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The last time the Harvard men’s basketball team entered the Palestra, it was in a much different place.

Facing Yale in a one-game playoff to claim a spot in the NCAA tournament, the Crimson played to a 51-51 tie. Then, with nine seconds remaining, Steve Moundou-Missi ’15 received a pass from Wesley Saunders ’15 and scored a mid-range jumper for the win, sending Harvard dancing for the fourth straight season.

This year, however, the Crimson returns to the Palestra with the situation turned on its head. Heading into back-to-back contests against Princeton (12-5, 2-1 Ivy League) and Penn (6-11, 0-3), Harvard (9-11, 1-3) is scraping just to get to .500.

The Crimson will look to bounce back after falling last Friday to Cornell and last Saturday to Columbia, on a buzzer beater by the Lions’ Alex Rosenberg. Last weekend marked the first time that Harvard had been swept in an Ivy home weekend since 2009.

“Coach always says the only thing better than winning a conference game is winning a conference game on the road,” senior Patrick Steeves said. “So I think two big wins against two good teams would be huge for us.

The last time the Crimson faced Penn at the Palestra, the team limited the Quakers (6-11, 0-3) to just 38 points. Among Ivy League teams, Penn is unique in at least two ways: it is the only team without a conference win and the only team without a player in the top 10 of league scoring.

Despite failing to put a mark in the win column through three conference games, the Quakers are not a team that can be counted as an automatic win. In its Ivy opener, Penn forced Princeton into overtime before eventually falling by two.

One area in which Harvard has struggled mightily, especially in Ivy League play, is foul shooting. In conference play, the Crimson shoots 46.6 percent from the charity stripe; overall this rate is 57.8 percent.

Nationwide the next worst team, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, shoots over two percentage points higher—and has a 5-18 record.

What started as a problem limited to frontcourt players like junior Zena Edosomwan and sophomore Chris Egi (46.3 percent combined) has spread throughout the roster. Down the stretch last weekend, both Steeves and junior Corbin Miller missed key free throws against Columbia.

To get to Philadelphia, however, the team will need to go through Princeton, one of three teams picked above Harvard in the preseason media poll.

The programs present a conflict of styles, as the Tigers enter the game with the second-highest scoring offense in the Ancient Eight at 77.0 points per game, while the Crimson boasts the second-best scoring defense, allowing 66.3 points per game.

“We really have to do a good job defending the lines, meaning defending the three point line, and not fouling them and letting them get to the foul line,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said.

A good defensive game will start with limiting junior Henry Caruso, the third-leading scorer in the Ancient Eight at 16.6 points per game. Senior forward Agunwa Okolie, the team’s best perimeter defender, will likely be tasked with guarding Caruso.