Still breathing, but barely, the varsity basketball team will meet Princeton at the IAB tonight at 8:15. Having absorbed a pair of resounding setbacks last weekend from these same Tigers and Penn, the Crimson is tied for fifth place in the Ivy League with a 3-7 record.

Of greater interest than the outcome of the game is captain Gary Borchard's assault on the Harvard career scoring record. Borchard needs 23 points to become the second player to reach 1000 points, and 98 to break the old career record of 1074 points, set by Bill Dennis.

Led by its captain, center Al Kaemmerlen, Princeton routed Harvard, 93 to 55, in New Jersey and prospects for a similar result in Cambridge seem certain.

Besides Kaemmerlen, who was named Ivy Player of the Week last week, the Tigers start Pete Campbell one of the league's top scorers the last two years. and Art Hyland in the backcourt. Up front are Jack Whitehouse and Bill Haarlow.

The Crimson lineup is uncertain. Carrying a four-game losing streak, coach Floyd Wilson might try to shake up the starting team in hopes of putting some life into his lagging charges.

Wilson was using Borchard, Gene Augustine, Joe Deering, and sophomores Lenny Strauss and Bob Inman as a unit in practice yesterday, which might be a hint. Strauss, the leading scorer on last year's freshman team, has played in only 14 of the team's 20 games and scored 33 points.

As an All-Stater in Missouri, Strauss played center and forward, but at 6 ft., 2 in. is a bit short for Ivy League ball. But he can jump, and with the state of the Crimson's rebounding as it is, Wilson might give him a chance tonight.

Another possibility is that Wilson might elevate Frank Martin, a 6 ft., 6 in. sophomore, and Vern Strand, 6 ft., 4 in., who won a letter last season, to the varsity from the JV's. Both are very strong, and the Crimson will need something to stop Koemmerlen underneath the basket