Hoopsters Take Second Lap of Ivies

The Harvard men’s basketball team hits the road this weekend against Cornell and Columbia, looking for revenge and riding a wave of momentum after last week’s upset victory against Yale.

The Crimson (3-18, 2-6 Ivy) will have to harness that emotion in order to mount a challenge against either the Big Red (10-11, 5-2) or the Lions. In Harvard’s last meeting with each team, the Crimson held a 14-point advantage before eventually falling by a double-digit margin.

In the season’s first match-up with Columbia (6-15, 2-6) on Jan. 30th, Harvard jumped ahead early—led by the strong play of junior guard Kevin Rogus and junior captain Jason Norman—who netted 17 and 11 points, respectively.

The second half was a different story, however, as the Lions forced the Crimson ball handlers into bad decisions that led to eight turnovers in the last eight minutes. Columbia vaulted past the Crimson on the strength of the 21-point performance from forward Dragutin Kravic to rally for the win, 78-67.

Against Cornell the night before, the Crimson also allowed a big lead to slip away. Despite trailing at the half, Columbia’s Cody Toppert and Ka’ron Barnes hit for a combined 55 points to knock off Harvard, 91-79.

“It wasn’t really a letdown,” said Crimson coach Frank Sullivan. “The Cornell-Columbia games were a little bit interesting because we were coming off of an exam period, and we only had three team practices that week, so I don’t think we were as sharp or as strong mentally as we had to be.”

Harvard will have a chance at redemption, but must improve in some key areas. The difference in the Yale game was better ball handling—a trend that Sullivan believes must continue in order for his squad to be successful this weekend.

“The biggest thing [against Yale] was that we had our best assist-turnover ratio of the season,” Sullivan said. “That’s really been a problem with us all year long, but we were really good with the basketball all game.”

Despite the team’s rocky start, this young group may be starting to develop some swagger.

“We showed in those first halves that we could play with them and beat them,” Norman said. “We’re maturing each game and getting better each game, so I’m sure we’ll be able to keep up the energy and focus on defense, and not make any mistakes.”

Against Columbia, the focus of that defense will likely be on guard Matt Preston, who averages 15.7 points per game to pace the Lions. Other contributors include Kravic, who averages 11.4 points per game, and Matt Land, who is shooting .444 from beyond the arc.

In Saturday’s match-up with Cornell, the Crimson will be forced to pick its poison, as the Big Red feature a couple of more-than-competent scorers in guard Ka’ron Barnes and swingman Cody Toppert. The two sharpshooters comprise Cornell’s potent 1-2 punch and currently rank first and second in Ivy scoring, respectively.

Sullivan is acutely aware of the daunting defensive task facing his team all weekend.

“Ka’Ron Barnes is one of the best scorers in the league, and Cody Preston is the same thing for Columbia. In the games they played here, they had their way, so those match-ups are critical for us.

“To counter we need to be more consistent with our team defensive effort,” Sullivan added. “We need recognition of [Barnes and Preston] to slow them down so we don’t get into a situation where either of those players go for big numbers.”

The Lions are coming off of a pair of losses last weekend and will certainly be looking to bounce back against a statistically weaker opponent in the Crimson. Last Saturday, the Lions surprised Ivy powerhouse Princeton—leading for 39 minutes of regulation before allowing the Tigers to force overtime with a field goal in the final five seconds. Columbia was overmatched in overtime and eventually fell by a final tally of 78-71. The previous night, Preston scored 28 in a losing effort against Penn.

Cornell has also lost two straight against Penn and Princeton. In last Friday’s contest, the Big Red fell to the first place Tigers 69-64. The following night Cornell’s offense sputtered against the Quakers, allowing a 26-2 run early in the second half before finally succumbing to a 79-52 loss.