Maybe home cooking is overrated.

Let's face it: the concept of staying at home is appealing, but the reality of Fish Pizziola and Curry Lentil Bake isn't.

The Harvard men's basketball team can attest that staying home isn't all that it's cracked up to be. After beginning the Ivy League schedule with a 4-0 road record, the Crimson fell out of title contention with three consecutive losses at Briggs Cage, including two last weekend to Columbia and Cornell. This weekend Harvard (9-13 overall, 6-4 Ivy) will try to regain its winning form when it hits the road for games against Yale and Brown.

Not This Year

No Harvard men's basketball team has ever won the Ivy League, and this year's edition is left playing for pride--and second place--once again. Every other squad has won the title at one point, although Dartmouth has gone 32 years without one.

The Crimson caravan rolls into New Haven tonight, where Harvard faces the Yale team that began the Crimson's Briggs skid. The Elis (11-11, 5-5) walked out of Briggs with a 98-91 double-overtime thriller two weeks ago.

Yale is led by forward Dean Campbell, who muscled his way to a 28-point night in the teams' earlier meeting. Guard Ed Peterson, who is generously listed at 5'11", is the perimeter threat that opens up the inside for Campbell. Peterson did his share to keep the Crimson defense honest at Briggs, as he scored 21 points and connected on 3 three-pointers.

Whither Ralph?

Senior co-captain Ralph James, whose shoulder injury kept him out of last week's losses to Cornell and Columbia, is questionable for this weekend. "We're still not sure if Ralph will play," Harvard coach Peter Roby said. "We'll just have to wait and see if Ralph feels comfortable. We'll leave it up to him.

One cause for Harvard's collapse in the second-overtime against Yale--the Elis outscored Harvard 19-12--was fatigue. Only seven Crimson players saw significant minutes--a trend that is likely to be seen again tonight.

With James' status in doubt, Harvard's already thin bench will be expected to pick up some of the slack. Matt McClain has filled James' starting role admirably, but beyond McClain and freshman Jabbar Abdi, no other backcourt players have significant game experience. That may have to change.

"Injuries emphasize our lack of depth," Harvard coach Peter Roby said. "We've been worn down.

"The effects of injuries have shown themselves in everything we've done," Roby added.

The B-Ball Bruins

There won't be much time for the Crimson to take it easy after tonight, as they travel to Providence tomorrow for a game against Brown. Harvard stopped the Bruins, 90-77, earlier this season at Briggs when Peter Condakes tied a school record with his six three-pointers.

Brown (8-14, 3-7) is capable of lighting it up from downtown, as well. Guards Chuck Savage and Rick Lloyd are both among the league leaders in scoring, and both have long-range capabilities. Lloyd connected on four treys in Cambridge, while he and Savage combined to score 47 points.

Brown's inside threat comes in the person of Carlos Williams, an Ivy League Honor Roll member this week for his 29 points and 17 rebounds in the Bruins 1-1 split with Princeton and Pennsylvania.