The Harvard men's basketball team cracked the top 25 in two major polls for the first time in program history Monday. It takes on No. 9 UConn Thursday evening.
The Harvard men's basketball team continues to make history.
In Monday's ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, the Crimson was ranked No. 24—the first ranking in a major poll in program history. Harvard amassed 95 points, one shy of a three-way tie with Illinois and Gonzaga for 22nd place. The Crimson is one of five schools on the list with an unblemished 8-0 record and one of 11 teams still undefeated.
The Associated Press' Top 25 also ranked Harvard in the top 25, placing it at the bottom of the list with 191 points, two points off No. 24 Illinois.
One week ago, the Crimson landed in what was essentially the No. 27 position, 17 points shy of No. 25. But wins this week against Vermont and Seattle—coupled with losses by California, St. Louis, Vanderbilt, and UNLV—propelled undefeated Harvard into the top 25.
This is the first time an Ivy League school is featured on a major poll since Cornell placed 22nd on the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll in 2010. The last Ancient Eight team to be ranked in the AP poll was the 1997-1998 No. 8 Princeton Tigers squad.
Senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz, left, sacks Cornell QB Jeff Mathews in the Crimson's win over the Big Red on Oct. 9. Both players were deemed worthy of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, an accolade for the Ivy League's most valuable player, on Monday.
The good news just keeps on coming for Harvard senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz.
In a ceremony held Monday at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, Ortiz and Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews earned the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, the equivalent of the Most Valuable Player award in the Ivy League.
This year marks the first time that the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year shared the award.
The Ivy League named four finalists—two from both the offensive and defensive sides—for the cup. Ortiz beat out Penn senior linebacker Erik Rask, while Mathews topped Dartmouth senior tailback Nick Schwieger.
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Late in the fourth quarter, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 found Stevie Johnson twice—once in the middle of the field for a gain of 22, and a second time on a quick in route in the end zone—to bring Buffalo within six.
But that’s as close as the Bills would get. After orchestrating the touchdown drive on the penultimate possession, Fitzpatrick was unable to bring the Bills all the way back. The 23-17 home loss at the hands of the Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon extends the Bills’ current losing streak to five games.
Despite the defeat, Fitzpatrick completed 29 of 46 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown in the effort. He found 10 different receivers on the day.
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Junior point guard Brandyn Curry and the men's basketball team look to continue their winning ways in the month of December
After the Crimson claimed victory this past weekend in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and came just shy of earning an Associated Press Top 25 ranking earlier this week, interest in the team is at an all-time high.
Harvard’s big wins in the tournament have raised expectations for the quickly maturing team. Its recent success has raised questions about whether the Crimson (7-0) will be able to maintain this level of success the rest of the way, but it will certainy be fun to watch.
After Harvard took down Vermont on the road Thursday night, Crimson fans will have ample opportunity to cheer the team on throughout the rest of the month.
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Sophomore Gary Power and the Harvard men's squash team are undefeated and sitting at No.5 in the nation
Just a few weeks into the winter sports season, three teams are undefeated and two are nationally ranked. If this is a taste of what is to come, we’ve got an exciting winter ahead of us.
5. Women’s Ice Hockey
The Crimson is 6-4 and ended a three game losing streak by defeating Dartmouth, 2-1, yesterday. The team is 6-2 in conference play and will battle Providence on Dec. 8.
4. Pool Powerhouses
The women’s swimming and diving team dominated Dartmouth and Cornell, winning 12 of 16 matches against the (not so) Big Green and (even less so) Big Red in its first action of the year. The men’s team beat the same two schools in dual meet action and recently took fifth place at the prestigious Nike Cup hosted by UNC.
3. Women’s Fencing
At the Garret Open, hosted by Penn State, the women’s fencing team won two gold medals and one bronze. The medals came in the foil, epee, and saber events, which all sound equally scary.
2. Men’s Basketball
Crimson men’s basketball players were not able to return home for the Thanksgiving break, but don’t pity them. Instead, the team traveled to the Bahamas and won the Battle 4 Atlantis. The team beat No. 20 Florida State and avoided UConn, who lost on the opposite side of the bracket. Harvard will play the No. 8 Huskies on Dec. 8 in what could potentially slide the Crimson into the national top 25 rankings.
1. Squashopolies
I’m not exactly sure how many colleges have squash teams, but national top five rankings for both the (No. 5) men and (No. 1) women are impressive in my book. The teams are a combined 7-0 and have outscored opponents 58-5. You can’t perform much better than that.
