Webster’s sometimes inconsistent shot will have to be on if Harvard is going to be able to go bucket-for-bucket with Cornell, which ranks fourth in the country in three-point shooting.

And Curry will rotate with sophomore guard Oliver McNally in trying to stop Dale, a former Ivy League Player of the Year who leads the conference in assists but has also struggled at times this year.

“We’ve got to play Harvard basketball,” Wright said. “Keep doing what we’ve been doing the whole season–all that starts with defense.”

While the battle with the Big Red has been getting most of the attention, Harvard will have to be careful if it is to make it upstate undefeated. The Crimson travels tonight to New York City to take on a dangerous Columbia team that ranks fifth nationally in three-point shooting. Though Cornell defeated the Lions by a combined 47 points in its previous two games, Columbia could still challenge the Crimson. The Lions feature one of the best scorers in the conference, guard Noruwa Agho.

“The trap and the worry we have as coaches is that we’re thinking of Saturday and not necessarily thinking of Friday,” Amaker said. “Saturday is going to be there and Saturday is going to be a heck of a lot more to us and everyone else that has circled it or is excited about it if we play well and win on Friday.”

If Harvard can emerge from the Lion’s den unscathed, all eyes will turn to Ithaca, which ESPN’s Andy Katz recently deemed his “place to be” this week in college basketball. Darren Everson of The Wall Street Journal added that “the game of the year in college basketball just might be in the Ivy League.” And Sports Illustrated’s Pablo Torre ‘07, a former Crimson sports editor, called it “the most anticipated conference game in decades.”

For Cornell, a win could mean a top-25 berth for the first time since 1950. For Harvard, a victory would open up a path to its first-ever Ivy title. The stakes have never been higher. So start spreading the news.