Crimson Seeks To Protect Conference Lead

The Ivy League championship is now the Harvard men’s basketball team’s to lose.

The Crimson took a 1.5-game lead over Princeton in the Ancient Eight standings last weekend, downing Penn and the Tigers in back-to-back games for just the second time in four years.

With six Ivy contests remaining, Harvard just needs to hang on to secure its third straight title and punch a ticket to the NCAA tournament.

But if the past is any indication, doing so won’t be easy.

The Crimson’s first two challenges will come this weekend, when Harvard (15-7, 7-1 Ivy) heads to Providence and New Haven to take on sixth-place Brown (9-13, 3-5) and fourth-place Yale (10-14, 3-5).

The Crimson defeated both teams at Lavietes Pavilion earlier this season—but not without a struggle.

Against the Bulldogs, Harvard played much of the second half without starting point guard Siyani Chambers, who was on the bench with four fouls, and saw its 13-point lead cut to three. The Crimson hung on for a 67-64 victory but was just one possession away from playing its second straight overtime game.

Harvard got its fair share of extra time the next night, though, as Brown made the Crimson play two extra sessions. Harvard led, 63-41, with 12:58 remaining, but the Bears closed out regulation on a 28-6 run to force overtime. An additional five minutes wasn’t enough to settle the contest, but co-captain Christian Webster posted five points in the second overtime to help deliver Harvard an 89-82 win and preserve the Crimson’s undefeated conference record.

“We know that they’re going to have a lot of confidence against us just the way those two games ended,” Webster said.

But Harvard may have a new weapon at its disposal for its rematches with Brown and Yale.

After being a relative non-factor through the Crimson’s first 20 games, sophomore center Kenyatta Smith exploded this past weekend, racking up 34 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 blocks in Harvard’s victories. When Smith last matched up against the Bears and Bulldogs, he recorded eight total points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.

The performance earned Smith his first-ever Ivy League Player of the Week award.

“Obviously what he did this past weekend was nothing short of amazing,” Amaker said. “We’re hopeful that we can continue to ride the wave or the momentum of his performance.”

If Smith were to turn in a similar performance this coming weekend at Yale and Brown—the Ivy League’s top offensive rebounding teams—the Crimson would likely emerge with two victories.

But the Crimson may not be able to count on a repeat performance. Smith missed Wednesday’s practice due to illness, but he is expected to be back in time for this weekend’s contests.

“Assuming that he’s fine, he’s going to start,” Amaker said.

Particularly critical to this weekend’s contests will be the Crimson’s perimeter defense, as both its opponents receive the bulk of their offense from the backcourt.

On Friday, Harvard will have its hands full with the Bears’ guard duo of Matt Sullivan and Sean McGonagill—the Ivy League’s third- and fourth-leading scorers, respectively. In their visit to Cambridge, the duo combined for 38 points on 11-for-22 shooting.

“It’s going to be important that we [defend] the lines—the three-point line, and keep them off the foul line,” Amaker said. “They’re really good behind the arc.”

The Crimson had more success in its previous matchup with Yale’s Austin Morgan. The 5’11” guard, who is the league’s No. 8 scorer at 11.3 points per game, was limited to nine points on two-of-five shooting.

“We’re going to try to do the same [against Morgan],” Amaker said. “When he plays well and gets easy looks, they’ve been a very, very good team. So our point of emphasis has been to see if we can have an awareness for him. And our kids, they’ve done a really good job with that, so hopefully that will continue on Saturday.”

But unlike in the last Harvard-Yale matchup, Morgan will likely be joined in the lineup by freshman forward Justin Sears this time.

Sears, the league’s No. 12 scorer and No. 6 rebounder, missed the teams’ previous meeting, but has since been effective, posting in double-figures in three of his last four games.

Sears has also been a force on the offensive glass, averaging 2.5 offensive rebounds per game since his return.

“He’s going to give them one of the things that concerns me already—they’re the best offensive rebounding team in our league and then add him now,” Amaker said.

With Sears back in the lineup, the Bulldogs have gone 3-1 with victories over Princeton and Columbia, the teams picked to finish first and third, respectively, in the conference’s preseason poll.

On Saturday, the Crimson will try to avoid being added to the Bulldogs’ list of victims.

“We know it’s a long horse race and there’s a lot of basketball to be played,” Amaker said.

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @martinkessler91.