Men's Basketball Looks to Right Ship Against Brown, Yale

While the last few weekends have been historic for the Harvard men’s basketball team, the record books have been dusted off for all the wrong reasons.

After dropping both ends of an Ivy League weekend doubleheader at Lavietes for the first time since 2009, the Crimson (9-13, 1-5 Ivy League) followed up the performance with back-to-back duds against Princeton and Penn. The 21-point loss to Princeton was the team’s worst in league play since 2010, while the five-game conference losing streak is the worst since 2008.

“Obviously, it hasn’t been ideal,” junior forward Zena Edosomwan said. “It’s a position we’ve never been in. It’s been tough, we’ve had some heartbreakers and things that haven’t gone our way in our league unfortunately. We’re in a tough position, but the older guys, their spirits are really good, knowing that we don’t give up.”

With four weekends of basketball left to be played, Harvard finds itself in the basement of the Ivy League standings, sharing the space with Dartmouth. The Crimson will have a chance to right the ship on Friday when it plays host to Brown (7-13, 2-4), a team to which Tommy Amaker’s squad has not fallen since 2009. Yale (15-5, 6-0), the hottest team in the Ivy League and the favorite to claim the Crimson’s spot in the Ancient Eight penthouse, will visit Lavietes the next night.

Harvard will be aided on both ends of the floor by the return of Edosomwan, who missed the Crimson’s last two games with a thigh injury. The team’s leading scorer and rebounder confirmed on Wednesday that he will play this weekend. Against Princeton and Penn, Harvard was outrebounded 88-59 and allowed 88 points in the paint. Meanwhile forwards Evan Cummins, Weisner Perez, and Chris Egi combined for just 21 points and 19 rebounds.

“That was tough,” Edosomwan said. “I told the trainer, not in a bad way, but I never want to be in this position again, in street clothes…. It’s always fun to play in front of the home crowd and I’m excited for it. I’m honestly just excited to be back. I’m really hungry and hopefully I can let the play do the talking.”

The front end of the twin bill will feature a Bears team that has had an uncharacteristically average start to its conference slate. Following a split against the Gentleman’s C’s, Brown finds itself tied for fifth place in the Ivy League. The Bears have not finished in the conference’s top three since 2008.

The Bears will be met by a Crimson team that has the dubious distinction of being last in the Ivy League in points per game despite allowing the second-fewest points per game. Unlike the NBA’s All-Stars, Harvard can ill afford to leave its defense behind this weekend as all-Ivy forward Cedric Kuakumensah and junior guard Tavon Blackmon provide a formidable inside-out offensive punch for Brown. The duo is one of just two Ivy League duos that average over 12 points per game and shoot over 45 percent from the field.

Going to toe-to-toe with Blackmon will be freshman point guard Tommy McCarthy, who adopted more of an offensive role last weekend. The first-year starter averaged 12 points and 3.5 assists in the two games without his favorite target in the lineup.

The contest will also take on special meaning for another Harvard starter. Senior forward Agunwa Okolie will be squaring off with his younger brother, Obi, a freshman guard for the Bears. The younger Okolie is averaging 6.9 points per game in 11 contests. The brothers’ parents will be making the trip from Ajax, Ontario for Friday’s showdown.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity,” the elder Okolie said. “Not many people can say that they are playing against their sibling at a fellow Ivy League school, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to cherish the moment, especially with my brother. My family is going to be there as well so we are pretty excited about this.”

The weekend headliner will come on Saturday evening when the Bulldogs come sauntering into Cambridge. Yale is riding a 10-game win streak and leads the Ivy League in field goal percentage, rebounds per game, and opponents’ points per game.

The Elis have consistently played the role of Harvard’s little brother during the Crimson’s recent Ivy League dominance. Amaker’s team defeated the Bulldogs in a one-game playoff for a spot in the NCAA Tournament last season, and Yale has finished second or third in the Ivy four of the past five seasons.

But James Jones’ squad has dominated conference play thus far and appears poised to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1962 The Bulldogs are averaging an 18-point margin of victory, which would set an Ivy League record if it holds.

Yale is one of the most balanced teams Harvard has faced this season, with all five starters averaging at least seven points a contest, including reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Justin Sears and forward Brandon Sherrod, who made NCAA history earlier this season after hitting 30 consecutive field goals. Sherrod missed last season while singing with the Whiffenpoofs. Okolie, who has guarded the likes of Kansas guard Frank Mason III and Providence star Kris Dunn, will be tasked with neutralizing the versatile 6’8” Sears.

“They’re very challenging,” Okolie said. “We just have to make sure that everybody on our team on the floor is locked in on their own man, with help side defense and on the ball defense and make sure that our rotations are as quick as possible.”

While the Crimson has struggled overall, the team has saved some of its best performances for its top opponents. Harvard has led at halftime against three of the top five teams it has faced this season (according to kenpom.com) and fell to No. 6 Kansas by just six points on the road.

The Crimson will need more consistency from sharpshooters sophomore Corey Johnson and junior Corbin Miller if it wants to keep pace with the high-scoring Bulldog attack. The duo has shot just 25 percent from three in conference play, well below the 42 percent they shot during nonconference play.

“When things don’t go our way, we don’t turn away, we’re still going to face it head-on and continue to battle and grind it out and see what happens,” Edosomwan said. “At this point, you take care of what you can take care of and that’s going out there every weekend and battling, hopefully coming out with wins and the rest of it is out of our control.”

–Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at stephen.gleason@thecrimson.com.