Men's Basketball Preview: Penn

For the fourth time this year, the Harvard men’s basketball team (12-5, 2-1 Ivy) followed a loss with a win. Friday’s 75-72 triumph over Princeton may have been the Crimson’s biggest win since defeating UMass in November, and it left Harvard tied for second in the Ivy League heading into Saturday’s game against Penn (6-10 1-1). Below, The Back Page takes a look at the three main things to keep your eye on as Harvard goes to the Palestra. 

Guns Blazing

One of Friday’s most effective performances came from one of the Crimson’s most unlikely sources. Junior guard Agunwa Okolie put up a career-high eight shot attempts and a season-high 10 points. Okolie thrived as the four in ultra-small lineups, making harder cuts to the basket and finishing at the rim.

Other than getting denied by Stephen Cook at the rim on a dunk attempt (think Roy Hibbert’s 2012 rejection of Carmelo Anthony), Okolie looked as good as he had all season. The junior is not a floor spacer and does not have space to drive in two-big lineups, making him an awkward fit with Amaker’s preferred starting lineup. But the Ajax, Ontario native is a rangy defender who blanketed Princeton’s leading scorer, sophomore Spencer Weisz, into zero points Friday. He will be an X-factor for the Crimson moving forward if he can consistently produce on the offensive end.

Ivy Road Madness

Through 11 Ivy League contests, the road team is a sparkling 7-4. The two top teams in the conference, Harvard and Yale, have won all four of their contests away from home and eked out similarly close wins Friday on the road. After stretching its three-point halftime lead to nine early in the second period, Yale held its breath until the final buzzer of a 63-59 win over Columbia. The Bulldogs escaped by the skin of their teeth behind the sensational effort of junior Justin Sears, who had a season-high 28 points and a game-sealing block on Columbia guard Maodo Lo.

Harvard, which has won its last nine conference road matchups, will need to flash the ballhandling it did against Princeton (16 assists, 10 turnovers) and not the carelessness it had versus Dartmouth (24 assists, 35 turnovers over two games) in order to extend its streak and keep alive the oddest early season trend.

Allen’s Warm Seat

Despite a lackluster nonconference record, Penn could easily be looking at a 2-0 conference record if it had been able to hold on to a 15-point lead in its first game against Princeton. That loss led the Penn daily newspaper to place coach Jerome Allen on the hot seat. All Allen has done since is notch Penn’s first win over a Philly Big Five opponent (Saint Joseph’s) in 12 tries and take down Dartmouth, 58-51.

Although the school has a new athletic director, it is hasty to assume Allen is coaching for his job. Regardless, the school’s recent upswing has certainly generated enhanced optimism around a program unaccustomed to losing like it has recently.