Such disappointing results would seem to get anybody down. But not this team.

Even the idea of playing one of the top ten teams in the country—an undefeated team, no less—doesn’t seem overwhelming to this resilient bunch.

“Every game we go into, we fully expect that we are going to win,” sophomore forward Luke McCrone said.

Even sophomore forward Matt Stehle—who all but guaranteed a win before the Crimson’s 88-79 Dec. 6 loss to Lehigh—seemed optimistic about the trip out West, which includes a stop at San Jose State (5-4) in addition to the game against the Cardinal.

“Hopefully we’ll get a win in California,” Stehle said.

Even more surprising: they don’t even seem upset about how close these losses have been.

“It’s been real frustrating, but it all comes back to the way we’ve been playing in the first half,” junior captain Jason Norman said. “It all starts in practice. We just need to work harder out there.”

Maybe this optimism comes from the fact that Harvard really is that close to pulling off its first victory since March 1.

“They’re really hard to play against,” Rider coach Don Harnum said. “They’re getting better on every tape I have seen.”

And what better place to get that first W than against Stanford—the very same school that the Crimson’s female counterparts upset in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.

Could lightning strike twice?

—Staff writer Evan R. Johnson can be reached at erjohns@fas.harvard.edu.