Big Green, Take Two

Heading into the longest break of the season, the Harvard men’s basketball team understands the importance of momentum.

Seven Ivy basketball games will be played from the time the Crimson (9-5, 1-0 Ivy) tips off with the Big Green in Hanover tonight until Harvard’s next game against Yale in New Haven on Jan. 27.

That’s seven defeats to be recorded, and seven trips to the loser’s bracket of the Ivy League’s 14-game tournament.

“Especially in those first two games, it’s not an option to lose,” captain Matt Stehle said. “It’s just not an option at all.”

If the Crimson can beat Dartmouth (2-11, 0-1) for the second time in six days, it will lock in a 2-0 mark and a place atop the league’s standings during its two-week hiatus for exams. With a grueling four-game Ivy road trip awaiting Harvard right after the break, having some momentum to draw upon will be crucial.

“It’s really important not to fall in the loss column early,” Stehle said. “Inevitably, someone has to lose every game, and we don’t want it to be us. Especially going into our exam period when we have enough stuff to worry about.”

“The second Dartmouth game is always a tough one, because there’s a lot going on academically [for the players],” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.

The travel partner games, which kick off the league season for Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, and Yale, are almost must-wins, because of the added preparation time afforded by playing just one game in a weekend instead of two. Of those four schools, only the Big Green scheduled a game during the week leading up to its travel partner contest, topping Army 55-42 on Jan. 4 and losing to Stony Brook 51-48 on Jan. 10.

“The travel partner games are the most important because they are the two games that you have more time to prepare for and more time to rest for,” Sullivan said.

“You can look at [playing mid-week games] either way,” he added. “Some coaches would say that they want to keep playing, especially going into the second game, because there’s not as much preparation the second time around. So, it’s really a philosophy.”

Junior center Brian Cusworth returned to the lineup for the Crimson in last Saturday’s 78-65 win over Dartmouth.

His 5-for-13 performance from the field pointed to a bit of rust accumulated during his seven-game absence, but a full week of practice will likely help him sharpen his skills.

“I feel like I’m in midseason form,” Cusworth said.

The one player who benefited most from Cusworth’s return was junior guard Jim Goffredo. The 6’1 sharpshooter knocked down seven threes and finished with 33 points, as the Big Green focused its attention on the interior. The performance was enough to earn Goffredo Ivy Player of the Week honors.

“If Jimmy being Ivy Player of the Week and lighting them up last weekend causes them to put more pressure on him, that could allow Matt or I to have a field day,” Cusworth said.

“So, it’s awesome that Jimmy played the way he did,” he added.

Stehle joined Goffredo on the league’s award list. Stehle had a stellar all-around performance in the victory, recording 14 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. He also added three blocks and three steals on the defensive end.

One of the concerns that the Crimson tried to address this week was the 44 percent shooting that it allowed from the field on Saturday, as well as the eight threes that it surrendered. Dartmouth point guard Michael Giovacchini knocked down three of those trifectas for the Big Green, and rookie Alex Barnett added three more.

“While we were happy that we came out with good defensive energy in last weekend’s game, our defensive numbers were still pretty flat,” Sullivan said.

Recently, the Harvard-Dartmouth games played at Leede Arena have been much lower scoring than those played at Lavietes Pavilion, making the three-point shot a more prized commodity in Hanover.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.