In the preseason, it appeared that the sophomore would be up to the task.

“Before you can become a good player, you have to become a good practice player,” Amaker says. “[Saunders] really worked on becoming more of a consistently good practice player, and I thought that gave him confidence and his teammates were confident in him.”

The improvements in practice translated into games. The wing’s production was remarkably steady, as he scored in double figures every game while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor.

“I can’t say enough about how he has performed for us throughout the season,” Amaker says. “He’s been incredibly consistent this year. I think that was the thing that I’ve been pleased with more than anything.”

A unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection, Saunders maintained his strong performance through conference play, when he averaged 17 points per contest, including a career-high 27 against Columbia on Feb. 10.

But it is not just at the offensive end where Saunders has made a major contribution.

The team’s best perimeter defender—he led the conference with 1.9 steals per game—Saunders was often tasked with guarding the opponent’s premier player, whether that was a point guard such as Columbia’s Brian Barbour or a power forward such as Princeton’s Ian Hummer.

“That [was] just a challenge that coach had for me coming into the season,” Saunders says. “He told me he’d have me covering the best player and he wanted me to lead us on offense.”

On Thursday, that weight will likely fall on the sophomore’s shoulders one more time, as a big two-way game from Saunders will be necessary if Harvard is going to earn its first-ever NCAA tournament win.

“We want to go out and compete and do our best and do the things that we have been doing,” Saunders says. “If we play the way that we are supposed to play, then good things will happen.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached ssherman13@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @ScottASherm.