Slumping Crimson Basketball Team Meets Penn and Princeton in IAB This Weekend

The Crimson basketball team plays Penn and Princeton in the IAB this weekend--and a victory over either Ivy powerhouse would almost make a success out of this disappointing season.

Last week Harvard met the same two teams out of town, and the results were disastrous. Princeton whipped the Crimson on Friday, 77 to 56; Penn scored an easy 82-64 victory the next night, and extended Harvard's losing streak to four games.

Upset Tonight?

Despite last week's results, it is not myopic or insane to suggest that the Crimson has a good chance of springing an upset either tonight against the Quakers or tomorrow against Princeton. In the first place, the "home court advantage" is more than a myth; it is an asset worth perhaps as much as ten points.

And besides, as any chauvinistic Crimson basketball fan could tell you, Harvard is "overdue." At the race track there are always guys who have been losing money consistently for 40 years, but who keep coming back for more because they're "overdue" for a hot streak.

In the case of the Crimson quintet, such a statement is more than a rationalization. With excellent shooters like Keith Sedlacek, Merle McClung, and Gene Dressler on the Harvard team, it seems about time for them to all get hot on the same night.

Penn currently ranks third in the Ivy League with a 7-2 record and is 12-8 overall. The backbone of the Quaker offense is their brilliant one-two punch of forward Stan Pawlak and guard Jeff Neuman.

Second Leading Scorer

Pawlak displaced Sedlacek as the Ivy League's second leading scorer last Saturday. He is averaging 21.2 points a game, and has sunk 50.4 per cent of his field goal attempts this year. Neuman, who has a 14.9 point average, is the slickest ball handler in the League and one of the country's best collegiate foul shooters.

The rest of the Penn lineup consists of 6-8 center John Hellings, 6-4 forward Fred Greene, and 6-2 guard Chuck Fitsgerald.

Harvard probably has a better chance of upsetting Princeton tomorrow than it does of beating Penn tonight. Almost everyone on the squad can remember the Crimson's 88-82 upset victory last season, and Harvard has been pointed toward this game all year.