The Harvard men's basketball team put its reputation on the line last weekend, and as far as the members of the best Harvard hoop team in history are concerned, they'd just as soon keep it there.

Because like it's been all year, the foul line was the difference in Harvard's historic weekend.

The Crimson outscored Princeton by to from the charity stripe in its 60-50 win Friday night, and outscored Penn by 20 from the line in its 77-75 triumph Saturday night.

What all those numbers added up to was the Crimson's first road sweep of Princeton and Penn in its 74-year history. And more important it erased any lingering doubts about the squad's credibility.

Harvard's for real. And from the foul line it's real good.

On the way to its best start ever (10-1 overall, 3-1 Ivy), the Crimson quintet that last year set an NCAA record for free throw percentage (822) has outscored its opponents from the foul line, 231-49.

To get a quick idea of just how important the line has been to the cagers this year, consider that they've been outscored from the floor, 310 262, and they've still managed to win 10 out of 11 games.

The stripe has been responsible for all but one of those 10 triumphs.

Harvard, which has taken 217 more shots from the line than its opponents, takes a trip to the stripe every 1.51. Its opponents take a trip there every 6-02.

If that keeps up, they ought to start stitching the Crimson's first ever Ivy banner.

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As a team, Harvard's shooting an even 800 from the line, but four of Harvard's five starters sport a free throw percentage of at least .840.

Surprisingly, it's junior Arne Duncan--an 867 free throw shooter a year ago--who's keeping Harvard's percentage down this year. The small forward's hitting at only a 673 clip.

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In the record watch department, junior guard Pat Smith, who a year ago set a Crimson record for assists in a season (100) is on target to break his own record. The season is two games from the midway point and he's already recorded 44 assists.