"We're not playing smart," adds McLaughlin, the Crimson's eighth year coach. "And that's got to be corrected real soon."

Tonight seems as good a time as any to start, what with its first road trip, its first Ivy opponent and its first major Division I squad all staring the Crimson right in the eye.

"Getting off on the right step is very important," says Carrabino. "We're a better team than Dartmouth and we can't afford to lose games like this."

The Crimson hasn't won in Hanover, N.H. in two years, and it was a terrible performance there a year ago that kept the Cantabs from a possible tie for the league crown.

"If we expect to be in the race," says Carrabino, "we can't beat Princeton twice and then turn around and lose to Dartmouth, like we did last year."

Those two victories over the Tigers marked the first time in 25 years that Harvard pulled off the double whammy. In addition, a victory over Columbia in New York City broke a 16-game road losing streak, and then two more wins away from home--over Yale and Brown--put the Cantabs on the brink of the Ivy title.

But a disappointing loss at home to Cornell on the first night of the season's final weekend ended any delusions of grandeur and raised questions about the Crimson's ability to win the big game.

That's the major obstacle Harvard will have to hurdle this year, but with virtually all its starters back and with the promising crop of freshmen in town. McLaughlin & Co. seem confident.

For starters, there's literally not a better player in the Ivy League than 6-ft., 9-in., Co-Captain Carrabino, who's on track to become Harvard's all-time leading scorer.

The senior forward and Ivy Player of the Year finished second in the league in scoring a year ago, with a hearty portion of his 22 points per game coming off his deadly outside shot. This year, he'll have to improve his rebounding skills if Harvard's to stay close.

Carrabino also finished second in the nation in free-throw percentage last season, leading a Crimson squad that set a new NCAA record for charity stripe accuracy.

Co-Captain Bob Ferry was also deadly--fourth in the nation--from the foul line, but this year he'll need to find the touch from the floor that was his trademark his first two years here.

Perhaps the key element in the entire Crimson game plan will be junior Arne Duncan, who came off the bench midway through last season to spark Harvard's dramatic drive.

"Arne became one of the better players in the Ivy League last year," says McLaughlin. "His unselfishness helped to make us a better team."

With most teams gunning for Carrabino and Ferry. Duncan's play might just determine Harvard's fortunes.