Killer Weekend Pair Looms for Crimson

Two second-half collapses led to two home Ivy losses for the Harvard men’s basketball team last weekend, hurting any chances that the Crimson had of taking momentum into this weekend’s visits to Penn and Princeton.

But as it turns out, Harvard (2-15, 1-3 Ivy) wasn’t the only team set reeling by last week’s outcomes.

The Quakers (7-8, 0-2) entered last weekend as the favorite to take the Ivy title. After two tough road losses to Yale and Brown—where Penn led the Bears by four with just three seconds remaining in regulation—the Quakers fell from frontrunner to cellar-dweller.

“I think it’s to the point now where there is no margin of error,” said Penn coach Fran Dunphy. “We’re in the soup and we need to find a way out.”

The Quakers have now dropped four of their last five games and three of the last four on the road.

Part of the blame for the recent slide has been pointed at Penn’s unwillingness to go to its bench in the second half of close ballgames.

“Every game presents a different challenge,” Dunphy said. “When the pressure gets turned up, you have a tendency to use your bench less. When somebody comes in and makes good plays you want to leave them in…but [late in games] you always want to put your best team out there.”

“Maybe some guys do get tired,” Dunphy added. “But those are 20, 21-year-old guys out there, and they’re pretty healthy.”

A brief respite should come in the form of visits from Harvard and Dartmouth tonight and tomorrow night, respectively. But a battle with Princeton (9-6, 2-0) looms on the horizon, as the Quakers will travel to Jadwin Gym to take on the Tigers next Tuesday night. With the Crimson and the Big Green each ranking in the bottom 15 of Division I according to the RPI, this could be the perfect setup for a Quaker letdown on the eve of its matchup with Princeton.

At 0-2 in the Ivies, however, Penn understands that every Ivy game is crucial and no team can be overlooked.

“We’re playing Division I college basketball and anybody can beat anybody on a given night,” Dunphy said.

If the Crimson were looking to take advantage of the Quakers while they were down, history is not on its side. Harvard has not beaten Penn on the road during coach Frank Sullivan’s tenure. It has been 13 years since the Crimson beat the Quakers at the Palestra.

Harvard also comes into tonight’s contest with just one road victory on the season—a 58-53 win over San Jose St. on Dec. 30.

But the outlook is not necessarily bleak for the Crimson.

In last weekend’s two double-digit defeats, Harvard held 14-point leads before collapsing in the second half of both games. Coming off a 16-day exam break, the Crimson’s conditioning was not at the level it needed to be to sustain a full forty-minute attack.

Harvard must also work diligently to avoid foul trouble. The two first-half spurts by Cornell and Columbia last weekend were directly timed with sophomore point guard Michael Beal taking a seat with two fouls late in the half. Harvard will need to avoid foul trouble if it wants to be able to stay with Penn and Princeton for an entire game.

Against the Tigers (9-6, 2-0) tomorrow night, keeping sophomore forward Matt Stehle and junior center Graham Beatty on the floor and away from foul problems will be crucial in stopping Princeton center Judson Wallace. Wallace leads the Tigers in scoring (14 points per game) and rebounding (six rebounds per game.)

While Wallace is an integral part of the Princeton attack, the Tiger offense is far too balanced to say that he is the focus. Harvard will also have to contend with Princeton guards Ed Persia, Will Venable and Scott Greenman.

The three guards contribute ten, eight and seven points per game respectively, while forward Andre Logan pitches in with an average of eight points per game.

The Tigers are also a challenging team at the defensive end of the floor.

Princeton has not allowed an opponent to score more than 60 points in seven straight games—a streak which started following a 69-51 loss at No. 1 Duke on Dec. 17.

Despite the incredible challenges facing the squad, Harvard remains upbeat and optimistic heading into this daunting road trip.

“[Penn and Princeton] are going to be tough road games,” Norman said. “But I’m confident that we can go in there and play well.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.