Princeton men's basketball Coach Pete Carril has an interesting outlook on life: "How the hell can you be happy in this world?"

It seems that Carril becomes very sad when the contemplates the prospects of his 4-7 Tigers, who open their Ivy League season against Harvard (8-1 overall, 1-1 Ivy) tonight at Princeton's Jadwin-Gym (WHRB 95,3 FM, 7:20 p.m.).

The funny thing is that in thepast, Harvard's been the team to get teary-eyed on its annual trek to Princeton and Penn. The Crimson has never swept the Tigers and Quakers on the road, and over the past 15 years the Crimson's away record against the two is 1-29.

The "t" in that pathetic record came last winter at Princeton, where Harvard pulled off a stunning 55 50 victory. Before then, the Crimson cagets hadn't beaten the Tigers at Jadwin since 1959.

"It used to be that they'd always win the close ones because they were Princeton." says a hungry senior Co Captain Bob Ferry.

No more Old Nassau had fallen on hard times--a true "rebuilding year," according to the chronically complaining Carril.

Led by center Howard Levy and guard John Smyth, Princeton is probably better than its record indicates, but not by far.

Penn, on the other hand, is much better than its abysmal 1-7 slate. The Red and Blue have played the 15th hardest schedule in the nation, says Penn Coach Craig Littlepage, who terms it a "growing experience that will pay dividends."

Harvard hopes to be another growing experience for the Quakers. The Crimson would rather pay a debt than dividends--last year, Penn nipped Harvard in both games of their home-and-home series, taking a pair of three-point victories that were decided largely by officials' controversial calls.

Both teams are ready to go at it again tomorrow at 7 p.m. "My only comment on the game," Littlepage says of his squad's Ivy opener, "is that we're anxious.

The Quakers, despite their unimpressive record, are an awfully good team. Perry Bromwell and Karl Racine form one of the finest Ivy League backcourts ever, and with center Bruce Leftkowitz setting up in the paint, the team will be through one to handle.

"Penn has the best athletes in the league by far," according to McLaughlin.

Ivy League Hogs

But Harvard has the potential to beat both of the perennial Ivy powerhouses it faces in the next 48 hours.

Although Penn and Princeton have hogged the last 15 Ancient Eight titles, this year Harvard has the power to dominate anybody-if the squad can overcome the difficulties that plagued it last weekend against Dartmouth.