Year-Old Ghosts Haunt Men's Basketball on Road

The Crimson would rather forget its last two trips to New Haven’s John J. Lee Amphitheater. Two last-second shots, one made, one missed, both resulted in losses for the Harvard men’s basketball team.

On Feb. 28, 2011, Harvard visited Yale’s home court and was upset by the Bulldogs, losing, 70-69, after then-sophomore Brandyn Curry’s last-second layup attempt rolled off the rim.

Two weeks later, the Crimson returned to John J. Lee Amphitheater, this time to take on Princeton in last season’s Ivy League playoff, and fell in the final seconds once again after Doug Davis nailed a buzzer beater to give the Tigers a one-point win.

On Friday night, the Crimson makes its first trip to Yale’s home court since the Tigers prolonged Harvard’s NCAA tournament drought in heartbreaking fashion.

"We’ve got to exorcise some demons with that arena," said co-captain Oliver McNally, whose Crimson (16-2, 2-0 Ivy) will visit the Bulldogs on Friday night before traveling to Brown on Saturday.

The visit to Yale (12-4, 2-0) is expected to be Harvard’s toughest challenge in conference play. The Bulldogs, currently riding a four-game winning streak, were picked to finish second in the preseason Ivy League media poll and are projected to be the Crimson’s biggest challenger for the conference title.

"I think Yale is an outstanding team," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "They’re a little bit under the radar. I think they are a very, very good basketball team."

The Bulldogs, who have picked up wins over Vermont and Central Connecticut and narrowly lost to Wake Forest, are led by senior Greg Mangano.

A 6’11" center with the ability to knock down three-pointers and shut down opposing bigs, Mangano has followed up on a standout junior season by averaging 19.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game midway through his senior year.

"Mangano is an outstanding player," Amaker said. "He’s a tough cover because of his size…. He can really shoot it from the outside."

But Mangano’s biggest impact might be on the defensive end. In the Crimson’s two matchups with the Bulldogs last season, Mangano limited Harvard co-captain Keith Wright to 14.5 points per game on 44.0 percent shooting (11 of 25)—14.4 percentage points below his season average of 58.4.

"He’s obviously a force to deal with, and we’ll have to help and do a lot of things, but I’m not sure that we’re going to be able to stop him," Amaker said. "He scores and affects the game in a lot of different ways."

But Mangano isn’t the only player the Crimson has to worry about. In the post, Mangano is joined by sophomore Jeremiah Kreisberg, a 6’9" big averaging 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. In his two matchups with the Crimson last season, Kreisberg averaged 12.5 points and posted a double-double during Harvard’s 78-75 win at Lavietes Pavilion.

On the wing, Yale features a talented pair in junior Austin Morgan—a 5’11" guard averaging 13.1 points per game and shooting 44.2 percent from beyond the arc—and senior Reggie Willhite, who leads the Bulldogs in assists and steals and is third on the team in rebounding.

"I think Willhite is a very underrated player in our league," Amaker said. "He does a lot for their team. [He is] a very athletic, physical wing player. It’s going to be tough for us to keep him off the backboard."

While the Crimson’s Friday matchup with the Bulldogs is expected to be tightly contested, Saturday’s contest against Brown (6-13, 0-2) is projected to go Harvard’s way.

Even so, the Crimson knows from past experience that the Bears are not to be overlooked.

When Harvard met Brown for the first time last season, the Crimson trailed a Bears team that finished seventh in the Ivy League by 22 at the half before staging a ferocious comeback to win, 85-78.

Two weeks later, Harvard pulled off another comeback against Brown, fighting back from a nine-point halftime deficit to capture a 74-68 win.

This year’s Bears squad boasts a talented offense spearheaded by 6’1" guard Sean McGonagill, the Ivy League’s reigning Rookie of the Year. Now a sophomore, McGonagill has continued to find the bottom of the net, averaging a team-high 14.8 points and 5.5 assists per game.

But while the Crimson has a perimeter defender in Curry capable of slowing the Bears’ leading scorer, Brown lacks an answer for Wright in the post. Last season, Wright overpowered the Bears frontcourt, posting double-doubles in both Harvard wins.

That being said, the Crimson isn’t expecting Brown to fold as soon as Harvard shows up.

"People are going to really gun for us," McNally said. "We know, especially when we’re on the road, we’re going to get [the] other team’s absolute best shot."

The Crimson would rather forget its last two trips to New Haven’s John J. Lee Amphitheater. Two last-second shots, one made, one missed, both resulted in losses for the Harvard men’s basketball team.

On Feb. 28, 2011, Harvard visited Yale’s home court and was upset by the Bulldogs, losing, 70-69, after then-sophomore Brandyn Curry’s last-second layup attempt rolled off the rim.

Two weeks later, the Crimson returned to John J. Lee Amphitheater, this time to take on Princeton in last season’s Ivy League playoff, and fell in the final seconds once again after Doug Davis nailed a buzzer beater to give the Tigers a one-point win.

On Friday night, the Crimson makes its first trip to Yale’s home court since the Tigers prolonged Harvard’s NCAA tournament drought in heartbreaking fashion.

"We’ve got to exorcise some demons with that arena," said co-captain Oliver McNally, whose Crimson (16-2, 2-0 Ivy) will visit the Bulldogs on Friday night before traveling to Brown on Saturday.

The visit to Yale (12-4, 2-0) is expected to be Harvard’s toughest challenge in conference play. The Bulldogs, currently riding a four-game winning streak, were picked to finish second in the preseason Ivy League media poll and are projected to be the Crimson’s biggest challenger for the conference title.

"I think Yale is an outstanding team," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "They’re a little bit under the radar. I think they are a very, very good basketball team."

The Bulldogs, who have picked up wins over Vermont and Central Connecticut and narrowly lost to Wake Forest, are led by senior Greg Mangano.

A 6’11" center with the ability to knock down three-pointers and shut down opposing bigs, Mangano has followed up on a standout junior season by averaging 19.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game midway through his senior year.

"Mangano is an outstanding player," Amaker said. "He’s a tough cover because of his size…. He can really shoot it from the outside."

But Mangano’s biggest impact might be on the defensive end. In the Crimson’s two matchups with the Bulldogs last season, Mangano limited Harvard co-captain Keith Wright to 14.5 points per game on 44.0 percent shooting (11 of 25)—14.4 percentage points below his season average of 58.4.

"He’s obviously a force to deal with, and we’ll have to help and do a lot of things, but I’m not sure that we’re going to be able to stop him," Amaker said. "He scores and affects the game in a lot of different ways."

But Mangano isn’t the only player the Crimson has to worry about. In the post, Mangano is joined by sophomore Jeremiah Kreisberg, a 6’9" big averaging 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. In his two matchups with the Crimson last season, Kreisberg averaged 12.5 points and posted a double-double during Harvard’s 78-75 win at Lavietes Pavilion.

On the wing, Yale features a talented pair in junior Austin Morgan—a 5’11" guard averaging 13.1 points per game and shooting 44.2 percent from beyond the arc—and senior Reggie Willhite, who leads the Bulldogs in assists and steals and is third on the team in rebounding.

"I think Willhite is a very underrated player in our league," Amaker said. "He does a lot for their team. [He is] a very athletic, physical wing player. It’s going to be tough for us to keep him off the backboard."

While the Crimson’s Friday matchup with the Bulldogs is expected to be tightly contested, Saturday’s contest against Brown (6-13, 0-2) is projected to go Harvard’s way.

Even so, the Crimson knows from past experience that the Bears are not to be overlooked.

When Harvard met Brown for the first time last season, the Crimson trailed a Bears team that finished seventh in the Ivy League by 22 at the half before staging a ferocious comeback to win, 85-78.

Two weeks later, Harvard pulled off another comeback against Brown, fighting back from a nine-point halftime deficit to capture a 74-68 win.

This year’s Bears squad boasts a talented offense spearheaded by 6’1" guard Sean McGonagill, the Ivy League’s reigning Rookie of the Year. Now a sophomore, McGonagill has continued to find the bottom of the net, averaging a team-high 14.8 points and 5.5 assists per game.

But while the Crimson has a perimeter defender in Curry capable of slowing the Bears’ leading scorer, Brown lacks an answer for Wright in the post. Last season, Wright overpowered the Bears frontcourt, posting double-doubles in both Harvard wins.

That being said, the Crimson isn’t expecting Brown to fold as soon as Harvard shows up.

"People are going to really gun for us," McNally said. "We know, especially when we’re on the road, we’re going to get [the] other team’s absolute best shot."

—Staff writer Martin Kessler be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.