Crimson Takes on Tough Ivy Squads

The courtship has officially begun in Ivy League men’s basketball. The first Ivy Weekend is packed with exciting matchups for the Crimson (10-10, 2-4 Ivy). Harvard travels to Ithaca, New York today to face Cornell (15-7, 5-1 Ivy) in the two teams’ first meeting of the season. The Crimson then rounds out the Empire State road trip by traveling to New York City for a Valentine’s Day faceoff with Columbia (8-12, 3-3).

The men’s squad heads into the trying weekend with momentum on its side. After suffering a four game losing streak Harvard was led by junior Jeremy Lin in a stunning last-second victory over the Brown Bears (6-14, 0-6 Ivy) on Saturday. With 22 second-half points and 27 overall, Lin drew a foul on a jump shot just before the buzzer. He then hit the game winning foul shot to give Harvard a 64-63 advantage and renewed life in Ivy league play.

Harvard faces a significant challenge in facing Cornell. When Harvard dueled the Big Red at the end of last season, the Crimson was pummeled in a 33-point loss in Ithaca.

This year, Cornell is currently undefeated at home. To win in Ithaca, the Crimson will have to contain Big Red juniors Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale. The 6’6” Wittman averages 18.3 points per game this season and shoots almost 40% from beyond the arch. Dale is also dangerous from beyond the arch, averaging 14.4 points per game and shooting almost 47% from three point range.

“Our focus is playing our brand of team defense—contest passes, make it tough for them to run the offense,” captain Andrew Pusar said. “Especially for [Wittman and Dale], we want to make it difficult for them.”

In addition to controlling Cornell’s offensive threats, Harvard will have to be effective in the paint and come down with some boards. To Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, presence and ball control are key.

“How can we scrap, claw, do a better job of boxing out?” Amaker said. “Can we be a little tougher defensively? Can we not allow the ball to get into the post? That’s both sides, that’s outside and inside players on defense.”

Making note of the team’s 6-4 road record, Amaker believes that the Crimson’s experience in winning away from Lavietes will be key in both games this weekend. He also believes that Harvard’s dramatic win this past weekend should be inspirational to the team.

“We’re hopeful that it’s going to give us an opportunity to gain confidence,” Amaker said.

Pusar believes that road games are just what the team needs to light the fire.

“This is the first Ivy weekend, so the crowds will be hooting and hollering against us, and we want to feed off that.”

“It’s a test because Cornell is Cornell—one of the best teams in the league,” senior forward Evan Harris said. “But we love to play in the hostile environment…at Cornell, the fans are right on top of you, yelling, and it should make it a good game.”

Harris recently returned from a knee injury, putting up a double-double against Brown on Saturday. He feels confident in his preparedness for the weekend.

“My knee feels good,” Harris said. “I’ve had three days off, so hopefully I’ll be ready by Friday.”

Harris and the rest of the Squad will have to be ready as they prepare to enter the Newman Arena, which will likely be filled with more than 2000 rowdy Cornell fans.

Harvard will follow the same simple recipe against both opponents: execute. Lin will be key to putting points on the board. Harris, along with freshman Keith Wright, will have to continue to rebound well. Columbia has a consistent, deep bench and good inside presence, so Harvard must also focus on minimizing turnovers.