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Banking on a 1-in-64 Shot

The Basketball Notebook

With all that said, let's get realistic and turn towards the NIT.

If Harvard wins its final two regular season games, the word is that it stands a good chance to garner an NIT bid.

Two wins on the road this weekend over Brown and Yale teams Harvard has already beaten once this year--would put the Crimson's final season record at 17-7.

Many believe that would be good enough to warrant serious NIT consideration.

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Though the NCAA more is more prestigious the NIT night just be a better bet for the Crimson.

While the Ivy League champion gets an automatic berth in the NCAAs, this year--because there are no preliminary games--it also gets a date in the first round with a top-seeded team.

That means either Georgetown St. Johns or Michigan, and that means a pretty quick exit for the Ivy League champ.

With weaker teams in the field, the NIT would give Harvard a shot at a victory or two.

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A year age, Harvard used several late non conference games to prepare for its run at the Ivy League crown.

This year, because of scheduling problems, contests with Brandeis and New York University were cancelled. That meant the Crimson was preparing for its Ivy League games in its Ivy League games.

That might just explain some of Harvard's line season problems.

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Harvard not only broke a three game losing streak in last week's 77-64 victory over Cornell but also broke a string of games in which it had shot under 50 percent from the floor.

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