Harvard Hoopsters Battle Second-Place Lions Today

The Harvard basketball team resumes its Ivy League schedule tonight against Columbia's powerful Lions in New York.

Columbia shocked the basketball world by dropping two straight Ivy League games this past weekend, to Princeton on Friday and to Pennsylvania on Saturday. Before that unfortunate foray, Columbia boasted a 15-1 record and was the odds-on choice to repeat as Ivy champion.

Jim McMillian, a 6'5" junior, is a bona fide All-American. He's averaging about 20 points a game, plays a tight defense when he wants to and rebounds when he has to. He relies heavily on his quickness and agility.

The other junior standout, Heyward Dotson, an All-Ivy selection last year at guard, has been playing a lot in the center on offense this year with 7 ft. center Dave Newmark departed to the Pros. Both Dotson and 6'3" captain Roger Walaszek score between 16 and 18 points a game.

Harvard Has Chance

Harvard may have a good chance against Columbia. The Lions are not over-poweringly tall. They crash the boards well, and their top three scorers shoot for high percentages--before the Princeton-Penn weekend, Dotson was sinking better than 60 per cent of his shots.

Harvard has been out-rebounded very rarely this season, even in games against much taller teams. Ernie Hardy and Chris Gallagher both pull down about 10 rebounds a game, and they get assistance on the offensive boards from Eric Gustavson and, in spots, from Paul Waickowski and Mike Janczewski.

Bob Harrison, the Crimson coach, is somewhat less optimistic now than he was previously. "We just aren't moving as well as we were earlier in the season," he said, "and we had better start or we'll be in real trouble. I expect Columbia to be on rebound and hungry," Harrison added.

Injuries are now a problem for Harvard, with Bob Kanuth, Dale Dover, and Ernie Hardy all experiencing difficulties.