It's a yearly ritual, almost as reliable as geese flying south for the winter and north in spring.

It's the hotly contested Ivy League basketball race, which, after two months of Friday-Saturday night showdowns, always seems to come down to the final weekend of action in early March. Last year, three teams were in the running for the title entering the final weekend until Princeton clinched the win at Harvard's Briggs Cage on the final day of the season.

"It is going to be a very, very close year and anybody can win it," says Princeton's Pete Carril, who witnessed his team drop a one-point decision to Georgetown in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. "We didn't win it last year until the very last game and that's been going on in this league for 20 years."

"Our goal is to put ourselves in a position to win and hopefully get some breaks down the stretch so that we'll be the fortunate team to represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament," Dartmouth Coach Paul Cormier says.

It's a tough stretch run, with each team playing 10 of its 14 league games in a 29-day stretch. But anyone who's claimed the title will tell you it's worth it. Waiting at the end of the arduous road is the rosy land known as the NCAA National Championship Tournament, a motivation no other sport in the Ivy League can boast for its champion.

And for two favorites who tip off the season with a 2 p.m. showdown at Briggs Cage tomorrow, it's a goal that has proved all too elusive. Dartmouth has not claimed the flag since 1959 and Harvard has never won an Ivy title.

The Crimson enters the race healthier than expected. With Ralph James separating a shoulder in practice December 11, Ron Mitchell suffering from chronic back spasms and Co-Captain Fred Schernecker missing the last two games with a knee injury, Harvard could have been playing the Big Green without any of its starting frontline.

The injury problems have contributed a great deal to the squad's disappointing 4-7 start, but things are looking up for Coach Peter Roby.

James returned to the lineup ahead of schedule, scoring 48 points in a 87-79 loss to Hartford and an 80-77 overtime victory over Fairfield. James' three-point jumper tied the Fairfield game and his five consecutive points in the middle of the overtime propelled the Crimson to its third road win of the year.

Mitchell pumped in 17 points against Fairfield and will start against the Big Green, while Schernecker appears ready to return to the lineup tomorrow after doctors decided he does not need surgery.

Keeping his team healthy is the top priority for Roby, for as go James (17 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game) and Mitchell (12.9 p.p.g., 7.0 r.p.g.), so go the Crimson. But developing behind those two is an intimidating lineup.

With increased playing time because of the rash of injuries, senior centerMal Hollensteiner has improved tremendously andforms, along with freshmen Tyler Rullman and PeterCondakes, an extremely strong frontline reservecorps.

The key to Harvard's season is in thebackcourt, which features Co-Captain Scott Gilly,freshmen Tarik Campbell and Tchad Robinson andjunior Dana Smith. How this four some holds upagainst the best of the Ivies, includingDartmouth's John Mackay-James Blackwell tandem andYale's Ed Petersen and Dean Campbell, should playa big role in determining the team's finalstanding. Mistakes at crucial times paralyzedHarvard's attempt to claim the title last year.

"It was a valuable experience to finish in theupper half last year and know what it's like tocompete on that level," Roby says. "We'vecontinued to use our close calls last year as amotivating factor trying to get the guys tounderstand that one possession in a game or onelapse defensively, little things, can make a bigdifference."

A second key for Harvard will be getting off toa strong start, with five of its first six gamesat home.