The Harvard basketball team moves from the frying pan to the fire this week as it finishes exams today and meets Penn and Princeton in 8 p.m. games on Friday and Saturday in the IAB.

Whether the squad will be ready for the new heat remains to be seen, but several difficulties must be overcome between now and then. The team is not in good condition due to exams, and thus far is mentally unprepared according to head coach Bob Harrison.

"Today is the last day of exams for most of the team, so I'll be better able to judge if we're ready after today's practice," Harrison said yesterday. "We're not in good shape, mentally or physically, but I think we will be in the couple of days we have to get ready."

Ivy League teams this winter have not done well in their first contests after exams: only Yale and Dartmouth have won. Penn dropped a close game to Temple, and Princeton has lost three straight since its exams, though it had climbed into the nation's top twenty teams earlier in the season.

Penn, though hampered after exams, has not run into much trouble since. It is ranked in the top ten in the nation, and has compiled a 12-2 record going into Friday night's game.

In its previous meeting with the Crimson. Penn overpowered Harvard on the boards and walked off with an easy 81-52 victory. To stay in the game Friday, the Crimson must control its defensive boards and get its share of offensive rebounds.

Otherwise, the Quakers, who boast a 6-7, 6-8, 6-5 front line (and a 6-7 guard in Corky Calhoun), will be able to use their size and experience to their advantage.

Princeton poses a whole different set of problems for the Crimson. Where Penn has strength. Princeton has quickness and Harvard will have to fast break effectively to counter the Tigers' speed.

Junior guard Brian Taylor, who is averaging over 26 points a game, leads the Princeton attack however, has been faltering lately. The Tigers dropped their first game in Jadwin Gymnasium this year to Fordham last week, lost to Davidson and then dropped their rematch with Penn by more then twenty points. Princeton had beaten the Quakers in their first meeting.