With a 116-72 trouncing of Amherst to get it rolling, the Harvard basketball team moves into the Boston Garden at 8:30 p.m. tonight to face Boston University in the finals of the Beanpot Tournament.

The Amherst game, in which the Crimson initiated a new starting lineup, proved that the squad can score. Offense has been Harvard's main weakness so far this season, and if Saturday's contest in Amherst Cage is any indication, it's not a problem any more.

The Crimson moved well for the first time this year, scoring on numerous fast breaks and hitting 49 per cent of its shots. And what was even more promising, Harvard only turned the ball over six times in the first half, when it scored 66 points.

Against B.U., then, Harvard should hold its own offensively. The Terriers play a run-and-shoot offense as does the Crimson, so the game will turn on how well each squad plays defense.

B.U. plays a full-court press and moves into a half-court trap press occasionally. Harvard, with its history of poor ballhandling and turnovers, may have trouble against the Terriers' quick, aggressive guards, Tyrone Scott and Lewis Graham.

The Crimson, on the other hand, has been playing strong defense consistently so far, but will have to put the clamps on sophomore Kenny Boyd, a high-school All-American from Maryland, who leads B.U. offensively. Boyd teams with 6 feet 8 inches junior James Garvin, who is the Terriers' leading rebounder and an intimidating player underneath.

Harvard sophomore Tony Jenkins will guard Boyd, with weak-side players helping out on double-teams, and Floyd Lewis must handle Garvin. Lewis may not be at full strength because of an ankle injury which prevented him from playing in the Amherst contest.

"The key will be how well each of us plays defense." Harvard coach Bob Harrison said yesterday. "If we can stop Boyd and keep Garvin away from the boards, I think we'll be able to win it," he explained.

B.U. will miss guard Vic Gathers, who is out for the season with torn cartilage in his knee. Gathers was the Terriers' second leading scorer last season and directed the B.U. offense.

The Terriers will give the Crimson trouble with their press and offensive quickness, but if Harvard reacts calmly to the press and cuts down on its turnovers, it should win its first Beanpot Championship.