Men's Hoops Looks to Play Spoiler Against First-Place Yale

On the last weekend of the 2014-2015 season, it was Dartmouth who stunned the Yale men’s basketball team, forcing a one-game playoff that would determine the Ivy League’s representative in the NCAA tournament. While Yale had controlled its destiny, the Bulldogs’ loss to the Big Green provided Harvard a window that eventually launched the Crimson back into the madness of March.

This year, however, the tables have turned. While Harvard is long out of contention for the Ancient Eight title, it has a chance to make the path to the Big Dance a bit more difficult for the Bulldogs, who currently sit in first place in the Ivy standings, a half-game above Princeton.

But despite the opportunity to play spoiler against their rivals, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker and his players are more focused on proving to their competitors that they are not a team to be overlooked.

“I think even though we’re not still in contention to win the league, we’re still trying to be—like coach always says—a championship team,” freshman point guard Tommy McCarthy said. “We really want to send the seniors out the right way and also try to build for the next four years. [We can use these games] as a stepping stone to keep getting better.”

This weekend, Harvard (11-15, 3-7 Ivy League) hits the road to face Yale (18-6, 9-1) on Friday night, then Brown (7-17, 2-8) less than 24 hours later. The Crimson split contests with the two travel partners earlier this year, besting the Bears, 79-73, before falling to the Bulldogs, 67-55.

The two opponents represent opposite ends of the spectrum, with Yale currently sitting atop the league and Brown tied for last with Cornell. Despite the disparities in records, both teams find their strengths in similar places—at the point guard and forward/center positions. Therefore, much of Harvard’s success this weekend will likely rely on McCarthy and junior forward Zena Edosomwan.

At point guard, McCarthy will face off against Yale sophomore Makai Mason on Friday night and Brown junior Tavon Blackmon on Saturday.

While McCarthy has stepped up his game in recent weeks, including breaking his career-high single-game point total twice last weekend, Mason has been one of the Bulldogs’ most consistent players all year, averaging 15.7 points per game.

“They really put us on our heels a little bit with how quickly they got the ball up and down the floor and attacking in transition,” Amaker said. “Mason, he’s really the catalyst for that. I think he has grown and certainly has developed into one of the better guards, if not players, in our league.”

Meanwhile, Blackmon had a game-high 19 points his last time out against the Crimson, including five points in the final 49 seconds that kept Brown in contention by forcing Harvard to convert free throws, which it has struggled with all year.

In the paint, Edosomwan will face off against Yale senior Justin Sears and Brown senior Cedric Kuakumensah. Edosomwan was just returning from injury the last time he faced these two teams, and his playing time was especially limited against Brown.

Kuakumensah also saw limited playing time due to foul trouble, prompting Amaker to sit Edosomwan as Brown went with a much smaller lineup that required more speed than Edosomwan could contribute.

“We’ll adjust, but we’re very hopeful that we can use Zena quite a lot,” Amaker said. “We’re very hopeful that one, he’s not in foul trouble, and two, that we don’t need to adjust to them by trying to match with them because we’re not playing well. We’re hopeful that we can play our style and play our people and do what we’re capable of doing and then see where it goes.”

While the Crimson was able to limit Kuakumensah earlier this month, Sears was another story. The reigning Ivy Player of the Year had 21 points, seeming to score with ease in the paint. With a style of play that Edosomwan referred to as “unorthodox,” Sears sparked a Bulldog breakout in the first half. In the final 8:04 of the first frame, the senior had 10 points that sent Yale to the locker room with an 11-point lead.

Though Harvard may be out of contention for a title, the team will look to give its seniors one last hurrah in their final road trip.

“Obviously with Yale, it’s a big game—we want to send them off with a win against those guys,” McCarthy said. “These guys are some of the best teammates I’ve ever had—Gunz [Okolie], Evan [Cummins], Pat [Steeves]—so we definitely want to send them off the right way.”

—Staff writer Theresa C. Hebert can be reached at theresa.hebert@thecrimson.com.