Men's Basketball Preview: Bryant

The Harvard men’s basketball team (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) stumbled for the first time in seven games against Boston College Wednesday, falling to 3-4 away from home so far this season. The Crimson will take the road again in its final nonconference matchup of the season Tuesday night against Bryant (8-7, 5-1 Northeast). Below, The Back Page takes a look at the three main things to keep your eye on.

Stopping the Bleeding

The Crimson’s back-to-back losses on the road to Virginia and Arizona State earlier this season were a significant anomaly. Harvard has lost back-to-back games only four times since 2009-10, and in that period boasts a 127-39 record that is good for 13th-best in the country. In both of the most recent cases, both losses came on the road, where Harvard has played its biggest games of the Amaker era (Memphis, California, Virginia, etc.). When Harvard travels to the Chase Atlantic Center, look for the proud, veteran-laden Crimson to quash any thought of a second two-game slide early.

Jumpstarting the Offense

Against Bryant, a team Harvard trounced by 18 points last year in a game that was rarely that close, the Crimson will turn to its two best seniors—wing Wesley Saunders and co-captain Steve Moundou-Missi—to jumpstart a struggling offense that has put up four sub-20 point halves in its last five road games.

While the two combined for 48 points in last year’s contest against Bryant, they have yet to crack 40 combined points in any contest this year. After an unconscious first month of play, Saunders has faded, shooting just 36 percent and averaging more than three turnovers a game since the team broke for finals. Moundou-Missi’s difficulties have been a constant all season. He has scored in double digits in just three of 14 contests after doing so in 16 of 32 games last year. His shooting has taken a deeper dive to 39.3 percent—nearly 15 percent worse than last year.

Crashing The Other End

Lost in the four losses—just one less than last year’s team had all season—and inconsistent offense has been the growth of arguably the best defense Harvard has ever had. Before senior Kenyatta Smith went down with an injury against Boston College, the Crimson started at least four—and arguably five—plus defenders. Junior wing Agunwa Okolie has a limited offensive game, but has teamed up with Saunders to shut down opposing wings, funneling any traffic inside to Smith and Moundou-Missi—two of the best shot blockers in the country.

Ken Pomeroy rates Harvard’s defense as the sixth best in the country, which is 28 spots better than last year’s ranking. Over the last five years, no team with a defense that good has finished the season ranked outside Pomeroy’s top 50—and three of the five have earned a top-five seed.