Harvard Tops Brown 87-74 As Bryce Aiken Equals Career-High With 23

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 10, 2017

Limited action in college hoops on Friday, which means the Ivy League comes into focus.

Bryce Aiken scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half as Harvard pulled away for an 87-74 win over Brown Friday night.

Brown led at the half, 35-33, but the Crimson pulled away in the latter stages of the game, scoring 55 second half points, fueled by Aiken's outburst and contributions from Siyani Chambers and Seth Towns, who tallied 15 and 17, respectively.

Aiken, a six-foot freshman out of Randolph, New Jersey, came in off the bench as he normally does, but was on court for 32 minutes. He leads the Crimson in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. His 23 points equaled his career best when he put up the same number in Harvard's win over Howard on December 30.

Harvard improved to 5-2 in conference play and is two games back of 7-0 Princeton in the Ivy. The Crimson fell to Princeton, 57-56, on February 4. The rematch, at Princeton, is set for Friday, March 3rd. In between the Tigers and the Crimson stands 6-1 Yale, who hosts Harvard on Saturday, making for a robust trio of teams vying for the Ivy League title.

There's no conference tournament in the Ivy, so every game is important.

A slew of key games are on tap for the weekend, including #1 Gonzaga at #20 St. Mary's, #2 Villanova at #24 Xavier, and #5 Oregon at USC on Saturday. Sunday's action heats up with Oregon State at #10 UCLA, #11 Cincinnati at #25 SMU, and #12 Virginia at Virginia Tech.

Harvard Tops Princeton on Wesley Saunders' 24 Points, 9 Rebounds

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, January 31, 2014

The Ivy League doesn't get much of the college hoops love, mostly because the conference seldom sends more than one team to the NCAA tourney, and, while this season appears to be consistent with that theme, the one team - Harvard - may be a dangerous one.

Friday night, the Crimson upped their record to 16-3 and 3-0 in the Ivy with an 82-76 victory over their chief rival, the Princeton Tigers.

Leading all scorers was Princeton's T.J. Bray, but his effort was not enough as Harvard's scintillating swingman, 6'5" junior, Wesley Saunders, scored 24 points, to go with nine boards, seven assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

Saunders, who leads the Crimson in scoring at 15.5 points per game, was 9-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe in 38 minutes of action.

Harvard took a 36-35 lead into intermission, but were tied by the Tigers at 42-all on a Bray three-pointer, three minutes into the second half. Over the next two minutes, Harvard went on a decisive 8-0 run, and led the rest of the way, eventually pushing their advantage to as many as 13 points. Another Bray three-pointer got Princeton to within four with under a minute to go, but Harvard made seven of eight at the line - Saunders going 4-for-4 - to ice the game.

Harvard has a one-game lead over Columbia, Brown and Yale, all at 2-1, and hosts Penn Saturday night, seeking a 4-0 mark. The three losses by the Crimson have been to UConn, Colorado and Florida Atlantic, but they have some quality wins, including blowouts of TCU and Boston College.

Tommy Amaker, former Duke player and assistant coach, has been head coach of the Crimson since the 08-09 season and the team has responded with improved performances during his tenure. Last season, Amaker guided Harvard into the NCAA tourney, and produced the school's first-ever win at the big dance, defeating New Mexico, 68-62, before falling to Arizona, 74-51.

NCAA Tourney: Thursday Second Round Late Games Results; Harvard Ousts New Mexico

Midwest Region

(1) Louisville 79 (16) North Carolina A&T 48 - As expected, the tournament's top seed, Louisville, had few problems taking out the Midwest region's 16 seed, North Carolina A&T, which advanced from the first four with a one-point win over Liberty on Tuesday. The Cardinals hammered the Aggies to advance to the next round where they meet Colorado State. The combination of pressure defense and red-hot shooting by the Cardinals produced 25 turnovers, a 56% shooting percentage and s decisive victory.

Coach Rick Pitino emptied his bench, playing 12 players, nine of which scored, led by Russ Smith, who pumped in a game-high 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Aggies' starters scored just 16 points.

(8) Colorado St. 84 (9) Missouri 72 - Missouri scored the first basket of the game and it was the only time they led the entire game. Colorado State established an early lead and never let the Tigers get any closer than four points in the second half.

Dorian Green pushed in a game-high 26 points, making 11 of 12 from the charity stripe.


South Region

(3) Michigan 71 (14) South Dakota State 56 - The two Michigan players with NBA pedigrees, Glenn Robinson III and Tim Hardaway Jr., each scored 21 points to lead the Wolverines to a solid win over the Jackrabbits. Hardaway was 8-for-13 and 5-for-7 from three-point range, while Robinson soared at 8-for-9 from the field, making all three of his shots from outside the arc.

(5) VCU 88 (12) Akron 42 - Taking a cue from Louisville, VCU pummeled an out-manned Zips squad which lost two starters to the flu. Nine different players scored for the Commodores, led by Troy Daniels' 23 points.


West Region

(6) Arizona 81 (11) Belmont 64 - Belmonth put three players in double figures but they were no match for the Wildcats, who led from the first bucket until the final buzzer. Mark Lyons led the Wildcats with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting including three bombs from three-point land. Arizona shot 57% for the game and will meet Harvard in the next round.

(14) Harvard 68 (3) New Mexico 62 - The Harvard Crimson pulled off the upset of the day, knocking off a highly-regarded Lobos team for the Crimson's first-ever win in the NCAA tournament. Harvard shot 52% for the game and held New Mexico to just 37.5%. The Crimson was 8-for-18 from the three-point line, five of those coming off the hand of Laurent Rivard, who finished with 17 points. Sophomore Wesley Saunders led the Crimson with 18 points.

East Region

(12) California 64 (5) UNLV 61 - Like a pair of heavyweights, the Golden Bears and Runnin' Rebels went toe-to-toe from start to finish,

Cal missed eight of 12 free throws in the final minute to allow UNLV to draw to within one, but Allen Crabbe, the PAC-12's leading scorer, made two crucial ones to put the Bears ahead by three and seal the win, avenging a one-point loss to the Rebels earlier in the season. Crabbe was the game's high scorer with 19.

Just as Oregon did earlier in the day, a #12 seed from the PAC-12 knocked off a #5, something the selection committee may want to take a closer look at next season.

(4) Syracuse 81 (13) Montana 34 - In what has to be considered the most complete mismatch of the tourney, Syracuse led all the way, going up 20-4 early and extending their lead over the smaller, slower Grizzlies. Brandon Triche led all scorers with 20 points. Montana shot a mere 20% (11-for-54) for the game; no Montana player scored more than five points.

The 47-point win was one better than VCU's win over Akron. Ouch!

Kenny Kadji Leads Miami to ACC Title; Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont, Harvard Earn NCAA Berths

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 9, 2013

With regular seasons ending in some of the major conferences and a couple of minor conferences hailing tourney champions and the first entrants into the NCAA field, Saturday was a huge day for college hoops.

In the Big East, Georgetown took a share of the regular season title with Marquette and Louisville - both winners on the day - with a stunning, 61-39 rout of Syracuse, finishing up their conference schedule at 14-4. The Hoyas, Cardinals, Golden eagles and Pitt Panthers will get first round byes in the upcoming conference tourney.

Miami captured the ACC title outright with a signature 62-49 home win over Clemson to wrap up the regular season with a 15-3 mark (24-6 overall), a game better than Duke, which hammered North Carolina, 69-53.

Miami was led by Kenny Kadji, who scored 23 points and ripped down 12 boards for his third straight double-double and seventh on the season. Kadji was 6-for-11 with four three-pointers and went 7-for-9 from the stripe.

Miami and Duke head to the ACC tournament the #1 and #2 seeds, setting up a possible finals match-up that could determine a #1 seeding in the NCAAs.

Three conferences crowned champions on Saturday, the first going to Florida Gulf Coast, as they topped Mercer, 88-75, capturing the Atlantic Sun tourney and grabbing the first automatic bid to March's Big Dance.

In an ironic twist, Belmont, last season's winner of the Atlantic Sun with a victory over Florida Gulf Coast, took down Murray State in overtime, topping the Racers in overtime, 70-68, to win the Ohio Valley Conference their first year in the league.

Harvard won the Ivy League, winning their final game against Cornell, 65-56, to post an 11-3 record, but the Crimson had to wait until later in the evening to celebrate their second straight Ivy title, when Brown upset Princeton, 80-67, leaving the Tigers at 9-4 with a game yet to play, Tuesday night against Penn at Philadelphia's Palestra.

NOTABLE: Kentucky likely salvaged their season and might have possibly earned an at-large bid with a 61-57 victory over #11 Florida, the Gators having already wrapped up the SEC regular season title. The Wildcats had dropped two straight before entering Saturday's game and a win over a ranked opponent was just the tonic needed to revitalize the program.

Creighton will play Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference tourney final Sunday, the Blue Jays hammering Indiana State, 64-43, while the Shockers took a 66-51 decision over Illinois State in the other semi-final.

A slew of other minor conference title are up for grabs on Sunday, and a huge game is on tap for 4:00 pm EDT at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the #7 Wolverines host #2 Indiana. A Hoosier win would give them the Big Ten title outright, while a victory by Michigan could produce a four-way tie at the top of the conference between Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State.

#1 Gonzaga turned a one-point half time lead into a 66-48 win in a WCC semi-final. The Zags will meet St. Mary's for the West Coast conference tourney title and the automatic NCAA bid at 9:00 pm EDT Sunday night.

Kenyatta Smith Leads Harvard to Big Road Win; Big East Scambled

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 15, 2013

The Harvard Crimson got a huge effort from sophomore center Kenyatta Smith, winning on the road at Penn, 73-54, to maintain a 1/2 game lead over Princeton in the Ivy league.

Smith put up a career high with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, adding 4-for-5 from the foul line. A monster in the paint, Smith also set a career high with nine rebounds and set a school-record with 10 blocked shots. Riding Smith's inside prowess, the Crimson expanded a ten-point half time lead to win by 19.

If Harvard is to continue on to capture the conference crown - and earn a trip to the NCAA tourney in the process - they'll have to compete hard over the next five games. Following Saturday's home game with Princeton, the Crimson embark on a pair of weekend road trips - at Brown and Yale next weekend and at Princeton and Penn the following Friday and Saturday.

Harvard is 14-7 overall with a 6-1 mark in the Ivy. Last season they went 25-6, won the Ivy League and lost to Vanderbilt, 79-70, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

NOTABLE: In a rare Friday night Big East tilt, #15 Georgetown improved to 9-3 in the conference with a 62-55 victory at Cincinnati. The win gave them a 1/2 game lead over Syracuse and Marquette, both at 8-3. The Orange play at Seton Hall Saturday night; Marquette hosts Pitt earlier in the day.

The Big East scramble is monumental, with six teams within a game of the lead. In addition to the top three, Louisville, Pitt and Notre Dame have each posted 8-4 conference marks. All six of the leading contenders in the conference are ranked.

Siyani Chambers Keeps Harvard on Top in Ivy with 18 over Cornell

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 8, 2013

Siyani Chambers scored a game-high 18 points to go with 11 assists and five boards as the Harvard Crimson prevailed on the road over Cornell's Big Red, 67-65.

A freshman guard averaging 13.5 points per outing, Chambers had a solid shooting night, making eight of 12 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Harvard held on for the close victory in the face of a furious Cornell comeback. The Crimson led by 16 at the break, only to see the Big Red whittle away their edge with 43 points in the second half.

The win was the fifth straight - without a loss - in the Ivy league, keeping them a half-game ahead of Princeton at 4-0 after defeating Brown on Friday, 63-46.

Keith Wright Leads Harvard in Tune-up over Brown; Yale Next; Saturday Slate features Top 25 Teams

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 17, 2012

Harvard has been hovering around the lower depths of the Top 25 all season, but last week dropped out when they lost at Princeton, 70-62.

The Crimson will have a chance to make amends and get back into the rankings when they tip off at home against Yale on Saturday night. Yale is 7-2 in the Ivy League, a game behind the Crimson, at 8-1.

Since the Ivy League is more about books than basketball, the players usually compete twice on a weekend, usually Friday and Saturday nights, and the schedule favors Harvard this time around, as they hosted Brown on Friday, putting the Bears down hard with a stifling defense that held their opponents to 33% from the field and out-rebounding them 40-23, in a 69-42 rout.

Harvard committed only 11 fouls, sending the Bears to the line just twice in the entire game. Even though the Bears made both of their alloted free throws, Harvard players toed the line 21 times, making 14, a large determinant in the outcome of the contest.

Keith Wright, a 6'8" senior forward, had his second straight double-double and fifth of the season for Harvard, scoring 12 points with 10 rebounds. Wright played just 24 minutes, but was effective, hitting 6 of 8 of his shots. The Crimson ran away early on, building an insurmountable, 37-16 lead at the half.

NOTABLE: A slate full of Top 25 teams on Saturday features two nationally-televised contests (ESPN) between ranked opponents. At 6:00 pm ET, #16 Murray State hosts #21 St. Mary's in a non-conference tilt. The Racers were the last team in the country to be undefeated, losing at home to Tennessee State on Feb. 9, but since have rebounded with a pair of wins over Austin Peay and SE Missouri State. Murray State has already wrapped up the Ohio Valley regular season title, at 14-1 and will be tested against the Gaels, who have lost two of their last three but still lead the WCC by 1/2 game over Gonzaga.

At 9:00 pm ET, #17 Michigan hosts #6 Ohio State in a game that will be critical in determining Big Ten supremacy. The Wolverines, who are 14-0 at home, trail the Buckeyes and Michigan State by one game in the standings, at 9-3. Both Ohio State and Michigan State are 10-4.

Michigan dropped a 64-49 decision at Ohio State on January 29 and will be looking to overturn the Buckeyes, winners of seven of their last eight, the solitary loss coming at the hands of Michigan State, 58-48, last Saturday.

Laurent Rivard Scores 18 as Harvard Punishes Yale, 65-35

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, January 27, 2012

Earlier in the season, Harvard was ranked in the Top 25, rising to #22 in the January 2 AP poll when they were 12-1. Just a day later, the Crimson lost at Fordham, 60-54, and the dream was shattered by the pollsters, who voted Harvard off the Top 25 island the next week, where they continue to languish.

Undaunted and still looking like easily the best team out of the Ivy League, the Crimson have put together five straight wins, all by nine points or more, but none more impressive than their 65-35 rout of long-standing rival Yale, Friday night.

The game, played at Yale, before 2,522 fans in New Haven, CT, was about as one-sided an affair as the Crimson have dealt an opponent this season. Leading 30-19 at intermission, the Crimson poured on the defense, converting a total of 22 turnovers by the Bulldogs into a 35-16 second half and the laugher of a win.

Leading the offensive charge for Harvard was 6'5" sophomore guard, Laurent Rivard, who knocked down a game high 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.

The rest was all Harvard defense, limiting Yale to just 32% shooting. Greg Mangano was the only player in double figures for Yale, with 17 points.

At 17-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference, the Crimson leads the 2-0 Penn Quakers by 1/2 game in the Ivy League. Their only other loss was at UConn, a 67-53 defeat to the Huskies.

Harvard Clinging to Ivy Lead

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 25, 2011

Oliver McNally led the Crimson to their sixth straight victory, a come-from-behind, 74-68, win at Brown to remain 1/2 game ahead of Princeton in the Ivy League race. The winner of the conference gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and with the regular season closing fast, chances for the title have been whittled down to just the two top teams.

McNally hit 7 of 13 shots from the field with three 3-pointers. He also had five steals, helping trim an 11-point half time lead by Brown. His 20 point effort matched his season high.

Harvard is 10-1 with three games remaining, while the 9-1 Tigers have four contests still to go, the final three all on the road, though the most important of them is surely next Saturday's (March 5) tilt at Harvard. The winner of that game will most likely be the Ivy League champion, though, with the field opening up to 68 teams this season, there's a chance both could punch a ticket to the Big Dance.

Harvard is 21-4 overall, while Princeton sports a 21-5 record and both teams have a number of quality wins on their respective resumes.

NOTABLE: 17 of the top 25 teams in the nation will see action on Saturday, including a number of match-ups featuring ranked rivals. The action gets underway at noon ET when #17 Syracuse invades #11 Georgetown. At 2:00 pm, the Mountain West regular season title is on the line when Jimmer Fredette brings #7 BYU to #6 San Diego State. Both squads are 12-1 in conference play.

Also at 2:00, there's more Big East action, with #23 St. John's at #17 Villanova. At 4:00, #13 Florida can wrap up the SEC East with a win at #22 Kentucky. At 9:00 pm, #1 Duke plays at unranked, but dangerous, Virginia Tech. The Hokies find themselves in their usual spot within the ACC bubble, so a home win over the top team in the conference would go a long way toward securing an NCAA bid.

Harvard, Princeton Look Like Class of Ivy League

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, January 28, 2011

Last season, Cornell was the team from the Ivy League that made significant noise in the NCAA tournament, knocking of Temple and Wisconsin before finally falling to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Sweet 16.

It's a down year for the Big Red this time around, though. With most of their starters having graduated, Cornell is just 4-13, 0-3 in conference and at the bottom of the Ivy League standings. The torch has been passed to traditional rivals Princeton (13-4) and Harvard (14-3).

Those two are atop the Ivy League, though Princeton has just one win in conference, it's only game, while Harvard went to 3-0 Friday night with a 77-66 win over Columbia.

Sophomore Kyle Casey came up big for the Crimson, with a season-high 17 points to go with 13 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. At 6'7", 215, Casey does most of his work close to the rim, leaving the outside open for Christian Webster, who nailed 4-of-5 three-pointers in the win.

Harvard has put together a string of seven straight wins, including victories at Boston College and George Washington. They've won 12 straight at home, dating back to last season.

So far, Harvard has only been badly beaten by UConn and George Mason, both of those coming on the road. Their December 4 loss to Michigan was a squeaker, 65-62. The play at Princeton next Friday, February 4.

Morris Lights Up Bruins as Jayhawks Go 7-0

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, December 6, 2009

Markieff Morris led all scorers with a career-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting as the Kansas Jayhawks improved their unbeaten record to 7-0, fending off a UCLA team in obvious rebuilding mode, 73-61 at Pauley Pavilion in LA. Cole Aldrich continued to be a rebounding machine for Kansas, pulling down 12 boards, 6 of those on the offensive end.

The Bruins have not gotten off to a very promising start in 2009, with the loss to Kansas their 5th in just 7 games. Scratch the Bruins from the PAC-10 contender list this season as their talent from the past two years has been badly diluted by graduation and players going to the pros. The Bruins shot just 36% on the night, while the Jayhawks, who led the entire game, were held to a season-low 44%, but still easily prevailed.

NOTABLE: The Connecticut Huskies barely escaped their trip to the Ivy League with a 79-73 win over the 6-2 Harvard Crimson and their outstanding senior guard, Jeremy Lin. Lin scored a season-high 30 points, nailing 11 of 18 shots from the field (2-3 on 3s) and 6 of 8 from the foul line. Nine boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots rounded out Lin's memorable performance.

Senior guard Jerome Dyson led the Huskies with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists. Dyson has carried the Huskies to a 6-1 record, averaging 20 points per game, but even UConn coach Jim Calhoun thinks Dyson - who is playing more than 34 minutes per game - needs help, saying, "we don't have a bench."