Harvard To Play Tigers, Quakers

Road trips are a part of America’s fabric. Think of all the stories, through each generation, that take place on the road: “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “As I Lay Dying,” “Lolita,” “On the Road,” “The Road” (to name just a few classics). The open road has always been an outlet for America’s wanderlust, unfolding before its people as a frontier of discovery and imagination.

Of course, an hour into any trip, the road begins to lose its mystique.

When I was little, road trips meant being crammed in the back of a minivan with the other four Walsh children. Idleness eventually gave way to tickle fights, tickling escalated into violence, and violence led to Mom or Dad yelling.

“KNOCK IT OFF. I’LL PULL THIS DAMN CAR OVER.”

A mandatory ceasefire would force us to sit in tense silence until, invariably, my little sister would say she wasn’t feeling well. We’d watch her closely, using all of our psychic energy to ward off her mounting nausea, but my sister’s motion sickness was, and would remain, undefeated against our telekinesis.

“I’M GONNA THROW UP!”

“GET HER THE BUCKET!” (We always had a durable puke pail handy).

As if the splash and slop of her cascading vomit weren’t bad enough, the barfy miasma, amplified by the confines of our Honda prison, left the rest of us retching for the rest of the ride.

So road trips are not necessarily the stuff of fairy tales. But although road woes might be common, they can be altogether avoided if the travelers are committed to enjoying each moment. Their success has nothing to do with the destination and everything to do with the company. Good times, in other words, are a function not of the road trip but of the road trippers.

Harvard men’s basketball travels to face the Killer P’s this weekend on its toughest road trip of the season. Princeton and Philadelphia have always been nightmarish destinations for the Crimson. But Harvard, irrespective of the Quakers and Tigers, has the power to determine this weekend’s success through its own collective play and mindset. If Harvard digs deep and executes, it will take the reins of the Ivy League race.

On to the picks.

HARVARD (15-3, 4-0 Ivy) at PRINCETON (14-4, 2-0 Ivy)

Given The Crimson’s preview of this weekend’s games, I won’t dwell too long here. Princeton is the slight favorite as it’s home at Jadwin Gymnasium, where the Crimson has not won since 1989. I see a close contest, decided by one or two possessions, but Harvard eking out a signature Ivy win.

Pick: Harvard 67, Princeton 64

CORNELL (4-14, 0-4 Ivy) at YALE (9-9, 2-2 Ivy)

Both Cornell and Yale went winless last weekend, but their stories could not have been more different. The Big Red skunked up Hanover, N.H., on Friday, scoring only 14 points in the first half. The next night Cornell was trounced at Lavietes, 78-57. Not much to build on there.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were competitive in an eight-point loss to Penn , even though they got almost nothing (just 19 points) outside of forward Greg Mangano and guard Porter Braswell. And on Saturday, Yale put a legitimate scare into the Tigers with a late 15-4 run but came up just short, 67-63.

The Bulldogs are on the upswing, and the Big Red is looking like the Ivy doormat. Take Yale.

Pick: Yale 68, Cornell 60

DARTMOUTH (5-13, 1-3 Ivy) at PENN (8-8, 2-0 Ivy)

Back in high school, my school’s college counselors classified the odds of getting into different colleges as “Likely,” “Maybe,” “Reach,” and “Double Reach.” Last week, Penn had a pair of “Maybe” matchups in Yale and Brown and took both down, thanks in large part to co-Ivy Player of the Week Jack Eggleston.

The forward went for 13 points and eight rebounds in the Quakers’ win over the Bulldogs, and then redoubled his efforts to the tune of 25 points and 12 rebounds in a two-point, overtime, come-from-behind victory against Brown.

Dartmouth had its own success last weekend. The Big Green tagged Cornell in their game of “Who’s the Worst Ivy Team?” You’re “It” Cornell.

Penn should win fairly easily.

Pick: Penn 65, Dartmouth 55

COLUMBIA (12-6, 3-1 Ivy) at BROWN (7-11, 0-4 Ivy)

Brown is sitting beside the Big Red in the cellar of the Ivy League right now, but the Bears have also had the toughest road so far. Saturday’s heartbreaking loss at the Palestra came without Brown’s leading scorer, Peter Sullivan, who suffered a shoulder injury the night before. The Bears are certainly capable of rallying and notching a win tonight.

But I liked what I saw out of Columbia last weekend. Guards Noruwa Agho and Brian Barbour might be the most deadly backcourt duo in the conference, as each player is totally capable of carrying an offense (though perhaps at the cost of freezing out their teammates). Between Mark Cisco and Asenso Ampim, the Lions also have some presence down low. They are the smart choice tonight.

Pick: Columbia 72, Brown 68

DARTMOUTH at PRINCETON

Princeton will win in a landslide. Lock of the week. Book it.

Pick: Princeton 72, Dartmouth 58

COLUMBIA at YALE

Assuming they win tonight, the Bulldogs will be sitting at 3-2. Either Harvard or Princeton will be undefeated heading into tomorrow and have a good chance at sweeping the weekend. This means that if Yale wants to stay in the race, it must beat the Lions.

Columbia, too, needs at least a split this weekend. Between the Bears and the Bulldogs, it has a good shot, but the Lions are still an unproven squad. Their three league wins are against the two worst Ivies. Because this game will likely mean more to Yale and because the Elis are on their home court, I’ll take the Bulldogs.

Pick: Yale 67, Columbia 65

CORNELL at BROWN

The good news is that one team will get its first league win. The bad news is that this game is irrelevant. Only degenerate gamblers, players’ families, and delusional Cornell fans will follow this game. I think Brown wins the pillow fight.

Pick: Brown 70, Cornell 65

HARVARD at PENN

Tomorrow will be the first time I visit the Palestra, and I could not be more excited. I feel like a kid visiting Fenway. I’m definitely going to change my prof pic to a glamour shot with the Palestra’s plaque: “To win the game is great. To play the game is greater. But to love the game is the greatest of all.”

Harvard will settle for great if that means beating Penn. I’ll take the road trippers.

Pick: Harvard 72, Penn 66

PENN at PRINCETON

In another quirk in an already quirky league schedule, the Tigers and the Quakers face off on Tuesday night. These two traditional rivals have not finished in the top half of the league together since 2006. With both teams talented and off to a good start, this game is a renewal of sorts to the days when the Killer Ps ruled the league. I see a competitive game, but Princeton holding serve on its home court.

Pick: Princeton 68, Penn 60

RECORD LAST WEEK: 6-2 (To date: 6-2)

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.