When was the last time the men's basketball team found itself in serious contention for the Ivy title with just five games left on its league schedule?

Think about the question for a moment.

Mind gone blank, eh? That's not surprising, since the hoopsters have never--no joke--been in that position. That's since 1901, sports.

But this is 1981, and things are different.

Back-to-back Crimson wins this weekend over league-ladders Penn and Princeton will throw the League into a virtual three-way tie for the lead, going into the season's final week.

The mood around the IAB has been upbeat all week. There is now a feeling--which may have suffered a bit following no-contest road losses to Penn and Princeton earlier this month--that the Crimson need not lose to anybody in the Ivies, especially at home.

Co-captain Tom Mannix, following a come-from-behind home victory over Cornell at the end of January, said, "We win 'em in the last couple of minutes. At home, if it's close in the last couple minutes, we feel we can win it."

Most of the time they do. The magic worked against UNH in December, and again against Columbia and Cornell. The only time it didn't quite click was against Northeastern.

Said Mannix: "Northeastern was the only game where we were close and lost. Our poise had a lot to do whit it." Harris chimed in, "If it gets close there's a feeling that someone will come through."

Everybody has to come through in both games this weekend. Both Princeton and Penn showed awesome depth in crushing the Crimson on their respective home court, and with the Ivy Championship on the line, the Tigers and Quakers will be looking to throw the upstart Crimson right down four flights of IAB stairs.

But McLaughlin and his charges have seen the films and have the memories of bad nights in the Palestra and Princeton's Jadwin Gym, and are intent on reversing the results. Harris said this week, "Princeton played out of their minds in the first half down there. They're not going to shoot 60 per cent up here."

The Crimson must establish its own game against the Tigers--who play a slow down offense and a tough zone D that currently ranks in the top five in the nation.

"The key to Princeton," says a decidedly impatient Monroe Trout, "is playing physical and emotional, with maybe a temper flaring here and there to get them out of that machine they play in."

Mannix notes that the Crimson must take the lead early. "Tonight," he said following the game at Princeton, "the most frustrating thing was getting behind like that. A six pint lead for Princeton is like 15 points for anyone else." Harris added, "if they get ahead, they spread you out and pick you apart."

The nice folks at the Harvard ticket office say if you intend on seeing either game this weekend, get there early [by 7:00 p.m.], but do come. Advance ticket sales are brisker than for any game in memory, but bring your ticket book and walk in.

A big crowd is necessary for the Crimson to pull out a pair of upsets, and McLaughlin wants to pack the 1500 seat gym. "The crowd means so much to us," Mannix said after beating Cornell at home, "it's like a sixth man." And this week: "With a big crowd we might rally the whole game like we usually do in the last few minutes."

"We've got to have a home court advantage," McLaughlin said earlier this season--although he has said much the same thing all year--"since the students and band have such a big psychological impact.

So climb the stairs, and see some of the best hoop this side of Patrick Ewing. Be there early, and bring friends.