Basketball coach Bill Barclay made two switches yesterday in his starting lineup for tonight's 9:30 p.m. league opener with undefeated Dartmouth at the Garden.

Captain Chip Gannon will start at guard and high Bill Prior will jump at center. Ed Smith and Pete Petrillo will flank Prior and the other guard will be Cliff Crosby.

"Gannon's ready now," Barclay explained yesterday," and he'll cover Ed Leede tonight. He held him to 16 points in two games last winter." Leede, the Big Green's six foot three captain, can hit. He scored "27 points last year and looks like a possible all-American forward. Emil Hudak and Wes Field, a pair of juniors, are the other Indian triggermen.

Must Control Backboards

To gum up coach Elmer Lampe's fast-break offense tonight, Bill Barclay is counting on Harvard control of the backboards. "That's one of the reasons why we're starting Prior," he pointed out yesterday. "Bill looked good clearing the boards against Navy and maybe he can get us started on the right foot against Dartmouth." Barclay added that the Crimson wasn't in the right frame of mind Saturday at Annapolis.

Lovers of the double feature will be able to get a line on Holy Cross NCAA finalists tonight. The Crusaders (who play the varsity on January 13) meet Bowling Green in a preliminary game at 7:30 p.m.