Harvard Crimson
Ivy League (22-7, 11-3)
This has not been the season most expected from Harvard. They lost all three of their non-conference games against big conference opponents, losing at Virginia 76-27, at Arizona State 56-46 and at Boston College 64-57 in overtime. Those losses left the Crimson off of the national radar. And after a couple surprising conference losses, this team did not even dominate the Ivy League. But in the end, they did earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and they still have the potential to be dangerous.
Big Wins: 11/29 Massachusetts (75-73), 12/3 Northeastern (60-46), 2/7 at Yale (52-50)
Bad Losses: 11/16 vs Holy Cross (57-58), 1/24 Dartmouth (61-70), 2/27 at Cornell (49-57)
Coach: Tommy Amaker
Why They Can Surprise:
This team has just about everything they need to pull off an upset. Wesley Saunders is a star and averages an impressive 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is a great slasher and has enough range on his shot to be dangerous. Siyani Chambers is the smart point guard who keeps the offense running. Chambers can get up and down the floor in a hurry, yet rarely makes a mistake while doing so. In the frontcourt, Steve Moundou-Missi is the best interior scorer and rebounder. He, along with Kenyatta Smith, will also block quite a few shots.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The piece of the puzzle Harvard has not been able to replace this season is their outside shooting. Corbin Miller can knock down some threes and Saunders is at least a threat to do so, but that is about it. Opposing defenses can collapse into the lane and that makes life difficult for Chambers in the halfcourt. His shot has not improved quite enough to make him dangerous from outside and Miller and Saunders are not getting too many clean looks from outside. That has led to an occasional stagnant offense and, while the defense will do a solid job, they will not be able to stop a good team in the tournament on a consistent basis.
Probable Starters:
Siyani Chambers, Junior, Guard, 9.8 ppg, 4.3 apg
Wesley Saunders, Senior, Guard, 16.3 ppg, 4.2 apg, 6.1 rpg
Aqunwa Okolie, Junior, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.0 apg
Steve Moundou-Missi, Senior, Forward, 9.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Zena Edosomwan, Sophomore, Center, 4.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Corbin Miller, Sophomore, Guard, 8.3 ppg
Kenyatta Smith, Senior, Center, 4.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Jonah Travis, Senior, Forward, 6.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 64.6 (244th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.5 (12, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.5 (174, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.9 (49, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.9 (303, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.3 (127, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.9 (77, 2)
Rebound Margin: 4.1 (54, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.0 (145, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.0 (109, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Cincinnati
2014 NCAA Third Round loss to Michigan State
2013 NCAA Second Round win over New Mexico
2013 NCAA Third Round loss to Arizona
2012 NCAA Second Round loss to Vanderbilt
2011 NIT First Round loss to Oklahoma State
2010 CIT First Round loss to Appalachian State
*all team stats through 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
