There will be a lot at stake when the Harvard men’s basketball team attempts to pick up a couple of W’s against the Killer P’s this weekend.

Doing so would give the Crimson (15-3, 4-0 Ivy) its best conference start in history, garner its longest winning streak since 1946, and, most importantly, go a long way towards helping Harvard earn its first-ever Ivy League title.

But earning two road victories against Princeton (14-4, 3-0) and Penn (8-8, 3-0) will be no easy task. The Crimson is a combined 69-252 all-time against the two teams and has not swept the pair on the road since 1984.

But that can all change this weekend when, for the second straight year, Harvard is faced with an Ancient Eight road game in which it can prove that it’s not just an Ivy contender, but the frontrunner.

Last season, the Crimson–then 14-3 overall–had that opportunity, when it put its undefeated conference record on the line against an also-unscathed Cornell team at Newman Arena. But with the pressure on, Harvard struggled to keep its composure early and ended up being embarrassed by the Big Red, 86-50, making Crimson fans realize that their team was not yet ready to take the next step towards a conference title.

This year, with Cornell out of the picture after losing its three stars and coach, the Tigers emerged as the preseason No. 1, and have not disappointed to date.

Princeton has wins against respectable nonconference foes like Rutgers, Bucknell, and Tulsa–as well as a six-point loss to then-No. 19 UCF–on its resume, and is coming off a sweep of Brown and Yale last weekend.

“We know what Princeton’s going to bring to the table,” junior co-captain Oliver McNally said. “They’ve got a lot of talented guys and tough system to play against, but we’re also playing well.”

Against the Tigers tonight, in a game that will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7 p.m., Harvard has another chance to prove that it is the team to beat in the Ancient Eight. But to win, the Crimson defense will have to contain a balanced Tiger attack in which four players (sophomore Ian Hummer, senior Kareem Maddox, junior Doug Davis, and senior Dan Mavraides) average in between 13.7 and 13.3 points per game, without anyone eclipsing that mark.

“We have to play them inside-out,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “They have good balance.”

For the Crimson to pull out the victory, it will likely need to win the front-court battle. Amaker said sophomore Kyle Casey–coming off an Ivy co-Player of the Week honor after averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in wins versus Columbia and Cornell–will likely be on Maddox, who averaged a double-double of 16 points and 10.5 rebounds last weekend. Junior co-captain Keith Wright will need to contain Hummer, who has taken big strides in his second year. Maddox and Hummer lead the team with 6.9 and 6.4 rebounds per game respectively, and Amaker stressed the necessity of his post players staying out of foul trouble against the pair.

“[Maddox and Hummer] are just terrors around the goal, and their post-up offensive production around the goal has been terrific,” Amaker said. “It’s always been that when we show up, [Maddox] plays his best.”

In the backcourt, Harvard sophomore Brandyn Curry–the team’s best perimeter defender–will likely be asked to contain Davis. Mavraides’ sharpshooting ability will need to be matched by a strong game from long distance by sophomore Christian Webster and/or freshman Laurent Rivard, who are second and third on the team in scoring with 13.6 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.

“We need to make sure we’re not giving Mavraides anything easy, any open looks.” Amaker said. “Hopefully we can defend them the way we normally defend.”

Last season, the Tigers swept the Crimson and finished a game ahead of Harvard for second in the Ivy standings. In the first matchup, at Lavietes Pavilion, Princeton withstood a ferocious rally by the Crimson–who were down 14 with 4:55 to go–holding on to win when Harvard’s Jeremy Lin ’10 missed a game-tying three at the buzzer. In the second meeting, at Jadwin Gymnasium, the Tigers again won by three in a contest that came down to the wire.

But last year, Wright–who leads the team with 14.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game–missed the first contest and was limited to 20 minutes in the second with injury. Having its best low-post threat back against the Tigers’ big men could be the difference this time around.

“[Keith’s] the centerpiece of our offense,” McNally said. “He’s [also] a rock-solid force defensively, and he rebounds the ball well, so I think [having him healthy this year] is going to be huge.”

It is clear that the two squads have been the best the Ivy has to offer this season, with Harvard 50th and Princeton 67th in national RPI as of Wednesday. The Crimson and the Tigers are 1-2 in the conference in scoring defense and scoring margin, respectively, while Princeton is first and Harvard second in field-goal and three-point percentage.

“We need to get a tempo we’re comfortable with,” Amaker said. “It’s been lower scoring games [versus Princeton in the past]. I think it’s important that the tempo moves a little faster...which is easier said than done with way they play.”

Tomorrow evening, the Crimson travels to Philadelphia, where it will take on the Quakers in the historic Palestra. Penn played an extremely tough nonconference schedule and is also undefeated in conference play this season, but it has blemishes against 4-18 Manhattan and 4-19 Marist on its resume.

The Quakers are led by guard Zack Rosen, who finished first in the conference in scoring last season with 17.7 points per game, but is down to 15.5 this year in a more balanced offense.

“It’s got to always start with Rosen, how crafty he is with ball-screens” Amaker said. “I think that’s going to be a concern of ours, defending him off the bounce.”

Wright will have a tough matchup once again on Saturday with Penn forward Jack Eggleston, who averages 13.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, tied with Wright for second in the conference.

On the wings, the Quakers feature freshman Miles Cartwright–who at 11.6 points per contest is Rivard’s main competition for Ivy Rookie of the Year–and the talented but oft-injured senior Tyler Bernadini, who is averaging 11.7 points.

Harvard swept Penn last season, but with the addition of Cartwright and a healthy Bernadini, the Quakers will be a tough matchup for the second game of a road-road doubleheader for the Crimson.

If Harvard is able to emerge as the last undefeated team standing, it will control its own destiny for its first tournament berth since 1946, with the toughest part of its schedule behind it.

“Those two programs are synonymous with Ivy league basketball,” Amaker said. “I think now with Princeton being the favorite in our league this year, for us to have a chance to go on the road, play them first, Penn the next night, I know our kids will be ready to play.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.