Complete Game Notes (PDF)
The Particulars
The Harvard men's basketball team hits the road to visit Cornell and Columbia this weekend.
Harvard, which stands at 12-6 overall and 4-0 in conference play, is one of two remaining undefeated Ivy League teams (Princeton, 3-0). Cornell owns a 2-2 mark in the Ancient Eight and is 10-11 overall, while Columbia is 1-3 and 9-9.
Game Coverage
Live video for Friday's game will be available at CornellBigRed.com. Zack Guzman and Ben Zauzmer will be the announcers on GoCrimson.com.
Live statistics will also be available at GoCrimson.com.
Series History Against Cornell
The Big Red holds a 90-72 advantage in the all-time series against Harvard since the teams first met in 1901-02. Harvard has taken the four meetings between the schools after Cornell won five of the previous six encounters. In the final matchup last season, the Crimson emerged with a 67-63 victory in Ithaca, N.Y., as Harvard clinched a share of its second straight Ivy League crown.
Harvard's Last Time Out
The Crimson improved to 4-0 in conference play by holding off Brown, 89-82, in double overtime at Lavietes Pavilion Feb. 2. After leading by as many as 22 in the second half, Harvard outscored the Bears, 11-4, in the second overtime to earn the win. Wesley Saunders paced Harvard with 18 points, while Siyani Chambers recorded his second double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. Christian Webster (16 points) and Laurent Rivard (16 points) each knocked down four 3-pointers. The Crimson shot 55.6 percent from the field as a team and scored 40 points in the paint.
Cornell's Last Time Out
Errick Peck went a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, and was 3-of-3 from the foul line, finishing with 20 points as Cornell went on the road and won at Penn, 71-69, Feb. 2. Johnathan Gray added 11 points, and the Big Red scored 21 points off turnovers to come back from a 10-point deficit in the second half.
Around the Ivy League
In other Ancient Eight contests this weekend, Yale visits Penn, Princeton hosts Brown and Dartmouth travels to Columbia Friday. On Saturday, Cornell welcomes Dartmouth, Yale heads to Princeton and Penn plays host to Brown.
Harvard Tops Over Last Four Seasons
Over the last four seasons, Harvard owns the best conference record in the Ivy League.
Harvard - 38-8 (.826)
Princeton - 36-9 (.800)
Cornell - 28-18 (.609)
Penn - 24-21 (.533)
Yale - 24-22 (.522)
Columbia - 16-30 (.348)
Brown - 13-33 (.283)
Dartmouth - 4-42 (.087)
Double-Overtime Thriller
Harvard topped Brown, 89-82, in double overtime at Lavietes Pavilion Feb. 2. Prior to that, the Crimson last played a double-overtime game at Penn, winning, 83-82, Feb. 5, 2011. Harvard's last double-overtime game at home was an 87-85 triple-overtime victory against William & Mary Nov. 15, 2009, when Jeremy Lin '10 won the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Chambers Earning Accolades
Freshman Siyani Chambers was named a nominee for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top men's college basketball point guard each season. Chambers has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week five times this season (Dec. 3, Dec. 17, Jan. 7, Jan. 14, Jan. 28). The Ivy League record for most rookie awards in a season for an individual is eight, held by Penn's Michael Jordan in 1996-97 and Cornell's Adam Gore in 2005-06.
Chambers ranks second on the Crimson with 13.3 points per contest and paces the Ivy League with 6.1 assists per game.
On Pace For History
Laurent Rivard has buried 53 3-pointers this year and is on pace to break Harvard's single-season record for treys. Kevin Rogus '05 connected on 74 triples during the 2003-04 campaign, and Rivard is on pace to make 82 3-pointers this season.
If Rivard makes 40 more 3-pointers this year, he will also tie the program record for career treys, held by Dan Clemente '01 (220). Rivard currently has 180 career triples, ranking him fourth in program history.
Crimson in Overtime
With Harvard's dramatic 89-82 win in double overtime against Brown Feb. 2, the Crimson has won its last six games that have gone past regulation. The Crimson held off William & Mary, 87-85, in three overtimes with Jeremy Lin's 3-point buzzer beater Nov. 15, 2009, downed Yale, 82-79, Feb. 12, 2010, won at Penn, 83-82, Feb. 5, 2011 and picked up a win at Columbia, 77-70, March 2, 2012. The Crimson also downed Dartmouth, 82-77, in overtime earlier this season on Jan. 26.
Hot Hands
The Crimson stands fifth in the nation in team 3-point shooting percentage (.415) and is tied for 13th in team field-goal shooting percentage (.478). Harvard shot a season-best 62.8 percent from the floor as a team in the 75-65 victory at Dartmouth Jan. 12.
Season Honors
Siyani Chambers
Bob Cousy Award Nominee
Ivy League Rookie of the Week (Dec. 3, Dec. 17, Jan. 7, Jan. 14, Jan. 28)
Wesley Saunders
Ivy League Player of the Week (Dec. 3, Dec. 10, Jan. 14. Feb. 4)
Christian Webster
Ivy League Player of the Week (Jan. 28)
Double-Double Show
Jonah Travis had 16 points and 12 rebounds against Fordham Dec. 1, giving Harvard its first double-double of the season. Siyani Chambers followed with 14 points and 10 assists for another double-double for the Crimson Jan. 5. Chambers had his second double-double against Brown Feb. 2, scoring 17 points and adding 10 assists.
Harvard Against The Ivy League
Over the past three seasons, the Crimson boasts a 28-5 mark (.848) against Ivy League opponents. Harvard is 12-3 (.800) against Ancient Eight opponents on the road, 16-1 at home (.941) and 0-1 in neutral-site contests.
Assist Mark
Rookie point guard Siyani Chambers has dished out 110 assists this season, or 6.1 points per contest. The Harvard record for assists in a season by a freshman is 178, set by Glenn Fine '79 in 1975-76. Chambers is on pace for 171 helpers this year.
Stepping Up In Conference Play
In four Ivy League games, Wesley Saunders is scoring 18.0 points, grabbing 4.8 rebounds and handing out 7.0 assists per contest, while Siyani Chambers is averaging 17.8 points per game. Steve Moundou-Missi is shooting 72.7 percent from the floor (16-of-22) in Ivy League contests.
Touch From Downtown
Siyani Chambers made all five of his 3-point attempts at St. Mary's Dec. 31 and was 3-of-3 from long range at Dartmouth Jan. 12. Chambers is shooting 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from beyond the arc in his rookie campaign, ranking fourth in the Ivy League.
Laurent Rivard is making 42.7 percent of his shots from long distance (53-of-124), ranking sixth in the conference. Rivard also paces the league with 2.9 3-pointers made per game.
All-Around Player
Wesley Saunders ranks in the top 10 in the Ivy League in six statistical categories. Saunders is first in scoring (16.3 ppg), first in steals (2.1 spg), third in field-goal percentage (.554), fourth in minutes played (37.1 per game), fifth in assists (4.1 apg), and eighth in free-throw percentage (.736).
Ivy's Top Shooter
Jonah Travis is making 61.8 percent of field-goal attempts (63-of-102), the best mark in the Ivy League.
Winning Tradition
Last year's senior class of Oliver McNally '12, Andrew Van Nest '12 and Keith Wright '12 won 84 games (84-34, .712) during their careers, a program record. Current senior Christian Webster has helped Harvard win 82 games throughout his career (82-26, .759).
Run At The Charity Stripe
Before missing against Holy Cross Dec. 22, Siyani Chambers made 32 shots in a row at the charity stripe over the course of seven contests, beginning Nov. 13. He is shooting 85.4 percent from the line (60-of-70) for the season, which ranks fourth in the Ivy League.
As a freshman in 2009-10, Laurent Rivard drained 30 consecutive foul shots between Nov. 28, 2010 and Jan. 15, 2011, a span of 11 games. Rivard is shooting 89.5 percent from the line this season, going 34-of-38 but does not have enough attempts to appear in the national rankings.
Freshman At The Point
Siyani Chambers is averaging 6.1 assists per game, which leads the conference, and has only turned the ball over 62 times for a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for fourth in the Ivy League.
Chambers ranks second on the Crimson with 13.3 points per game and has reached double figures in 13 of the last 16 contests.
Reaching 90
With Harvard's 92-62 victory over Rice Jan. 5, the Crimson reached the 90-point plateau for the first time since defeating Brown, 91-71, at Lavietes Pavilion Feb. 26, 2010. Harvard's 92-point effort was the most since winning at Seattle, 92-71, Jan. 2, 2010.
Seeing Lots Of Time
Three Harvard players are among the top five players in the Ancient Eight in minutes played. Siyani Chambers is third in the conference with 37.7 minutes per game, while Wesley Saunders (37.1) is fourth and Laurent Rivard (35.8) ranks fifth.
Chambers, Saunders, Rivard and Christian Webster have also each played all 40 minutes of a game at least once this year. In Harvard's overtime win over Dartmouth Jan. 26, Saunders played 44 minutes, followed by Chambers (43) and Rivard (41) and Webster (41). Saunders and Rivard saw action in 49 minutes, and Chambers played 47 in the double-overtime win over Brown.
Harvard Against The Ivy League Under Amaker
Over the six seasons under head coach Tommy Amaker, the Crimson owns a 47-27 record in Ivy League conference games (.635).
Long-Range Shooting
Laurent Rivard has taken 124 of Harvard's 299 3-point attempts this season, or 41.5 percent.
3-Point Streak
Since the game at Princeton Feb. 24, 2012, Laurent Rivard has made at least one 3-pointer in 22 straight games, the fourth longest streak in team history. As a freshman, Rivard connected on at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games from Nov. 17, 2010 until Jan. 8, 2011.
The Crimson program record for consecutive games with a 3-point field goal is 29, held by Jim Goffredo '07.
Harvard Against The BCS
Harvard owns a 10-11 record against BCS conferences under Tommy Amaker. The Crimson has defeated Boston College five times and has also topped Michigan, Colorado, Utah, Florida State and California during Amaker's tenure. The Crimson also defeated at least one BCS team in each of the last six seasons.
Harvard beat Boston College for the fifth straight year, 79-63, Dec. 4, downed California, 67-62, Dec. 29, but fell on the road at Connecticut, 57-49, Dec. 7.
On Fire
Wesley Saunders has scored in double figures in each of Harvard's first 18 games this season. He tallied a career-high 21 points against Vermont Nov. 27 and had another 21-point effort vs. Rice Jan. 5. He paces the Crimson and the Ivy League with 16.3 points per game.
Saunders is the first Harvard player to reach double digits in scoring in at least consecutive 10 games since Keith Wright '12 tallied 10 or more points in 19 straight contests between Jan. 22, 2011-Nov. 24, 2011.
Kings of Massachusetts's Courts
From Dec. 10, 2008 through Nov. 13, 2012, the Crimson owned a 15-game winning streak against schools from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which began after falling to Northeastern in overtime, 76-71, in 2008. UMass snapped the streak by downing Harvard, 67-64, Nov. 13 of this year. The Crimson is 4-1 against teams from Massachusetts this season with wins over MIT, BC, BU and Holy Cross and is 19-1 over its last 20 games against teams from the Commonwealth.
Since the loss to Northeastern in 2008, Harvard is 13-0 against Boston area schools, having defeated Boston College five times, MIT four times and Boston University on four occasions.
'D' At Home/On Road
Harvard is only allowing 66.2 points per game at home this season compared to 64.9 points per contest in road games.
Halftime Report
Going back to the 2004-05 season, Harvard is 110-23 (.827) when leading at halftime and 29-76 (.276) when trailing at the break. Since 2010-11, the Crimson is 47-8 (.855) when leading at the half and is 9-1 (.900) when owning an advantage at the break of games this year.
Conference Watch
The Crimson will face opponents from at least 11 conferences in 2012-13. Harvard has wins over nine conferences this season: ACC, America East, Atlantic-10, Conference USA, Ivy League, MAAC, NEWMAC, Pac-12 and Patriot League.
The Crimson established a new program record by earning wins over schools from 11 conferences last year.
On The Big Screen
The Crimson will play at least 14 games on national or regional television this season, which will establish a new program record. Four of those TV games will be played at Lavietes Pavilion, also a program record.
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