Four games. That's all that separates the Harvard men's basketball team (8-14 overall, 4-6 Ivy) from the promised land.

Okay, so maybe it's not a land, per se, and it certainly hasn't ever been promised. But third place in the Ivy League--Harvard's reward if it can sweep its last four games of its season--looks awfully nice right now.

"It's really important for us [to win the last four games]," said sophomore Mike Gilmore, the Crimson's third-leading scorer. "We'll be the first [Harvard] team in something like 15 years to finish that high."

Rather than suffer a letdown after last Saturday's near-upset of League-leader Penn (19-2, 9-0), the Crimson seems to be using the loss as motivation for this weekend's matchups against Columbia and Cornell.

"I think [the players] realize that we played a terrific game against Penn, and that we have a chance to keep that momentum going through the last four games," Coach Frank Sullivan said.

Taming the Lions?

The challenge begins tonight, when Harvard hosts Columbia (6-16, 4-6) at Briggs Cage at 6. Having defeated the Lions by a mere point two weeks ago, the Crimson expects another tough contest.

Although Columbia has fallen on hard times recently (losers of six straight League contests after opening with a 4-0 rush),the Lions still brother opponents with their aggressive motion offense.

The constant screening down inside has benefited senior forward Jamal Adams, the team's leading scorer with 12.7 points per game. Stopping him will be a key task.

"[Columbia] hit the offensive glass pretty hard the first time we played them, especially Jamal Adams, so we need to concentrate on that," Gilmore said.

On the offensive end, things seem a bit easier.

"We're confident that we can score on them, as long as we concentrate on our game," said sophomore Darren Rankin, Harvard's leading scorer.

Cornell Up Next

Harvard will then host the League's cellar dweller, Cornell (7-15, 2-8), Saturday night at 6.

After dropping an 83-64 decision to the Big Red two weeks ago, the Crimson will be looking to execute a lot better this weekend.

"By this point in the season, every one has a pretty good idea of what everyone else is running," Sullivan said. "That's true of Columbia, and that's true of Cornell. At this point, it's all a matter of doing what you do well and being tough on defense."

With freshman Kyle Snowden back from his ankle injury, Harvard's interior defense, at least, should be better. This is good thing, since Cornell's All-Ivy Second Team for ward, Zeke Marshall, erupted against the Crimson for 26 points weeks-ago.

Marshall "(14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds per game) teams with Justin Treadwell (16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds) to give the Big Red a stinging one-two punch inside.

The ever-exuberant Rankin, who will lend help to Snowden inside, sounds eager for the challenge.

"We're feeling really good," he said. "We've had a good week of practice, and we're ready to go."