freshmen in the starting lineup, is considerably less experienced.

Consequently, Harvard appeared frazzled when it took the floor against Princeton earlier this season. The Crimson struggled with its shooting, especially in the low-post.

The Tigers, meanwhile, shot 61.0 percent in the second half and mauled the Crimson 75-57.

This time around, Harvard will have to achieve more of a presence in the paint in order to neutralize Princeton center Chris Young, who leads the team in both scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg).

In the Crimson's first meeting with the Tigers, Young exploded for a career-high 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting.

Just a sophomore, Young has already established himself as a Crimson-killer, averaging 23 ppg in his three career games against Harvard.

"That will be the key--containing Young," said Prasse-Freeman. "He'll get his points, but we can't let him go for 30 again."

Tonight's game will most likely also see sophomore guard Andrew Gellert break, or at least tie, the school record for most steals in a season. Gellert, who ranks 16th in the country with an average of 2.8 steals per game, needs just one more takeaway to match the school record of 65.

In addition, senior captain Damian Long will have a chance tonight to extend his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 22. If he does, Long will be just one game shy of tying the mark set earlier this season by junior forward Dan Clemente.

Harvard vs. Pennsylvania

In Harvard's first meeting with Penn earlier this month, the Crimson played solid defense against the Quakers in the first half, holding them to under 40.0 percent shooting from the floor.

Shooting woes of their own, however, plagued the Crimson, who trailed 32-19 after the first twenty minutes.

In the second half, things went from bad to worse, as the Harvard defense collapsed and the poor shooting continued. The Quakers, led by 20 points from senior guard Michael Jordan, went on to dismantle the Crimson, 79-52.

For Harvard, Clemente was especially ineffective on offense, connecting on just 1-of-9 shots and finishing with two points.

In Saturday's rematch with Penn, Harvard must turn in a complete 40-minute effort defensively. If it can do that, Long is confident that the team's shots will start to fall at the other end of the court.

"Penn is very fast and can contest a lot of shots," Long said. "But I'm not worried about our shooting."

Successfully defending Penn is easier said than done, however. Jordan (15.9 ppg, 4.9 apg) is a master of so many dimensions of the game that he almost cannot be stopped.

"It's impossible to take Jordan out of the game completely," Long said. "Even if you can keep him from scoring, he will just dish the ball off. He wreaks a lot of havoc."

In addition to Jordan, Penn frequently turns to senior guard Matt Langel, the team's second leading scorer with 11.4 ppg, to help offensively. Also, senior center Geoff Owens is the team's leading rebounder, snagging 7.1 boards per game.

Saturday night's tilt with Penn will be the final home game of the season for the Crimson, and the last in the careers of Harvard seniors Long and Ethan Altaratz.

Both players were with the Crimson last year when that team's five seniors went out on top by upsetting Princeton in the home season finale.

Long, for one, says he would like nothing better than to end his own home career in similar fashion.

"I wouldn't want it any other way than to have these two big teams in our gym for my last two games," Long said. "It couldn't be any sweeter than if we were to beat these guys."

History will be on Harvard's side on Saturday. The Crimson has won its last home season game the past five years.