Cagers Challenge Jinx, Head South for Weekend

Princeton men's basketball Coach Pete Carril has an interesting outlook on life: "How the hell can you be happy in this world?"

It seems that Carril becomes very sad when the contemplates the prospects of his 4-7 Tigers, who open their Ivy League season against Harvard (8-1 overall, 1-1 Ivy) tonight at Princeton's Jadwin-Gym (WHRB 95,3 FM, 7:20 p.m.).

The funny thing is that in thepast, Harvard's been the team to get teary-eyed on its annual trek to Princeton and Penn. The Crimson has never swept the Tigers and Quakers on the road, and over the past 15 years the Crimson's away record against the two is 1-29.

The "t" in that pathetic record came last winter at Princeton, where Harvard pulled off a stunning 55 50 victory. Before then, the Crimson cagets hadn't beaten the Tigers at Jadwin since 1959.

"It used to be that they'd always win the close ones because they were Princeton." says a hungry senior Co Captain Bob Ferry.

No more Old Nassau had fallen on hard times--a true "rebuilding year," according to the chronically complaining Carril.

Led by center Howard Levy and guard John Smyth, Princeton is probably better than its record indicates, but not by far.

Penn, on the other hand, is much better than its abysmal 1-7 slate. The Red and Blue have played the 15th hardest schedule in the nation, says Penn Coach Craig Littlepage, who terms it a "growing experience that will pay dividends."

Harvard hopes to be another growing experience for the Quakers. The Crimson would rather pay a debt than dividends--last year, Penn nipped Harvard in both games of their home-and-home series, taking a pair of three-point victories that were decided largely by officials' controversial calls.

Both teams are ready to go at it again tomorrow at 7 p.m. "My only comment on the game," Littlepage says of his squad's Ivy opener, "is that we're anxious.

The Quakers, despite their unimpressive record, are an awfully good team. Perry Bromwell and Karl Racine form one of the finest Ivy League backcourts ever, and with center Bruce Leftkowitz setting up in the paint, the team will be through one to handle.

"Penn has the best athletes in the league by far," according to McLaughlin.

Ivy League Hogs

But Harvard has the potential to beat both of the perennial Ivy powerhouses it faces in the next 48 hours.

Although Penn and Princeton have hogged the last 15 Ancient Eight titles, this year Harvard has the power to dominate anybody-if the squad can overcome the difficulties that plagued it last weekend against Dartmouth.

The Crimson tripped over the visiting Big Green (now 2-8) by playing horrendous defense and thoroughly uninspired offense. To beat the big two on road. Harvard will have to tighten up its D considerably, and the key players will have to come through when it counts.

Senior Co-Captain Joe Carrabino is, of couse, the big guy. Princeton's only hope of winning-tonight, according to Carril, is to "hope that Carrabino doesn't get out of the barn -whatever that means.

Hot-shooting Ferry will also need to contribute significantly to the Crimson cause, as will ballhandler Pat Smith.

But perhaps the most overlooked and pivotal element to Harvard victory this weekend is forward Arne Duncan. "Arne does all the dirty work," says Carril, "and he can do everything."

Harvard will need everything, for the squad has had a tough week to say the least. Since Saturday's disappointing loss, the entire Crimson squad has had difficulty practicing together because of exam pressure.

And to heap bad luck on top of that, the airline on which the team had return reservations went out of business.

Things got so bad that when McLaughlin heard that Penn guard Anthony Arnolic--who almost single-handedly beat Harvard last year will miss Saturday's encounter because of a thing injury, the coach remarked. That's the first good news I've heard all week."

McLaughlin, however, remains firm-jawed. "We can't feel sorry for our-selves, because they're not feeling sorry for us," he says Penn and Princeton are elated with what happened last weekend."

The past week's adversity has given Harvard the incentive to prose itself against the class of the league. "When you stumble, you have to pick yourself right up," McLaughlin says. "I think we're going down there more determined than ever."

Carrabino agrees. "We're going down there really confident," he says, because he know, "they're definitely going to be really psyched."

This weekend, the Crimson will be the force that decides whether its hosts are psyched or psyched out.

And to a large extent. Harvard will also eventually decide for itself whether or not it will win the Ivy League championship, a feat it has never achieved since league play began in 1902.

"Nobody said the league champion was going to be 14-0," McLaughlin says. Good thing, too, because losing to Dartmouth certainly didn't help the Crimson's Ivy chances. And defeats at the hands of Penn and Princeton would cripple Harvard in the league race.

The cagers wouldn't be dead, though last season, Princeton opened up with losses to Harvard and Dartmouth, yet went on to cop its 18th Ivy crown.

One big reason for Princeton's consistent dominance of the Ivy League is Jadwin Gym's mystique--and the Quakers rely just as heavily on the Palestra to give visiting teams the chills.

Harvard has never overcome the Jadwin and Palestra jinxes in a single season, but they've never has such a good shot. Tonight and tomorrow, in the cradle of Ivy League basketball, the Crimson hopes to make history.