Killer P’s Up Next for Harvard

Exams are over and the Ivy League has started. After nearly three weeks out of action, the Harvard men’s basketball team (6-12, 1-1 Ivy) is ready to return to the court.

While the season-opening split with Dartmouth seems so long ago, the Crimson will take its 1-1 Ancient Eight record to Penn (5-12) and Princeton (3-12) this weekend, looking to end a long drought against the two perennial Ivy powerhouses.

Harvard will enter The Palestra at Penn tonight seeking its first victory there since 1991 and will travel to Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium tomorrow night with an even longer losing streak, dating back to 1989. The last time the Crimson swept the trip was in 1985.

Historically, the two squads have ruled the Ivies: no other team has won the League outright since 1988. But, for the first time in years, both of the “Killer P’s” look vulnerable—even beatable.

“Penn and Princeton is the famously tough weekend,” junior guard Andrew Pusar said. “But we’re trying not so much to concentrate on the records, or the other factors in the environment.”

The Quakers, coming off three straight Ivy League championships, are poised for a big drop-off this season, having lost last year’s star seniors in two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Ibrahim Jaaber and All-Ivy forward Mark Zoller.

In their absence, Penn has turned to freshman Tyler Bernardini, a dangerous three-point shooter who is leading the Quakers at 12.9 points per game.

Tonight’s matchup will be the Ivy opener for Penn, who lost their final three non-conference games.

“We just want to be hard-nosed and tough,” Pusar said. “[The Palestra] is a fun place to play. It’s got a lot of history. We just want to take that energy and use it to become an extremely competitive team. We want to outwork them, outfight them.”

On the other hand, the Tigers finished dead last in the Ivy League last season at just 2-12. One of those two victories came against Harvard in a double-overtime 74-68 thriller at Princeton in which guard Drew Housman notched a career-high 33 points.

That loss left the Crimson with a bitter taste in its mouth, eagerly anticipating the return trip to Jadwin.

“We certainly want to get back at them,” Pusar said. “It was a tough one last year. We just really want to harp on being physical, being tough, and taking them out of what they are trying to do.”

A year later, the Tigers are still struggling. Princeton finally snapped a 12-game losing streak with a victory last Sunday—the Tigers’ first win since Nov. 14.

Home court will play a big factor tomorrow night. Not only does Princeton typically defend its home court well—all of the Tigers’ victories this season have come at home—but the Crimson is also just 1-10 away from Lavietes Pavilion this season.

“That [away record] certainly says that we need to start cranking down and pulling these out,” Pusar said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games and we just haven’t been able to pull it out. We have to get a little bit gritty, get a little bit more fire so that these teams can’t pull away at the end and we can take a few away from them.”

Tomorrow’s contest will also be nationally televised on ESPNU—Harvard’s second appearance this season on the network. In the first, the Crimson upset Michigan in front of a raucous home crowd, 60-51.

“I don’t think it changes our preparation [to play on ESPNU]. I think we’re looking forward to it,” Pusar said. “It’s kind of fun when the cameras come on and the gym is packed, and we’re going to take that energy and focus it into a more determined effort on the court.”

Two victories this weekend would not only end the stigma that follows the Crimson and this trip, but it could give the team the confidence it needs to become major players early in the Ivy League race.

In order to do so, the Crimson will look for solid performances from big men Evan Harris and Brad Unger. With sophomore Pat Magnarelli still nursing a knee injury suffered against Dartmouth, others will have to step up to fill his shoes.

“We’re just trying to focus on what we need to do to be the best team we can be,” Pusar said. “What that includes is being tough defensively, hitting the boards hard, and being quicker to loose balls. If we can do those three things well, we feel that we can be competitive with anyone.”

—Staff writer Kevin C. Reyes can be reached at kreyes@fas.harvard.edu.