Harvard Will Clinch Ivy League With A Win Over Yale Friday

By Gregory Hunt

With identical 10-2 records in Ivy League play, the Harvard Crimson and Yale Bulldogs will be fighting for the men's basketball league title when Yale comes to Lavietes Pavilion to face Harvard Friday night. The game is sold out. Both teams will have one more league game following Friday's showdown, but a Harvard win will give the Crimson a series sweep over the Bulldogs, thereby clinching the championship for Harvard.

Harvard's previous victory over Yale was a 52-50 thriller at Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Connecticut February 7. After falling behind by as many as 10 points in the second half, Yale rallied to come within four points with 14 seconds remaining, but Harvard senior guard Wesley Saunders hit three of four free throw attempts in the remaining seconds to hold Yale at bay. Saunders was the game's leading scorer with 16 points. Junior guard Siyani Chambers had eight points, six assists and two steals while senior forward Steve Moundou-Missi added eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Yale came into that game as the leading rebounding team in the Ivy League, but Harvard out-rebounded the Bulldogs 42-32. The senior class for Harvard finished their careers 4-0 at New Haven, becoming the first class in Harvard men's basketball history to go undefeated on the road against Yale.

The Bulldogs enter Friday's game having won five of their last six games. The only loss during this stretch was a 56-50 setback at home against Columbia February 21. Yale had an off-night shooting, hitting only 36.5 percent from the floor (19-for-52) and 43.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-16). Senior guard Javier Duren led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points. Yale's bench contributed only six points that evening. Columbia is currently tied for 4th place in the Ivy League with a 5-7 record.

Yale's most-recent contest was a 55-50 comeback win at home against Penn February 28. The Bulldogs trailed for most of the game until Duren tied the score at 43 with a three-point shot with five minutes remaining. Penn re-took the lead by scoring the next four points, but then Yale went on an 11-0 run and never trailed again. Duren led the team in scoring with 19 points, while junior forward Justin Sears added nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Penn is currently 8th place in the Ivy League with a 2-9 record.

Following Friday's game, Harvard will close out the season Saturday night at Lavietes Pavilion against Brown. That game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Brown is currently 7th place in the Ivy League with a 4-8 record. The Bulldogs will also play Saturday night when they face Dartmouth at Leede Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth is currently tied for 4th place in the Ivy league with a 5-7 record.

If Harvard clinches the league championship, it will become the first Ivy League school to make four consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament since Princeton did so from 1989-92. The league record is six consecutive appearances, done by Penn from 1970-75.

Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.